What do you guys think about steel bumpers?
 

Rarely ever do i see a truck with steel bumpers both front and back. Never really understood why. My concern with steel bumpers such as ranch hand is now if you do run into something, instead of the bumper crunching and bending, now that force is just going to make the frame bend because its all transfered to the frame. Opinions? So I dont think it turns it into the battering ram people think. I just had a Toyota camera bump into my back bumper at probably 5mph and it bent it underneath. That stock bumper is made of tin.

I do agree with you on that; it is a lot cheaper to replace a stock bumper than have the frame straightened. I have seen that a lot of the after market Ranch Hand style bumpers are more for looks though as the really weren't that much heaver built than the stock bumper.

Well .... yes and no. I can understand the concern about bending the frame with a major impact, but the frames on our trucks are pretty strong. I have had the Ranch Hand bumper on my truck for many years and had things hit it which I am sure would have badly damaged a stock bumper. Last year an idiot in a medium sized Dodge sedan did a fast u turn right in front of me and I hit the back 3/4 of his car at about 10 mph. This totally destroyed the RH back of his car to the extent that his back window was now in pieces inside is car. Even the window frame was bent. That car was a write off. Have carefully checked the frame on my truck and the only damage was a few scratches in the paint on the bumper. In this case the heavy steel bumper paid for itself as I am positive a flimsy stock bumper would have been damaged plus a lot of other stuff such and the rads.