Hi,

My 2012 is due to arrive in the next week or two, and I know there's some sales going down on Friday, so I'm trying to be prepared in case something in a list 200 deep of things I want, has a great price going on it.

Here are the things so far on the list

1) Front bumper w/ winch mount. Lots of people seem to like PSC Brawler Lite w/ Brawler bar. The construction looks wonderful, but I worry about the following:

• Brawler bar doesn't come up high enough to protect the radiator in event of a roll-over, or even potential brush impacts. Honestly, I'm not planning on doing any super-hardcore wheeling where rollovers are likely, but I'm thinking 'rather safe than sorry'. I know they're coming out with a new variant that's supposed to have a trail stinger/grille hoop, and from the pictures of the non-production model, it looks like it might be a winner on this point, at least.
  
  
  
  It looks like a huge stinger in this photo, but if you check the gallery linked when you click on the picture at https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/show...-Bumpers/page2 , you'll see a side-profile, and it looks to be fairly tame as a stinger (which makes me happy - I really don't like the enormous stingers, personally).
  
  
• Winch mount isn't inset into the bumper, so it blocks airflow to the radiator. I'm not sure how big of a deal this is, but in TX, especially down here in San Antonio, having months or more of 100+ F weather isn't uncommon. It's probably not a huge deal, but something I am concerned about (we _need_ our A/C here, and engines can overheat rapidly if the radiator is obstructed, had a bag do me in before.

Something like this Genrite seems more applicable to my taste, but I'm not sure about the quality, nor fitment w/ a winch, and I also see no stock foglight locations (not too huge of a deal, since I'll probably be doing my own rigid light setup).




What are the downsides to something like this radiator loop? Having the winch set into the bumper? Should I just wait on the new PSC? I'd be using a Warn 9500cti-s winch, in case it matters. I'm hoping PSC will officially release the production version with the trail stinger/radiator loop soon, so I can actually compare, but I'm concerned about the radiator airflow. Any ideas?

2) Rear bumper, tire carrier, and jerrycan holders/extra storage. Everyone suggested the PSC rear bumper/tire carrier to me, but I didn't see any options for jerrycan holders or rack mounts. Something like this LOD setup is more along the lines of what I was thinking of:



I'm not sure if I want to go Rotopax to stick with jerrycans, I've heard mixed things for both options, but the LOD rear bumper/tire carrier has an option for either. Again, I'm looking for alternate suggestions (or confirmation that LOD is good stuff). Everywhere I search on this forum everyone seems to indicate you should get PSC over LOD, I'm guessing due to build quality. If so - how could I go about sorting out jerrycan/rotopax mounts, an overhead basket/rack, and potentially ways to hold hi-lift, maybe an axe, etc on the PSC? I need the overhead rack because I have a dog, and with the 2dr, there's not a lot of spare room with a 70lb dog in the back (I like to primitive camp). Going to get a trailer eventually, but it would make a nice start.

Here's the one picture I could link to of the PSC setup:



I think they make a bolt on thing to mount a hi-lift, but that was all I could find on their site. Nothing re: petrol canisters, rack, CB antenna mount, etc.

I'll worry about the lift/tires/rest after I've gotten these basics out of the way. Thank you in advance, and again - I'm open to any/all suggestions. Yes, I did try searching around, which lead me to seeing all the 'BUY PSC' threads that popped up. I didn't see any regarding the front bumper and airflow issues nor rear bumper/tire carrier and mounting petrol/rack/etc.

 

I forgot to mention, while I'd love to be able to order things at a discount, I'm ok with waiting (i.e.: for the PSC trail stringer/grille hoop) beyond the sales this holiday.

 

Hello and welcome to the money pit! I can't answer all your questions but I'm happy to share my opinions...
Personally, I think the front bumper is more a matter of personal taste. Build quality isn't as big of an issue. Go to a re seller website and look at all of the options.stubby, mid or full length, recessed winch mount, or top. There is a stinger for every personality and if you roll over you'll have bigger issues than protecting the radiator....your skull comes to mind as far as brush goes, unless you are going Baja out there, slow speed and good lines are going to do more than what sticks out where.
Rear bumper set ups are a different kettle of fish, I've been looking for four months. This is what I'm stuck with.... Do I want every bit of back country expedition gear that will fit? And if so, how well is the rear of my jeep going to hold up with the following weight penalties
Bumper: 60 to 110 lbs
Tire: 100 lbs give or take
Fuel: 85lbs g or t
High lift: 30 lbs?
Basket and assembly + gear: 40lbs

I'm leaning towards the psc to avoid hanging 400lbs of stuff off the back of my jeep. Looking forward to what more experienced folks than me have to say.... Good luck