Thorparts.com H3 Rear Bumper review and install with pics

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When I tweaked my stock rear bumper and license plate after only 15 minutes on the first trail I took my H3 on, I knew the weak factory rear bumper was going to have to go. I started looking around on the net and there just aren?t many options out there for the H3. At $499, the Thorparts.com bumper bumper looked like a bargain compared to the only other two rear bumper options I could find for the 3. I have not seen the ARB bumper in person, but from the pictures, I like the sleeker looking design of the Thor bumper much better.

I ordered up my Thorparts bumper on a Wednesday and it was sitting at our warehouse by the following Monday. Nice! I talked to Christian, the owner of Thorparts.com, several times before and after ordering the bumper. He was always quick to respond to emails and answered phone calls.

After receiving the bumper and looking it over closely, I was pleasantly surprised. The fit and finish is top notch. I?ve ordered rock rails and other armor items from "boutique" type fabricators in the past and gotten parts that were bullet proof and good looking but still a little rough around the edges (most likely because they were hand built on a jig in a makeshift fab shop/garage). This is not the case with the Thorparts bumper. The cuts, welds, and bends on the 3/16? steel all look to be done by computer controlled machining equipment as they are all perfect. There is not a burr to be found on the outer surfaces of the bumper and the powder coat finish looks great.

The bumper came in a custom fitted box and had two 1x6 boards bolted to it for protection with a light foam packing material wrapped around it. Despite excellent packaging, my bumper still managed to get a little scuff on the top corner in shipping. No big deal though as I suspect there will be more scuffs soon that will require touching up with a rattle can!

It should be noted that I ordered my bumper with the optional towing package which gives you a cut out for the trailer hitch and a pre-cut hole for the trailer wiring socket. A driver side d-ring kit is also available but I did not opt for it. Check out the Thorparts.com web site for more details on the options.

Now on to the install:

Tools used:
?" wrenches or socket/ratchet (to unbolt the packing boards from the bumper)
15mm Socket and ratchet (for bumper bolts)
24mm Socket or wrench (for the d-ring)
18mm Socket or wrench (for d-ring mount)
Medium sized adjustable crescent wrench (for d-ring and bending tool)
T-15 Torx wrench (for optional trailer socket removal/install)
6mm Allen wrench (for optional stainless bolt kit)
7mm socket/ratchet (for license plate light)
Needle nose pliers
Philips Head screw driver

Total installation time 1.5-2 hours

Here?s a picture of the bumper in it?s box.



Depending on how tight the bolts are, you might need two ?" wrenches to get the packing boards unbolted from the bumper


Here?s picture of the back side of the bumper that shows just how good the cuts, bends, and welds are.



I started off by removing my license plate with a Philips head screw driver. Notice the "character" my plate has from trail ab-use.



Then I disconnected the license plate light assembly by removing the two 7mm bolts holding it in. I just pushed the light assembly back into the bumper to keep it out of the way.



My 3 has the optional tow package so I had to remove the trailer hitch socket assembly. There is a small gray plastic locking clip that needs to be pulled partly out of the wiring harness connector before the plug can be squeezed and pulled out of the connector socket. Use a T15 torx bit to unbolt the connector socket from it?s bracket frame.




I used an adjustable crescent wrench to bend the socket frame back to where it is supposed to be so I could get to the torx bolt heads easier. I opted to get a new trailer socket from Thorparts.com with my bumper as I could not find the part any cheaper anywhere else. Mine was complete trash after exceeding my departure angle a few times on the trail.



Next I removed the d-ring and d-ring mount. I used a 24mm socket and adjustable crescent wrench to remove the d-ring itself.



Use an 18mm socket to remove the d-ring mount.