I first saw Durango Truck & 4 x 4 Outfitters Company Cherokee while at Moab’s 1999 Easter Jeep Safari. The bright yellow XJ is certainly an eye catcher, and it caught mine instantly. I was especially drawn to the front winch bumper. I had a stout 2" x 6" rectangle tube bumper on my XJ with a portable winch mount that utilized the intregal front receiver. I, however, was contemplating a new front bumper with a permanent winch mount. Durango’s design is very appealing so I snapped this photograph.

A few days latter I ran into George Woodring, owner of Durango 4 x 4 while we were checking out all the latest and greatest stuff at Vendor Display Night. George and I discussed the winch bumper and decided that Off-Road.com’s Cherokee America Pages should install, test and review the newly designed bumper.

The bumper arrived by UPS tightly wrapped in protective cardboard and heavy plastic wrap. Durango had explained that if the bumper is packaged in a box style package that it gets to large for UPS to handle. We eagerly unwrapped the new bumper. The first thing you notice is that it weighs approximately 95lbs. This is not a lightweight unit! The bumper uses a combination of metals. The actual bumper portion is made from 2" x 6" rectangle tubing for ultimate strength. Plate is then grafted into the rectangle tubing to make the winch plate. The "prerunner" style front hoop ties it all together while providing protection to the winch. The 4" x _" strap steel is then tied into every thing else to make the frame mounts. Fit and finish is near perfect and topped of with a glossy black powder coat. The design makes an extremely strong package not to mention the classy, rugged good looks.

Installation is extremely straightforward. It actually takes more time to remove the stock front bumper than installing the new one. I used plastic wire ties to remount the engine vacuum canister that was originally attached behind the front bumper to the fender brace. With that done, I balanced the bumper one a floor jack and carefully maneuvered the bumper into place. Within a few minutes the unit was securely bolted in place.

I was not fond of transferring one winch back-and-forth between the XJ and the 80 CJ7 each trip out so a new second winch was in order. Superwinch has always intrigued me. Superwinch was the traditional winch sponsor of the Original Camel Trophy competetion. The Superwinches mounted on the Land Rovers saw more winching action in one week than most winches see in a lifetime! With that in mind I wanted to try one. I choose the sleek S9000 model with integral solenoids. The winch mounted perfectly in the Durango bumper without any fitment or clearance problems. Durango had also taken the time to provide a slot in the winch mount plate for the power supply cables. The slot was chamfered and deburred for smooth routing without damaging the cable sheathing. That’s attention to detail!

While at the time of this writing I have not had the opportunity to use the winch in an actual recovery extraction I have played with the winch and bumper during re-spooling and testing. New winches are always shipped with the cable installed at the factory without tension. The winch cable must be properly tensioned before use to prevent the cable from cutting into the wraps underneath each layer. While the Superwinch S9000 isn’t fast (2’ — 25’ per minute depending on load and cable layer) it is very powerful with a stall rating of nearly 12,000lbs! At around $650, this is a deal.

Good equipment costs money and the Durango winch bumper is good equipment. At about $699, you would be hard pressed to find a well engineered, strong, rugged and good looking unit for less money. Durango also has other XJ accessories available including a new rear bumper/swing out tire unit.

Mttaylor@rmi.net

Source

Durango Truck & 4 x 4 Outfitters
Durango, Colorado
www.durango4x4.com
E-mail dgo4x4@rmi.net
Ph 888-259-8676
Fx 970-259-0317