The Brawler™ MID front bumper for JK is a "mid-width", high clearance bumper designed to combine off-road performance with full features. This bumper is fabricated from 3/16" plate steel, CNC laser-cut and precision brake-formed into a low profile, high clearance design. The ends of the bumper extend farther outboard than our Brawler™ Lite bumper, to about half the width of the tires. This provides increased brush protection for the grille corners and fenders, and gives the Jeep a more "expeditionary" look than our more rock-crawling specific bumpers. This product ships as bare steel—it will need to be painted or powder coated prior to final installation. We do not offer a powder coat option for this item.
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Product Description
Plate Steel Construction
This bumper is fabricated from 3/16" plate steel, CNC laser-cut and precision brake-formed into a low profile, high clearance design. The ends of the bumper extend far enough to protect the lower corner of the JK grille, but not far enough to hinder tire clearance or tire access to vertical obstacles.
Brawler Bar
The Brawler Bar is modeled after the bar found on our original RockBrawler™ front bumper. It is a low-profile stinger designed to provide protection to the winch, grille and radiator area. The Brawler Bar is made of CNC laser-notched, NC-bent 1¾" diameter .120" wall DOM tubing. The complex laser-cut notch allows the Brawler Bar to be welded to two different planes on the surface of the bumper, providing incredible strength. Two gusset styles are offered for strengthening the Brawler Bar. CNC laser-cut brake-formed 3/16" plate steel or CNC laser notched DOM tubing. Note: Warn PowerPlant winches are not a direct-fit with the DOM Tube gussets (they may be installed with some minor modifications by the installer).
Easy Installation
Unlike the Poison Spyder BFH™ series bumpers for JK, the Brawler™ MID can be mounted without cutting or altering the Jeep's frame rails. The faceted design of the Brawler™ MID provides the best ground clearance and approach angle possible in a bumper that doesn't require frame modifications. The factory "Crash Bar" may be left intact or removed for a sleek appearance and high clearance. If keeping the crash bar, we recommend adding the Brawler™ MID Skid Plate (sold separately), which conceals the crash bar and protects the electronic sway bar disconnect.
Recessed Fog Lamp Mounts
Brawler™ MID comes with provisions for re-mounting your factory fog lamps. These consist of recessed fog lamp "buckets" that are made of CNC laser cut DUM tubing with a mounting flange designed to accept the mounting hardware of the stock lamps. The recess and all-steel buckets help protect the lamps from the rocks. For those who do not have the stock fog lamps, or would like to upgrade to more powerful LED lamps, Poison Spyder offers a unique LED Fog Lamp Mounting Kit for installing a pair of Rigid Industries "Dually" LED lamps in the fog lamp locations.
IMPORTANT: The stock fog lamps used on the Jeep Wrangler 10th Anniversary Rubicon do NOT fit into the fog lamp buckets on this bumper. If installing this bumper on a 10th Anniversary Rubicon, we suggest using a pair of Rigid Industries Dually or Dually D2 LED lamps along instead of the stock fog lamps.
Winch Compatibility
The Brawler™ MID bumper is designed to accept most Warn winches, and winches from other manufacturers that conform to Warn's standardized winch mounting dimensions. The winch sits in a slight depression on the top surface of the bumper, with plenty of CNC laser cut plate steel gusseting inside the bumper shell, directly underneath the winch to provide maximum strength. The Winch Fairlead Mount is sold separately, so that those who wish to not run a winch are left with a clean looking, unobstructed top surface on their bumper. IMPORTANT: installing the Warn ZEON winch on the Brawler MID Front Bumper requires TWO sets of our ZEON Winch Spacer Plates (p/n 45-57-010-03, sold separately).
IMPORTANT: Warn Powerplant winches do NOT fit on the JK Brawler MID Front Bumper with Brawler Bar.
Recovery Shackle Tabs
Optional Recovery Shackle Tabs are modeled after the high clearance tabs designed for our hard core BFH series bumpers. These tabs are angle to provide maximum approach angle. They are CNC machined from 1" thick steel billet, specifically designed to accept our heavy duty 3/4" Recovery Shackles. Selecting this option will get you a pair of these tabs, expertly welded to the Brawler™ MID bumper.
Optional Brawler™ MID Skid
The optional Brawler™ MID Skid attaches to the bottom of the Brawler™ MID bumper to conceal and protect the stock "crash bar", plus it has an extension to protect the electronic swaybar disconnect motor found on Rubicon JK's. The skid is made of CNC laser-cut 3/16" plate steel, precision brake-formed for a precise fit to the Brawler™ MID front bumper.
A separate version of the Brawler™ MID is available without the "Brawler Bar". The Brawler™ MID comes to you as bare steel, ready to accept paint or powder coat in the color of your choice. A powder coat option for this item is not currently available directly through Poison Spyder. See your nearest Poison Spyder dealer for powder coating options through a coating shop near you.
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Image Galleries
Here is our entire collection of images for this product. We're constantly adding more photos so check back often if you don't see a shot with a specific angle or installation you are looking for. Do you own this item already? We'd love to have your photos to add to our collection. Just send the hi-res images via email to
[email protected] .
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Features & Benefits
At Poison Spyder we strive to build superior features into every aspect of each product we make. Every feature has a reason for being included in the design. Here are a list of the most important of these features, along with an explanation of the benefits of each. Consider these important factors when shopping for products, and compare the competition to Poison Spyder's features and benefits!
Feature
Benefit
"Mid" Width
Compared to Full Width bumpers, this allows better clearance for large tires with suspension fully compressed and wheels turned all the way. Allows tires better access to vertical obstacles when approached at an angle. Provides better grille and fender protection, and tire coverage, compared to "Stubby" bumpers.
3/16" Plate Steel Construction
Lighter than bumpers constructed of 1/4" plate, but faceted design and internal gussets yield superior strength.
CNC Laser Cut & Brake Formed
Precision fit with consistent quality from unit to unit. Cleaner edges than plasma or flame-cut components.
Multi-Faceted Design
The best possible ground clearance and approach angles available without cutting Jeep's frame. Multiple bends also provide greater structural strength than flat, un-bent plate.
High Clearance Recovery Shackle Tabs
Angled for improved obstacle clearance and approach angle. Designed to conform to the angles of the bumper to reduce hang-ups when approaching steep obstacles. CNC machined from 1" plate steel for ultimate strength. Shackle tabs are optional
Captured Grade 8 Mounting Bolts
Easy bolt-on installation without having to be a contortionist to hold a wrench on to both ends of the fastener.
Internal Strengthening Gussets
Plate steel gussets, strategically placed to brace winch mounting area.
Winch Mount On Top
Allows for maximum strengthening of the winch mounting area with internal gussets. Recessed winch mounting is either weaker or much heavier due to the thicker plate steel required to adequately strengthen the winch mount.
Recessed OE Fog Light Mounts
Provides re-use of factory fog lamps, protects them in recessed buckets with CNC laser-cut mounting flanges.
Fog Light Harness Mounting Holes
Quickly and easily re-install the factory fog light harness. Correctly placed holes accept the factory Push-in loom holders.
Optional Brawler Bar
Protects winch, grille and radiator from trail hazards and potential rollover damage. Provides a measure of front-roll protection. Visible from the driver's seat, acts as a "feeler" when approaching steep obstacles.
DOM Tubing (Optional Brawler Bar)
Much stronger than HREW welded seam tubing.
Plate or DOM Gussets (Brawler Bar)
Choose from plate style or tube style gussets. Fully strengthens the Brawler Bar. Fully welded, strength can not be matched by bolt-on bars and stingers, or those without gussets.
Fairlead Mount Sold Separately
Easily installs when winch is installed. When a winch is not installed, the top of the bumper is left clean and unobstructed.
Lower Skid Sold Separately
Allows the option of cutting off the factory "crash bar" for maximum ground clearance and approach angle. Easily installs for those wishing to keep, protect and hide the crash bar.
Swaybar Disconnect Protection
Part of the optional Lower Skid, protects the vulnerable and expensive electronic swaybar disconnect mechanism from rock damage.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Got a question about this product? We've tried to cover the most frequently asked ones below. You may also want to check our
Master FAQ Page for more general questions about Poison Spyder, our products, ordering and shipping. Don't see an answer to your question? Ask our sales department by email at [email protected] , and we'll get back to you as soon as possible with the information you need.
Q: Does installing the Brawler™ MID require cutting my frame?
A: No, the Brawler™ MID may be installed without making any cuts or modifications to your Jeep's frame. This differs from our BFH bumper for JK, which does require cutting off a few inches of the frame along with the factory "Crash Bar" to gain maximum clearance. The Brawler™ MID is a simple bolt-on, however you do have the option of cutting off the Crash Bar for better ground clearance and a sleek appearance (the Brawler™ MID may be installed with or without the Crash Bar in place). A Lower Skid is available to hide and protect the Crash Bar, for those who wish to retain it.
Q: Will a Warn Zeon Winch fit with this bumper?
A: Warn's new line of Zeon winches are very wide and low, with the motor and gear housings at either end of the winch hanging down close to the mounting surface. On The Poison Spyder Brawler Lite, Brawler MID, and JK RockBrawler front bumpers this can cause a problem due to the slight recess in the top surface of the bumper, where the winch mounts. For this reason, we have developed a set of Zeon Winch Spacer Plates for use with this winch on these bumpers. The kit consists of a pair of 3/16" thick laser-cut steel plates, to lift the winch up enough so that the fitment is no longer an issue. Simply sandwich the spacer plates between the winch fairlead mount and the windh itself when installing. Note that you may require slightly longer winch mounting bolts when installing.
Q: Will the Brawler™ MID fit a Warn Power Plant? Or a Warn 8274?
A: The Warn Power Plant winch/compressor unit fits nicely on the Brawler-MID. On Brawler™ MIDs without the Brawler Bar, and those with the Brawler Bar with plate gussets, the Power Plant fits with no modifications. On Brawler™ MIDs with Brawler Bar with DOM tube gussets, some slight modifications are needed to fit the Power Plant. There are no provisions for mounting a Warn 8274 winch to this bumper.
Q: Why do you put the winch mount on top rather than recessed into the bumper?
A: The Brawler™ MID is engineered to be the strongest, highest clearance and lightest steel bumper of its kind. Much of that strength comes from the internal gusseting that is located inside the bumper, directly under the winch mount. To recess the winch inside the bumper would result in the winch being bolted directly to the bottom plate of the bumper without any extra support. To do this and maintain the structural integrity, the bumper would have to be made out of much thicker, unnecessarily heavier material. Also, for those not running a winch, there is no unsightly hole in the middle of the bumper.
Q: Doesn't the top-mounted winch block airflow to the radiator?
A: This is an argument often posed by proponents of the recessed winch design. At first thought it sounds intuitive. But in practice it has not proven to be an issue. We live and wheel primarily in the deserts of the American Southwest—the hottest part of the country—and we've never had an overheating problem that was attributable to a top-mounted winch blocking airflow. There is still plenty of room for air to move around and behind the winch and through the grille to the radiator.
Q: Do I have to run the Lower Skid Plate?
A: No you do not. In fact, we recommend cutting the factory "Crash Bar" off of the Jeep's frame and installing the Brawler™ MID without the Skid Plate for maximum ground clearance and a sleek appearance. Note that this will leave your electronic swaybar disconnect mechanism vulnerable on Rubicon edition JK's. The Lower Skid is recommended for those who are concerned about the safety of the swaybar disconnect, and who do not wish to cut off the Crash Bar. It both hides the unsightly crash bar and protects the swaybar disconnect.