Reviews for Carnivore Front Bumper for 07-26 Jeep Wrangler JK, JL & Gladiator JT

Purchased the mid-width on Cyber Monday. Install is very straightforward. I also purchased a Q-Performance Stealth Winch, Diode Dynamics SS3 fog light kit, and a pair of Quadratec 3" Cube Lights (for ditch lighting).

If you're installing a winch; wait to install your fog lights until after you've mounted the bumper and have your winch bolted down. Accessing the front bolts of the winch is very challenging if you've already installed your fog lights (I ended up taking them out, mounting the winch and reinstalling the fog lights).

Very happy with the purchase. Packaging was great and delivery was timely.

Selection

Easy install, even without a helper. Love the fact that you can easily add lighting. Plenty of spots to run cable and zip ties. No I just have to get the splash guard.

Incredible looking bumper. I went with the "full Width" bumper (personal preference) I loved the idea that i could remove the "light Grills" and paint them . I also purchased the Q Series winch to complete the look and also to have the peace of mind, that I have the winch if i ever need it myself or to assist another on the trails.
A word to the wise... prior to installing the New bumper to your Jeep, ENSURE THAT THE FACTORY HOLES ARE ALL THE SAME SIZE....I found one that was oval, the factory bumper fit fine but the larger mounting bolts for the aftermarket bumper were to large for that hole and I needed to drill it to allow installation of my Carnivore bumper.
Extremely satisfied with this purchase.

Great bumper.... I posted the Tuscadero Sahara pictures to show a bare install and also the view from the factory front trail camera with the bar installed.

Bumper construction is solid with a nice finish and install was relatively easy/straightforward. The fog light bolts were a bit tricky because there is not much space and you're working right against a round metal cylinder. Be sure you have a friend (or possibly two) to assist with positioning and attaching nuts on the frame. My Sahara had 2 Mopar 68277460AB Front Tow Hook Reinforcement on each side and the positioning left an oval instead of a round hole and blocked the bolts threading through (there was no way they were going to fit). I had to loosen the bolts on the reinforcements to allow it to move and get the bolts through; only then could the nylon locking nuts be installed. I'm happy with the purchase look, quality, instructions, so I am glad Quadratec released this recently; now I just need to get a winch.

Its new and that fact that not too many other JT's have it will make my rig look unique.

AGGRESSIVE LOOK AND FEEL

This is a very heavy and well built bumper. It took my brother and I about 4 hours to remove the old one and install this. My reason for the 4 star rating is that the plastic tabs to hold the mounting studs in place were a pain. That and I believe heavier bolts should have been used to attach the cross bar. The position of the fog lights required a rerouting of the wiring as placing the main connector in its stock position will find the passenger side fog light connection too short.

Great bumper, and I love how it looks. Good features. Easy to install if you are lucky, but I never am so here are a few installation tips.
The fog lights are close together, and the front holes in the winch floor plate go through where the fog lights are. So you cannot install a winch with fog lights in place. Plan ahead if you already have a winch. If you install the winch before putting the bumper on, it will be even heavier. If you put the bumper on before the winch, you need to make sure you will have enough access room to put in the fog lights.

The pre-threaded screw holes have little tolerance. It was hard to get the small screws in to mount the fog lights. The screws bind easily, and are prone to jam. Only use a hand tool and not a power tool, or the heads of the weak screws will snap right off. This happened to me, and I dread trying to reverse this whenever I get a winch or different fog lights. The bumper will have to come off.

To mount the bumper, you have to line up 4 pairs of bolts on the bumper with 8 holes on the Jeep frame. Some of them have a little built in play in terms of position (which is good), and they provide flat plastic bolt retainers to prevent the bolts from falling back into the bumper framework. If you are lucky the bolts will all line up the first time. I had to do multiple attempts which is not fun with such a heavy bumper. If the bolts do not line up when you push on the bumper, the bolts will get pushed back despite the retainers and you have to start all over. My final success was to try and line up the outside 4 bolts first. There is a hole in the framework just above the inner bolts, and putting something thick like a socket wrench handle through them can keep the inner bolts from being pushed back.

DO NOT attempt to put this bumper on by yourself. You need at least two people, but three is even better. Take some measurements before attempting and have something of the right height like jack stands under the bumper to set it on when installing.

If your state requires a front license plate, you may have a challenge. If you already have a winch, there are many plate brackets that clip on to the rollers of the fairlead. If you don’t, you’ll need to be creative. The fog lights are closer together than the width of a license plate, so you can’t put a plate between them. This means the plate has to sit high and stick above the top surface of the bumper, which to me is not a great appearance. I ended up getting a thick plastic license backer plate and drilling bolt holes in it to put bolts through the two fairlead holes in the bumper.

I absolutely love this bumper, it looks great, the build quality is great, BUT, the factory fog lights that I have in my 2020 JL Willy's do not fit correctly. I was able to get them in alright, but it was a pain in the a** to get them in and there's a lot of stress on the plastic housing of the lights. I'm curious to see how well they hold up as it gets colder. I think it was a very poor choice to use 2mm hex bolts as the mounting screw of choice here. They're very difficult to work with in such a tight space, I really wish they were star-bit bolts so I could at least use a small ratcheting socket wrench. And on top of that, I didn't realize that you can't get winch bolts through the front holes with the lights in place until AFTER I installed them. That was fun.

All in all, I would buy this again, but those fog light mounts easily added an extra hour to the project.