2007 Nissan Xterra - No More Excuses

Now that all of our brackets are properly installed on the Xterra, it's time to take a look at the Shrockworks bumper itself. The bumper weighs in at a generous 138 pounds and will definitely require the help of a couple friends to mount it. The majority of the bumper is made using tough, 3/16-inch, heavy-duty steel plate. The round top tubing centersection is 2-inch, 0.120-wall tubing, and the side tubing is constructed of 1.5-inch, 0.120-wall tubing. This bumper was built with off-roading in mind, increasing approach and departure angles dramatically. A pair of 1/2-inch steel-plate recovery points are welded to the front of the bumpers to accommodate a 3/4-inch clevis shackle.

If your X came with stock foglamps, you're in luck: The new Shrockworks bumper has you covered. A set of foglight spacers is supplied with hardware, securing the stock foglamps to the new bumper. To prove how simple this step is to do, we asked our install partner's 8-year-old son to go ahead and mount the lamps - it took him about 10 minutes.

Your new bumper purchase comes with a heavy-duty skidplate that is 100-percent needed with the new bumper. Not only is the stock skidplate removed, but it looks like a piece of tin foil next to the Shrockworks skidplate. The same 3/16-inch steel plate that was used to fabricate the bumper is continued down through the skidplate. In order to up the strength of the skidplate, Shrockworks bent up the sides to dramatically increase the overall strength of the plate versus a flat piece of steel. The skidplate installs using supplied hardware to the lower lip of the new bumper and to the skidplate bracket previously installed.

Now that our bumper is ready to be installed, we need to install our Ramsey Patriot 9500UT winch with the wireless-remote kit and Vision X HID off-road lights. Because of the design of the Shrockworks bumper, we need to install the winch and lights before the bumper can be installed. Considering the weight of the bumper and winch, we placed the bumper on the ground and set the winch in place. At first we weren't sure if the high-profile 9500UT would fit inside the bumper, but it did with just a few inches to spare. Using supplied hardware, we installed the winch and roller fairlead to the bumper. Stay tuned for complete product reviews of both the Ramsey Patriot 9500UT winch and Vision X HID off-road lights in upcoming issues of 4WD&SU.