Silverado 1500 Bumpers Overview

Your stock Chevy bumper is a lightweight piece of metal made of 304 stainless steel. While the front bumper is designed to withstand minimal impact, you’ll find out when you hit something how little of resistance it actually provides.

On the other hand, OEM rear bumpers are mainly made of plastic and rubber coating, which provides very little in the way of protection and safety. Your Silverado bumpers are mainly just covers meant to limit the impact of a collision to your frame, but not prevent any damage or injury.

• Greater protection and safety
• Aggressive styling and customizable colors
• Angled for aggressive or leisure off-roading
• OE fit and finish 
• Mounting points for auxiliary lights and other features 
• Lightweight plates offer better fuel economy

Aftermarket bumpers consist of heavy steel and welded flat gauge plates. Choose from lightweight aluminum plates that will run you a little extra money or heavy steel plates. Both offer options for customization and styling- depending on the model- including mounting holes for bull bars, grille guards, and d-rings for winches. 

You may notice many aftermarket bumpers are designed from laser cut materials and cold formed metal. Essentially, this affects the product design, durability, and cost. Drawn Over Metal tubing (DOM) is the end process of manufacturing tubing equipment, welding tubes together for a strong finish.

Metal tubes are cold drawn over a mandrel removing the flash weld and providing a near seamless finish. Cold drawn tubes offer great protection and reliability.

On the other hand, CNC or Computer Numerical Control tubing relies on computers to create reliable welds, mills, and grinds. For this reason, CNC tubing is more expensive, but considered more reliable.

Before you drop a $1000 on a heavy plated steel bumper, consider what purpose your bumper will be used for. Do you use your Silverado for off-roading, towing, or simply driving down dirt roads? Choosing one over the other is more of a practical matter than anything else. 

Heavyweight bumpers typically have mounting options for winches and are ideal for off-roading. Lightweight bumpers provide better fuel economy and are better suited for the casual driver. In the end, both provide aggressive styling and superior protection over stock Chevy bumpers.

Front bumpers are available in heavyweight and lightweight formations, as well as three different off-roading styles. Lightweight bumpers are ideal for the highway cruiser, while a heavyweight bumper will consist of multiple angular formations to get the most out of your off-roading. 

There are many accessories available for aftermarket front bumpers, including D-rings and mounting ports to install LED lights, bull bars, or more aggressive front fascia options. Most front bumper covers will offer winch plates, though there are lightweight front bumpers that don’t.

For greater clearance over obstacles, you’ll need a front bumper cover with a sharper angle. There are three different off-roading angles: approach, departure, and breakover. Depending on where you go off-roading and how much you do, you’ll either need a front bumper cover that limits your approach angle or one completely flush with your front fascia. 

• Approach Angle: The maximum angle from the ground your front bumper can clear
• Departure Angle: The maximum angle your car can clear over an obstacle without making contact with your rear bumper
• Breakover Angle: The angle your Silverado can clear over an arch. This is measured by the midpoint of your undercarriage to the midpoint between your tires

Calculating these angles will determine how well your Silverado will fare climbing over big rocks and off-roading obstacles.

If you’re off-roading in your Silverado, you’ll require a rear bumper with a greater departure angle so you don't damage your rear fascia. Most aftermarket rear bumpers are available in diamond or black powder finishing. An aftermarket rear bumper offers superior steel manufacturing and is meant to absorb the impact of collisions that could damage your tailgate or exhaust pipes. Many aftermarket rear bumpers come with available mounts for d-rings, tail lights, and winches.

These have many uses, including:

• Aftermarket options to add auxiliary lights
• Some products protect front lights from being cracked
• Protects the radiator and engine compartments from debris and collisions
• Aggressive look and styling

Choose from aggressive cage and brush grille guards that protect your radiator from leaves and other debris. Grille guards are not only meant to protect engine compartments from debris, but they are also designed with durable materials that can take a beating. 

Reinforce your aggressive front bumper display and protection with a grille guard or cage. While more complex setups offer superior protection, many will interfere with your auxiliary light setup. A bull bar is a much cheaper option and will mount onto nearly any front bumper design. Unfortunately, bull bars offer limited protection. 

A full-width Silverado bumper may offer mounting options for lights or even include lights right on its front panel. Choose from stealth LED light fixtures which provide you with greater visibility during the night. Many aftermarket bumper kits are designed with superior steel tube construction that offer auxiliary light options for fog lights and LEDs. Lighting mounts don’t add nor limit any protection for your vehicle, but they will be the first to break in the event of a collision.

Your new Silverado can have a little insurance with a new, reinforced steel or aluminum front and rear bumper kit. Some are available in pairs and come with customizable paint and trim to match your vehicle. 

If you do aggressive off-roading than a heavyweight steel bumper with a high departure and approach angle will add the most protection. For the rest of us, a lightweight aluminum bumper will save you money on fuel economy and add the same protection to unexpected collisions that a heavyweight bumper could.