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This page gives information about my Lexan bumpers. When I bought my Monster Pirate,
there was only one company making bumpers for the MP, and they only made one for the
front. AND IT WAS $30!!! I had been experimenting with Lexan (polycarbonate), and
thought that it would be a great material to make bumpers out of. So far they have
surpassed all expectations I had of them. (Read below for testimonials!)
And the best part (for you) is that since I enjoy making them (and already have
a real job), I'm offering them for just a little more than what it costs me to make
them and get them to you.
I make them in two thicknesses: 1/4" ($20/set) and 3/8" ($30/set)
(See picture below for comparison of the two thicknesses)
Price includes:
------------------------
Front AND Rear Bumpers
New (longer) Mounting Screws
Shipping
These aren't only for Monster Pirates either! I can also custom make them to
your specifications - just let me know.
If you would like more information, or want to order a set,
please e-mail me your name, shipping address, and how you'd like to pay to:
tom<at>grumpytom.com
Testimonials...
RJ47MP
Tom, I was doing some ditch jumping up here in Minnesota and did not see the 12"
culvert (drainage tubes that go under driveways). I was WOT at the time and was
just going to do a jump and all I saw was my MP coming to a "sudden" dead stop.
Engine died and I thought I really screwed it up this time. I went to look to see
what happened and why it stopped. Thought for sure the wheels would have been
torn off of it but I picked it up and looked and saw nothing broken. Saw a gash in
your 3/8" bumper about 1/8" deep, but no other damage. Started it back up and went
back to bashing. I do a lot of bashing and have had some really bad landings, but
the bumpers have saved me many times (down time and money). Thanks, RJ47MP
MinerRC
I got Tom's bumpers today and immediately put them on.
They bolted right on and looked great. They're like 1/4 inch thick
and very solid looking. I think it would be very hard to find a way
to break them. It's a very strong material, and I would recommend them
to all MP owners, but especially to all owners with stock MPs. The extra
1/4 inch of material is just enough to make the chassis bottom out, so
it's perfect for a stock kit.
NitroSoda
Ok I finally got a chance to run these bumpers. So far they are working
SWEET!! The outside temp was around 65-70 degrees (was hoping for some
colder temps actually) but it'll be getting really cold here soon trust me.
My 1st test was to just hold the truck by the back bumper and drop the
truck DIRECTLY on the nose of the truck... I did this 4 times raising the
drop height from 1 foot and finishing the drop test at about 2 1/2 feet.
NO BREAKAGE!! (note: I'm still running the stock bumpers too.)
My second test was to floor it into a metal pipe that was stuck in the ground!
I did this only twice cause it was hard to get a direct hit the way I wanted
to on the rough surface. Again no breakage. (Almost took out an arm though...)
The next thing I did was to see how the skid plates would hold up. So I just
happen to find a spot that when from a dirt surface that had a lip to jump off
onto a blacktop surface!! So this was perfect. The outcome was a few tiny
scratches but that's about it! I was only catching like a foot of air though
cause I had no control of the lip jump. (Couldn't build it up any higher to
really launch!! )
Here's some pics of before I ran the truck... would include the after pics
but really there is no need to because they look GREAT after bashing... Here
are the pics...
So these parts passed all my tests so far....will be waiting for some
colder temps to see if they get real brittle as the temps drop. Good job
Tom! I'm liking them!!
And on another day...
Well I ran my truck again today and it survived another brutal day.
This was more of a bashing day... not really specific tests. (Figured
it would add to the "real life" aspect of the testing). I gotta say these
things are nice... I did manage to put some nice dents in the rear one from
jumping and landing on some large rocks. (oops) was cool though... One cool
thing I noticed was that due to the overall thickness of the skid plates it
tends to protect the motor mount bolts!! So if you say, launch onto pavement
(as my 1st tests did) it doesn't matter if you bottom out hard!! The bolts
are untouched! This is a cool deal cause I've totally snapped engine mount
bolts off before from bottoming out so hard.
here are a few pics of after i bashed.. not looking too bad at all.
quitefly
I also tested GrumpyTom's bumper's on my MP and I must say I'm impressed
I went out and did the brick wall test (something I'm not found of usually
doing) and it was awesome I ran it into the wall like three times at quarter
throttle and no damage!!! I also took the liberty of deliberately/accidently
slamming into my buddie's Nitro Quake, These bumpers make great "push bars" I
was able to knock him on to his side once from standing still and another time
while running him over perpendicularly. My friend was kind enough to test my rear
bumper while I had stopped to locate more fuel. I'm glad to say that also stood up
with flying colors.
And on another day...
Let's start with the background:
I have an MP with an OS RZ99-b, the two speed tranny with 52-48 gears,
Really this was set up as a street pirate with slicks and all but with
winter coming I decided what the heck lets go back to it’s roots. On
asphalt the truck was a terror, in soft dirt however it left something
to be desired. it just did not have the same snap it showed on the black
top. After reading up on several BBs it seemed that clutch shaving would
give my MP the much needed low end punch.
After I shaved my clutch shoes and installed new springs I decided that
I would also upgrade my throttle servo to get a little extra "bite" from my
brakes.
The GOOD:
I must say for something that did not cost me any thing but time it was
probably the single biggest increase in performance I've ever witnessed.
The truck literally tore up patches of turf from my lawn. The max mashers
seemed to tear through the sod with pleasure and ease I was SO in awe of
what was happening that I almost did not notice the truck was careening out
of control down the back stretch of land behind my house.
The BAD:
I should have noticed something was wrong from the start, but being in SUCH
a rush to get my newly modified MP on the road I neglected several preflight
checks that would have certainly saved me from the fate which had now be
chosen for me out of my own stupidity. My truck, albeit faster than it’s
every accelerated before, Was making a mad dash for the Pine forest which
borders the community that I live in. Once I realized it, I also realized
mistake number two. The "odd" glitch I had perceived was really not a glitch
it was my fail-safe trying to remind me it was there (mistake #2) . I had
neglected to reset it’s parameters (mistake#1) so it was still attempting
to use settings for the old servo which was set up to be reversed. Since I
was only running in the back yard and not officially making a trip some where
to test the truck I figured I still had enough juice left in the remote as I
just charged and used it on Wednesday (mistake# 3 A big ONE). As my truck
stormed away from me and I realized what was going to happen, I chased after
the truck as fast I could, as I was running toward the truck the batteries in
the remote must have completely failed cause what happened next. My particular
failsafe its supposed to activate full brake when it senses a lack of signal
from the remote, that usually happens, this was not a usual day, just as the
remote lost signal, the failsafe attempted to brake, which since I never
reconfigured it was in fact now accelerate. So my truck at wide open throttle
is running into the forest. Being that I am not an Olympic caliber sprinter I
now lost sight of my truck, though I could hear it quite clearly. I ran into
the forest towards the horrible noise. When I finally got to the truck it was
STILL running it had SLAMMED into several trees before finding the base of a
particularly wide pine tree and proceeded to dig itself a two foot hole. It was
still spraying pine needles and dirt and assorted plants when I finally caught
up with it. Not thinking I attempted to pick the truck up and stop it, apparently
when your truck runs at WOT for several minutes it gets a lot hotter than normal,
so my reaction was to drop the truck, which was still running. It takes off again
but this time I’m right on it and it dive at it to keep it from going anywhere
right into a nice soft thorn bush. This time I’m able to successful catch and
stop it by blocking the exhaust pipe.
The long walk home:
So I'm walking back the 300 or so yards to my house and trying to re-trace the
path of the truck. It’s quite easy to tell where the truck has been as it tore
a path of destruction through the otherwise un-disturbed pine trees. No less than
7 trees had been assaulted by the mindless fury of my truck most of which now
have rather nasty looking gouges in their bark.
The damage:
While I have not attempted to start the engine up again, it seems as if there
was really no major damage to the truck, It twisted a dog-bone and un-glued the
tires from the rims and grenaded the steering servo ( oddly enough the servo
saver looks ok) the frame and bumper look in tact, a little worst for wear but
nothing like I would have expected.
The word of thanks:
I really must take the time to thank Grumpy Tom for making really Quality bumpers
I'm sure that if the stock bumper had been there in its place I'd be looking at a
lot more broken parts and a much less happy ending.
Mr Knobby 4x4
I too have been testing a set of Tom's bumpers. I have run several tanks of
fuel over the last two weekends w/out a single problem. Some of the tortures
I have put them through include head-on hits at about 1/2 speed into a large
cement object and a tail first landings from about 7 or 8 feet in the air. I
know the rear landing would have bent the rear shock tower, but I have a Lexan
one of those as well. There has been no damage to the shock tower, and nothing
more than scratches and 1 nick on the bumpers.
The extra 1/4 inch does allow the chassis to bottom out in front, with stock
suspension. I did however notice a slight increase in the tendency to get hung
up on such things as roots, rocks, etc. at slow speed. This should not be an
issue for most, but we are running in a recently cleared area and there is still
quite a bit of "trash".
Overall I have been quite impressed with the durability of these parts. I too
am anxious to see how they do in colder weather, it was (unseasonably) around
60 degrees during my tests.
Good work Tom...
svtpickemup
Tom,
The bumpers survived!! I spent about four tanks today trying to break them
things. It ain't happening.
I did not do any "running into semi tests" or anything like that. I ran
at a rough construction site and hit rocks, ruts, jumps, stumps at various
speeds. All is OK.
Then I went to another construction site where they have this huge 7-8 foot
berm that looks like it was made for the MP. I was hitting this jump at 90%
throttle with a 30 yard run. I probably saw about 10 feet of vertical and
about 15-20 feet of distance. Keep in mind, guys, that I am no professional.
This was the first time I really got to air the MP out. 75% of my landings
where on the wheels (only about 30% of those were on all four!). I had a lot
of landings on the nose and tail, impacting perpendicular to the ground. Heck,
I landed on the roof twice!
They made it! Best 10 bucks I ever spent!
And on another day...
I put your bumpers and rear shock tower thorugh the ultimate test today.
The bumpers are saving my truck like you would not believe!! I was
jumping a 9 foot gravel pile at a construction site today getting about
12-13 feet of air. Once or twice I landed square on the nose of the truck.
Bounced up and kept on truckin!!!!!!! It was awesome. They were the type of
landings when your heart stops and you think your day is over.
Thanks, Tom.
Nitromethane
Well, I didn't go as far as I wanted to today. But I did clear the triples
quite a few times. I'll try again next week.
But this vid here shows exactlly how tough the lexan that Grumpy Tom
uses in his bumpers really is. After this jump, and many others that ended
in the same fate , These bumpers look as to be untouched. Not even tweaked
in the slightest.
Movie 1
Movie 2
fuentejps
Hey GT,
Just wanted you to know ive been beating the @#%$ out of my bumperrs and
they are holding up great. Out behind my office there is lots of room,
and also those rounded off curbs going up to the landscaping those are
a true test of your bumpers integrity because they take the brunt of the
impact before going airborn. Thanks
MPisDa1
I did a little field testing of my own and it's all good...I was smoking
across a gravel parking lot, hit the curb, and started tumbling! It went
airborne and smack right into a 55 gallon drum that was being used as a
trash can!! My truck hit it head-on and it knocked the trash can over!!!!!
ahahaha!! The truck didnt sustain any damage at all..thank God!!!!!
Thanks GT!!! again
MBX4rr Racer
I know you all have probably heard plenty of good things about them.
But I'll post my own honest review of these Bumpers.
I was excited when I got the package in the mail and tore it open with
great enthusiasm (especially since I got them right before I was heading
to the track to bash the new alum stuff).
Anyways.. They look great! They are a really cool smokey clear color.
Plus they look very beefy. The Install was a no brainer. Just unscrew
the 4 screws that hold the diff on and slide the bumper on and put
the screws back in. Everything lined up perfect. Great!.
Now For the test...
At the track they were put through the ringer. Repeated bad landings
off jumps didn't even make the bumpers break a sweat. The rear bumper
saved me on several occasions. When I came down uneven on the rear, the
bumper took the load and knocked me back on all four wheels. I'm assured
that without the bumpers installed I probably would have been knocked
over onto the lid.
I do have a complaint, however. The front bumper nosed in a few times on
landings. It really dug into the dirt and threw the MP off a bit. Overall,
however, I can say that the font bumper did more good than bad. It saved
me 2 times when I hit an old spare tire and a sprinkler head that line the track.
But for 15 dollars they do a hell of alot more than I would ever expect
them to do. I'm sure they do a better job than the 2x more expensive New
Era Bumpers.
Anyways that's just my little review on the bumpers.