Finished My ARB Summit Install on my 2021 Tremor Lariat w/ Warn VR Evo 10-S winch

[Vr22s]

I was going to add to the other thread I started. But I felt like this justified it's own thread.

Originally I was taking notes to do an install write up, however after getting into this I decided I wasnt about to do ARB's job and make an more instructive install guide. There are way too many little things and because I write technical/SOPs for work..... So I naturally I didnt really feel like writing this one either.

However if anyone stumbles in here looking for answers Ill be happy to answer them as well as I can.

As far as the install goes it was just like everyone else whom installed theirs: PITA. It took me about 4 evenings(working on it after work) or about 10ish~ hours. I ran into several vague, missing or what I would call poorly described steps within the fitting instructions.
I think the thing that frustrated me the most was the fog light housings. The brackets it came with would not function the way they were supposed to and I had to fashion up something different to hold them in. Terrible design, would not recommend.

When I got my bumper it was also a very disappointing delivery as others had the very good looking boxes....Mine came on a pallet that looked pretty disappointing.

I pulled everything out and beyond a paint scuff that I could easily fix it looked to be ok and I didnt see any apparent damage...

However I got to the point of dry fitting the bumper and that was when I noticed the passenger side corner near the marker light was bent and pushed inward. I assume this was from the shipping.. I felt I had come too far to just pull it off and drive around bumperless with my truck complaining that the radar and sensors were missing while waiting to see how and what I could do to get it fixed. So decided to proceed with the install.

With a few ratchet straps and a forklift for an anchor I bent the part out enough so I could get enough space to fit the fill panel in and bolted. It isnt noticeable unless you look at it. Also not the best/safest way to bend it back out but it was all I had at the time....this bumper is solid...and I could only get 0.5" movement out out of it.

I did reach out to @Stage3Motorsports to see if they have insight on this.

I did a similar winch install to others where I left the control pack on the winch and did not relocate it. I can still easily reach in and access the control box if I needed to. Because I got the Warn EVO 10-s it has a wireless remote, but I still want the option to plug it in so I used a Warn 98348 Service kit and fitted it into the winch cover plate so I could plug in and go.
No control box extension kits needed, Just bolted on, added a remote extension and good to go.

Also got a red fairlead from agency 6 hoping it would compliment my Tremor's grille...but unfortunately the bull bars kinda block the red in the grille. I may end up just covering the winch fairlead with a license plate.

Used a forklift to lift up and had a co-worker help me position it. This thing is heavy with a winch in it!

I noticed the wire harness was not the same as the ones referenced in the instructions. Maybe it was due to the theirs being and XLT or just the year differences, Im not sure. I did need to basically take the wire harnesses apart and remake them to fit within the bumper and reach the radar unit as well as one of the sensors. I also bought a plug that fit the OEM wire harness and spliced those into the fog lights so I wouldnt have to alter the OEM wire harness. Kept it very nice and clean/plug and play.

I was pretty worried about the Sensors/Radar not working but they do! Be it the radar being a little more sensitive, I can live with that. Got the clearance lights and the turn signals rigged.

I was also pleasantly surprised that I only lost about .30" of height. Even though my Tremor still has the stock FOX 2.0's I thought I would get more sag. A front coil upgrade is still in the works for the future.

All in all it was something else...quite the puzzle to install this. But I am happy with it and I think it looks good, it is a solid bumper.

Now I just need to let my wallet gain a little bit of weight before I add some more goodies.

Here are some more pictures of the install and finish for your viewing pleasure.

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[Buckbull]

Great right up. Sucks about the damage though. I wish the parcel delivery servicers would handle packages better.

 

[OGMix376]

I was going to add to the other thread I started. But I felt like this justified it's own thread.

Originally I was taking notes to do an install write up, however after getting into this I decided I wasnt about to do ARB's job and make an more instructive install guide. There are way too many little things and because I write technical/SOPs..... I didnt really feel like writing this one either.

However if anyone stumbles in here looking for answers Ill be happy to answer them as well as I can.

As far as the install goes it was just like everyone else whom installed theirs: PITA. It took me about 4 evenings(working on it after work) or about 10ish~ hours. I ran into several vague, missing or what I would call poorly described steps within the fitting instructions.
I think the thing that frustrated me the most was the fog light housings. The brackets it came with would not function the way they were supposed to and I had to fashion up something different to hold them in. Terrible design, would not recommend.

When I got my bumper it was also a very disappointing delivery as others had the very good looking boxes....Mine came on a pallet that looked pretty disappointing.

I pulled everything out and beyond a paint scuff that I could easily fix it looked to be ok and I didnt see any apparent damage...

However I got to the point of dry fitting the bumper and that was when I noticed the passenger side corner near the marker light was bent and pushed inward. I assume this was from the shipping.. I felt I had come too far to just pull it off and drive around bumperless with my truck complaining that the radar and sensors while waiting to see how and what I could do to get it fixed. So decided to proceed with the install.

With a few ratchet straps and a forklift for an anchor I bent the part out enough so I could get enough space to fit the fill panel in and bolted. It isnt noticeable unless you look at it. Also not the best/safest way to bend it back out but it was all I had at the time....this bumper is solid...and I could only get 0.5" movement out out of it.

I did reach out to @Stage3Motorsports to see if they have insight on this.

I did a similar winch install to others where I left the control pack on the winch and did not relocate it. I can still easily reach in and access the control box if I needed to. Because I got the Warn EVO 10-s it has a wireless remote, but I still want the option to plug it in so I used a Warn 98348 Service kit and fitting the winch cover so I could access it easy. No extension kits needed, Just bolted on and good to go.

Also got a red fairlead from agency 6 hoping it would compliment my Tremor's grill...but unfortunately the bull bars kinda block the red in the grill. I may end up just covering the winch fairlead with a license plate.

Used a forklift to lift up and had a co-worker help me position it. This thing is heavy with a winch in it!

I noticed the wire harness was not the same as the ones referenced in the instructions. Maybe it was due to the theirs being and XLT or just the year differences, Im not sure. I did need to basically take the wire harnesses apart and remake them to fit within the bumper and reach the radar unit as well as one of the sensors. I also bought a plug that fit the OEM wire harness and spliced those into the fog lights so I wouldnt have to alter the OEM wire harness. Kept it very nice and clean/plug and play.

I was pretty worried about the Sensors/Radar but they do! Be it the radar being a little more sensitive, I can live with that. Got the clearance lights and the turn signals rigged.

I was also pleasantly surprised that I only lost about .30" of height. Even though my Tremor still has the stock FOX 2.0's I thought I would get more sag. A front coil upgrade is still in the works for the future.

All in all it was something else...quite the puzzle to install this. But I am happy with it and I think it looks good, it is a solid bumper. Now I just need to let my wallet gain a little bit of weight before I add some more goodies.
Here are some more pictures of the install and finish for your viewing pleasure.

Oof that was a pretty mean little bend on the passenger side. That would’ve been a stinging feeling for sure seeing that shipping damage, although I would’ve continued just the same as you did. Truck looks amazing btw.

 

[Vr22s]

Oof that was a pretty mean little bend on the passenger side. That would’ve been a stinging feeling for sure seeing that shipping damage, although I would’ve continued just the same as you did. Truck looks amazing btw.

Yeah the pictures dont show how much out of alignment it was. I was a bit disappointed when I found it. I thought I went over it with a fine tooth comb when I was unpacking it....Apparently not.

 

[Fawnbuster]

Great job! Looks great!
Sadly it's out of my price range, I can't afford to buy a forklift ??

 

[IdahoRanger]

Great job, not something I could do.

 

[Frenchy]

Now look at it this way, even though the Transmission will still crap out later, you now have a chance of driving away in the event of an Animal Strike!!

BTW since I'm curious, have you figured out about how much MPG you have lost with this bumper? I'm simply curious is all.

 

[Vr22s]

Yeah that one always worries me, but you take a risk when buying any vehicle that it might have a major flaw.

Jury is still out on that. I havnt seen a huge dive in MPG, maybe 0.5-1 MPG. I think it is because of the stock FOX 2.0's and slight more rake than before.
Right now freeway is about 22 and city is about 18.5... The Tremors dont get very good gas millage to begin with anyways.

 

[Frenchy]

Yeah that one always worries me, but you take a risk when buying any vehicle that it might have a major flaw.

Jury is still out on that. I havnt seen a huge dive in MPG, maybe 0.5-1 MPG. I think it is because of the stock FOX 2.0's and slight more rake than before.
Right now freeway is about 22 and city is about 18.5... The Tremors dont get very good gas millage to begin with anyways.

That's not bad when you think about it

 

[Vr22s]

Yeah, Ill give a better report on that when I get the front leveled a bit more. I bought the truck for Smiles Per Mile anyways.

And speaking of transmissions, Im no stranger to failing Transmissions.
My 2013 Taurus SHO tore itself apart and was about on it's way out 2 years later after a rebuild. Main reason I ended up with my 2020 FX4 Ranger.
It was a real shame, that car was so much fun. It also got terrible gas millage.

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