If you’re a nature lover who owns a Subaru Crosstrek and aim to travel through the rougher terrain to be rewarded with the best views, you’re learning your car’s limits quite quickly. One of the largest issues I have with my Crosstrek is the front end clearance. I would always find myself in front of the car, pushing the bumper back into place, and trying to work out a way to fix all the cracks at the base of the bumper. At one point, I was standing in a muddy pit, attempting to salvage what was left of the beaten bumper. It was then, that RRW began working on a solution to this annoying inconvenience.
After months of blood, sweat, tears, research and prototypes, we came up with three possible designs for the Crosstrek. Being extremely indecisive, I couldn’t select one design to go with. We didn’t want every Crosstrek you see to be running the same thing, so we decided to make all three bumper designs available for purchase. Now there’s a choice of three different styles to go with, all of which were developed by Crosstrek owners, for Crosstrek owners.
The V1 bumper features a high-clearance ultra-lightweight bumper.
The V2 bumper features a baja-inspired laser-cut front plate.
The V3 bumper features a plated-tubular hybrid design and tons of utility.
We thought of every aspect of what our car needs in a bumper, and developed them around those needs. The final products take into account everything our vehicles need in a bumper: keeping it lightweight, adding a winch for self-recovery, improving approach angle, and providing crucial protection where we need it most.
On the V2 and V3, we increased approach angle by sweeping the lower half back, and incorporating the angle with the skid plates most folks run to protect their engine underbelly. This gives you a clean fitment that will not only prevent the trail from pulling your bumper off, but also provides crucial protection to the radiator supports, which are known to bend easily on impact. The V1 bumper also provides high front end clearance by keeping the bumper higher up, which allows for greater clearance with the least amount of weight added to the car.
The lack of power on our cars can definitely be a dent in how much we can load onto the rig. The more weight we add, the less power we’ll have. Because of this, we developed the bumpers out of lightweight high grade 1.5”(.095) steel tubing and 3/16” steel plating. This let us keep the bumper weight down to 48lb for the V1, and about 55lb for the V2 and V3models. This allows you to modify and replace your bumper without the need for overload springs or any other modifications to the car. Quick, lightweight, and simple. CNC laser cut metal also allowed us to shave the weight down while keeping the structural integrity, providing a high quality well-researched product that’ll withstand whatever gets in it’s way.
With a metal bumper, you’d like to have additional features as well. We added a winch mount to all three bumper designs, allowing you to run most powersports winches. This gives you the ability to self-recover in situations where you may be stuck and alone. Crucial for exploring nature safely. The winch plate is built into the bumper with all its own supports, so no matter the situation you’re in, you can get out and get on with your trip in no time. This is a major upgrade to your recovery abilities, and can be used to help out others that are stuck and in need on the trail. You never know when the winch will be useful, but you can bet it’ll be used much more often than you think.
The V3 design is our tubular-plated hybrid bumper, featuring a plated middle section and tubular outer bars. This bumper also has a built-in lightbar mount capable of housing a 20” light bar. On a car like ours, it’s difficult finding a spot to add lighting to where it doesn’t stick out like a sore thumb. Nobody likes messy lighting, which is why this hidden stealth mount lets you mount up the lights in the bumper, keeping the wiring, mounting points, and other bulk out of sight. Clean and sleek.
The perfect compliment to the front bumpers we make is our rear bumper. This features a high clearance departure-angle, so you’re sure the bumper won’t be torn off during that river crossing. This rear bumper also adds utility by integrating a 3” table-kickout on the rear. Perfect for prepping dinner on the jetboil while waiting for the sun to set. Personally I’ve found this kickout is perfect for getting things off the roof of the car, and opening rooftop tents as well. It’s also a comfy seat that won’t pull you into the trunk like sitting on the trunk lip would. I’m ashamed to admit how many times that has happened to me while sitting in the back before the bumper, and let me tell you that trunk is not a compy spot to hit your head.
These bumpers are perfect for those venturing out into the wilderness that don’t want to break the bank to add utility and ability to their Subaru Crosstrek. Priced affordably, it’s the best major modification you can make on your rig. You can check out the bumpers in the links below, and use code 4X4DISCOUNT for a discount on your order. Reading this soon after it was posted? Use code 4X4BUMPER for $100 off your V1 or V3 bumper purchase, while supplies last!
Subaru Crosstrek V1 Tubular Front Bumper
Subaru Crosstrek V2 Tubular Baja Front Bumper
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