Fusion Bumpers Ford Super Duty Winch Bumper Review
Nothing changes the front end of your truck like a stout aftermarket front bumper.
Aftermarket support continues to be strong for the 1999 to current Ford Super Duty platform. And, with dozens of manufacturers offering up extra front end muscle in different shapes, sizes and styles, you can pick the right bumper combo that fits your needs. In searching through available options for our 2011 F-250, one company stood out from the pack- Fusion Bumpers.
Fusion has been in business for years crafting bumpers for a wide range of vehicles. It’s also worth noting that the bumpers are 100-percent American made and shipped from its Payette, Idaho facility. Each bumper is made to order as auxiliary lighting configurations, recovery points, winch mounts, and other features can be added when optioning a bumper online.
Spending an afternoon in our home garage, here’s how our new front bumper setup came together.
Fusion sent the bumper in raw steel, strapped to a pallet, ready for paint or powdercoat. With the bumpers in raw form, it’s easy to see the attention to detail and the impeccable quality. Internally gusseted for strength with winch mount, shackle mounts and auxiliary lighting, these bumpers are a work of art and built to take a beating. Along with the hoop mounts for the ARB lights, we opted for stainless-steel mesh inserts in the sides rather than the typical auxiliary light pockets.
Prior to sending the bumper off for paint, we test fit the winch and bolted the bumper in place to check clearance to the intercooler, grille, and headlights. Fusion builds plenty of adjustability into the mounts to get the bumper to fit just right.
With the stock bumper removed, it was a great opportunity to run the wiring for the ARB lights. Ford makes wiring accessories a breeze with its integrated switch pod. This factory installed switch pod gives you four switches with the fuses and relays. Wiring up the lights is as simple as slicing into one of the 4 leads under the driver’s dash to run power to the lights and run a ground wire to the body.
Back from paint, final assembly can commence. While powdercoat is a strong and affordable option, we sprung for tuxedo black paint to match the OEM paint color. After bolting the ARB lights in place, the hawse fairlead was mounted up front and the Warn Zeon 10-S winch was secured to the mounting plate. The bumper brackets were then loosely fitted to the new bumper its ready for fitment.
On the end of our Warn Zeon 10-S winch, we upgraded the traditional hook to a Factor 55 FlatLink E shackle mount. Stronger and safer over a standard tow hook, the FlatLink has a low-profile design and is rated for over 16,000 pounds max load with the ultimate failure point as tested at over 40,000 pounds.
To install the front bumper, we used a hoist to lift it in place. With the bumper mounted, we plugged in the lights and ran the power leads from the winch to the battery. One note on the winch, be sure to unspool the synthetic winch rope and rewind the cable under a slight load to pre-stress the winch line to break it in before trail use.
ARB did their homework when developing its new Intensity LED lights. The AR-21 Intensity LED uses a seven-inch housing with rear cooling fins and 21 individual LEDs that put out a combined 6950 raw lumens per light in a clean, crisp pattern. With room for four lights on this bumper, we went with a pair of spot beams in the center and floods for the outers producing 2600 lumens to light up the night.
We’re extremely happy with the look and function of our new front end. Check back soon as we add a little more flare to our front end.
