Southern Style Off-Road Rear Bumper "Discontinued"

[JJsanchez]

Folks, I've been waiting to post this for while now but i'm not sure when this rear bumper will be 100% finished. I ordered this bumper back in June of 2016 and got it delivered on Feb 14 2017. The bumper arrived very well packaged and labeled which made the install super easy. Here is the finished product on the 4Runner minus the rear view camera and the camp table option. I opted for the rotopax mount instead of the jerry cans and this is where things get from bad to worse.
View attachment 19170

 

[JJsanchez]

At first glance everything looks normal but if you look closely there a few things that jump out at you. Rear Later/Rotopax mount latch hits the rear 4runner badge and cannot fully close. whole left side swing out is off. I wanted to post my build thread so far but its not going to happen till i get my bumper situated. I contacted SSO about the issues and so far they've been willing to help fix the issues. The bumper is a sweet set-up just got to iron out the issues.

 

[jhill15]

Wow I didn't notice it when I first looked at it. That sucks man! Is there anyway to fix it! It's a sick bumper!!! On a side note...why does the rear ladder stop in the middle of your side glass?

Sent from my LG-H900 using Tapatalk

 

[JJsanchez]

Wow I didn't notice it when I first looked at it. That sucks man! Is there anyway to fix it! It's a sick bumper!!! On a side note...why does the rear ladder stop in the middle of your side glass?

Sent from my LG-H900 using Tapatalk

that's the way it was designed by SSO.

 

[Motoman]

Gosh I hope they are working with you. All that work for the install only to take it all off and ship it back. Good luck. I do like the overall look of it.

 

[JJsanchez]

Gosh I hope they are working with you. All that work for the install only to take it all off and ship it back. Good luck. I do like the overall look of it.

Thanks, no I don't have to ship this back, it would be another $500 if i had too. Bumper was $2400 and some change with the options plus another $500 to ship to the CA from Louisiana. (Yeah) They are trying to rework those areas and hopefully fix the issues. I have to wait another 5 weeks to get this fixed unfortunately.

 

[Cavo]

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was thinking about this setup because it seemed so amazing and well done/ thought out. However, this makes me say absolutely NOT!!! To much money, time, effort and heartache.

I feel for you man. This must be so disappointing. Thank you very much for sharing. I hope you get it all to work out quickly and can feel very happy in the end result.

 

[JJsanchez]

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was thinking about this setup because it seemed so amazing and well done/ thought out. However, this makes me say absolutely NOT!!! To much money, time, effort and heartache.

I feel for you man. This must be so disappointing. Thank you very much for sharing. I hope you get it all to work out quickly and can feel very happy in the end result.

Reason for posting this and to show off the build so far. Great product but not too happy right now. I had ordered the bumper with LED backup lights also but as you can see bumper came without the cut-outs. They shipped me the lights but no cut-outs for them. I sent the lights back and they are going to reimburse me for that.

 

[JJsanchez]

Just found out that SSO stopped making this bumper. Website says "Discontinued"

 

[JJsanchez]

We'll i just emailed SSO for an update and i probably wont see the rest of my bumper till the middle of next month. Its been a long wait since i ordered June of last yer.

 

[Graeman]

What if you just lengthened the holes or drilled new ones that will bring the bumper back 1/4" to 1/2"? That will take care of the side tail light issue and the touching of the tailgate. Is it one piece or did they give you a mounting bracket from bumper to frame? It's just steel and an easy fix for that part, but I understand that you paid a lot of money for something that should be perfect from the get go.

 

[Lifestyle Overland]

Folks, I've been waiting to post this for while now but i'm not sure when this rear bumper will be 100% finished. I ordered this bumper back in June of 2016 and got it delivered on Feb 14 2017. The bumper arrived very well packaged and labeled which made the install super easy. Here is the finished product on the 4Runner minus the rear view camera and the camp table option. I opted for the rotopax mount instead of the jerry cans and this is where things get from bad to worse.
View attachment 19170

I also have the SSO rear bumper and experienced the same issue with the rear ladder. Kevin and Gwen at SSO are great people and wanted me to ship the ladder back for some re-work after seeing the pictures. I was able to come up with my own solution where I trimed a very slight wedge out of the bottom of the uprights, then added a shim between the ladder base and swing arm which pulled the ladder about 1/2" away from the hatch and fixed the issue. I just touched up my cuts with a little paint and rocked on. After a week in Death Valley towing a 2,000lb Turtleback it is still going strong.

SSO is growing by leaps and bounds and while it's not really an excuse, I applaud the guy who was just recently able to quit his full time job and make a go at his own business. He is working through man power, craftsmanship, and QC issues while trying to keep production rolling. I'm pretty sure the reason the bumper is now on hold or discontinued is so they can get control of the flaws in the system. Knowing this, and the lengths that they are willing to go to make things right, I have a lot of patience and want to see them succeed. He could still be taking orders and making money but made the right choice to reign it in until quality control can keep up.

Hang in there, they will make it right.

 

[JJsanchez]

What if you just lengthened the holes or drilled new ones that will bring the bumper back 1/4" to 1/2"? That will take care of the side tail light issue and the touching of the tailgate. Is it one piece or did they give you a mounting bracket from bumper to frame? It's just steel and an easy fix for that part, but I understand that you paid a lot of money for something that should be perfect from the get go.

I could but i did dump 3K with shipping on this so you see where i'm at with that.

 

[JJsanchez]

I also have the SSO rear bumper and experienced the same issue with the rear ladder. Kevin and Gwen at SSO are great people and wanted me to ship the ladder back for some re-work after seeing the pictures. I was able to come up with my own solution where I trimed a very slight wedge out of the bottom of the uprights, then added a shim between the ladder base and swing arm which pulled the ladder about 1/2" away from the hatch and fixed the issue. I just touched up my cuts with a little paint and rocked on. After a week in Death Valley towing a 2,000lb Turtleback it is still going strong.

SSO is growing by leaps and bounds and while it's not really an excuse, I applaud the guy who was just recently able to quit his full time job and make a go at his own business. He is working through man power, craftsmanship, and QC issues while trying to keep production rolling. I'm pretty sure the reason the bumper is now on hold or discontinued is so they can get control of the flaws in the system. Knowing this, and the lengths that they are willing to go to make things right, I have a lot of patience and want to see them succeed. He could still be taking orders and making money but made the right choice to reign it in until quality control can keep up.

Hang in there, they will make it right.

I hear you on that man but when i first told them about my issues they made it seem like it was my fault that the bumper didn't fit right. When i spoke to Gwen on the phone, she told me i installed the bumper wrong and that my truck was damaged or wrecked right off the back. If they knew about the issue why weren't they straight with me from the beginning. My biggest issue with them is they don't communicate with their customers or at least me. I have to inquire on my bumper every single time. They never give updates, the only time they do is when they need to get paid or when the item shipped. Most of the time when i get a response its pretty basic and the reply is the same as before. "we are running behind, your bumper should go into powdercoat this week" Or "we hope to send to powder coat this week and it's going to take 4-5 business days" I get a frustrated with them because I have the bumper already and they tell me my bumper should go to powdercoat soon. Not trying to bash anyone here, i'm just laying out my experience so far with SSO. A little communication goes along way.

 

[Lifestyle Overland]

I hear you on that man but when i first told them about my issues they made it seem like it was my fault that the bumper didn't fit right. When i spoke to Gwen on the phone, she told me i installed the bumper wrong and that my truck was damaged or wrecked right off the back. If they knew about the issue why weren't they straight with me from the beginning. My biggest issue with them is they don't communicate with their customers or at least me. I have to inquire on my bumper every single time. They never give updates, the only time they do is when they need to get paid or when the item shipped. Most of the time when i get a response its pretty basic and the reply is the same as before. "we are running behind, your bumper should go into powdercoat this week" Or "we hope to send to powder coat this week and it's going to take 4-5 business days" I get a frustrated with them because I have the bumper already and they tell me my bumper should go to powdercoat soon. Not trying to bash anyone here, i'm just laying out my experience so far with SSO. A little communication goes along way.

I hear ya, that's unfortunate the communication is lacking. I feel your pain because I also seem to have the knack of falling through the cracks with reputable companies, people don't believe me when it happens! But even the best screw up. Hope you get it worked out soon!

 

[JJsanchez]

I hear ya, that's unfortunate the communication is lacking. I feel your pain because I also seem to have the knack of falling through the cracks with reputable companies, people don't believe me when it happens! But even the best screw up. Hope you get it worked out soon!

Thanks

 

[SixthSnail]

Did this get resolved? Just curious. I was going to go with SSO a while back but they changed the design from their original prototype and I didn't like the new one as much :(

 

[JJsanchez]

Did this get resolved? Just curious. I was going to go with SSO a while back but they changed the design from their original prototype and I didn't like the new one as much :(

Nope not yet. Not sure when at this point. They don't update customers and every time i email them they tell me the same story, they are at the mercy of the powder coater. They should get another coater because my bumper is starting to rust in some areas where the coating didn't reach. I think this bumper is going to be around a year before it's fully funtional.

 

[SixthSnail]

Nope not yet. Not sure when at this point. They don't update customers and every time i email them they tell me the same story, they are at the mercy of the powder coater. They should get another coater because my bumper is starting to rust in some areas where the coating didn't reach. I think this bumper is going to be around a year before it's fully funtional.

I hope they make this right for you financially. A busted bumper is not worth 2400.

 

[JJsanchez]

I hope they make this right for you financially. A busted bumper is not worth 2400.

Financially no, they did reimburse me for the lights and backup light option they didn't complete. Thats about financial as it going to get. I spoke to customer service and complained that they needed to be upfront with the customer to let the customer know what the situation was but what i got as a response was "i'm sorry you feel that way, we have 100s of customers and we cant give you special attention" I wasn't sking for special attention just a simple update.