Hammerhead Bumpers for Dodge Ram 2500/3500

The Four Front Bumper Guard Styles, Least Steel to Most

Low Profile: no brush guard

The plain one. Steel across the front, nothing above bumper height. It gives up all grille and headlight coverage. In exchange it costs the least in its year. The 1994-2002 version weighs 118 pounds, the lightest front bumper on this page.

Pre-Runner: a hoop over the center

The pre-runner guard is one loop of 1.75 inch tubing above the grille. It shields the middle of the grille and gives you high mounting points for lights. Your headlights stay exposed. The weight cost is small. On the 2010-2018 trucks it runs 160 pounds against 140 for the low profile.

Formed Guard: sheet instead of tube

The formed guard front bumper trades tubing for sheet steel, bent solid and reading as one piece with the bumper. It covers more grille than a pre-runner hoop does. This one starts at the 2010 trucks. Nothing older gets it.

Full Brush Guard: the X-Series

The most steel Hammerhead puts on this truck, and the style it calls the X-Series. Tubing runs up both sides and across the top, so the grille and both headlights sit behind steel. Every version is winch-ready. The 2019 and newer front bumper weighs 326 pounds, the heaviest on this page. One caveat comes straight from Hammerhead: oversized aftermarket fender flares are not guaranteed to clear the outer tubes.

Ram HD owners ask the same two questions before they spend this kind of money: is the steel worth it, and how fast does it get here. Both are answered in our honest review of Hammerhead bumpers, including what their quality checks actually catch before a bumper ships.

What the Nose of the Bumper Can Hold

Winch-ready fronts

These carry a winch tray behind the steel. The tray takes a winch, or it takes Hammerhead's front receiver hitch in place of one. The listing names which of the two it is set up for.

Non-winch fronts

These take neither, and Hammerhead prints that on the listing. There is no empty tray waiting behind the steel. So the money you save up front is the door you close. If a winch sits anywhere in your plans, order the winch-ready version of the same guard style now.

On the 2003-2005 trucks the decision is already made. Hammerhead builds only winch-ready fronts for those three years, in all three guard styles it offered then. The 2006-2009 trucks get the choice back, in low profile and pre-runner.

The shackle mounts are not bolted on. Each one passes through the bumper into the same surface that mounts to the frame, welded on the inside and the outside. Plan the lift before the wrench. The lightest front here is 118 pounds and the heaviest is 326.

Where the List Gets Shorter

Adaptive cruise control

Every 2019 and newer front bumper on this page carries the same manufacturer note. It does not work with adaptive cruise control. If your Ram has that option, these fronts are out. The rear is not affected.

The Power Wagon

The 2010-2018 fronts handle it. The winch-ready ones fit once you bolt an added fairlead to the Hammerhead bumper. That is the guide the winch line feeds through. Hammerhead also lists work on the winch's engagement lever and the factory winch mount bracket. The non-winch low profile and pre-runner fit after the factory winch comes off. From 2019 on, Hammerhead rules the Power Wagon out on every front here.

Parking sensors

Sensor support is set per bumper, not per year. Two of the 2019 and newer fronts list the factory sensors as supported. Two others state flatly that they do not work with sensors. Hammerhead adds one line of its own: it cannot guarantee your factory sensors will work with its bumpers. Read the part, not the year.

The 4500 and 5500 chassis cab

Most 2010 and newer fronts list the 4500 and 5500 next to the 2500 and 3500. Hammerhead asks for a VIN and a photo of your front end on those, because the chassis cab front end split mid-model-year. Each listing names the models it covers.

Gas or diesel

Your engine is not a variable here. No listing on this page splits by engine, only by year and truck. A diesel and a gas truck of the same year order the same front bumper.

Thirty Years of Rear Bumpers, One Thickness

Every rear bumper here is quarter-inch steel plate, and they all land between 106 and 115 pounds. That holds from the 1994 trucks to the newest HD. Tag lights are included, unless your factory tag lights carry over. The 1994-2002 rears add reverse lights.

Through 2009 you pick a profile. There is a standard rear and a flush mount that sits tight to the body. From 2010 on, the flush mount is the only one here, and it is cut for the factory parking sensors.

The newest rear breaks the pattern

The 2019 and newer rear bumper drops the shackle mounts and works with the factory tow hooks instead. It keeps the factory sensors and the factory plate lights. It has no place for the trailer camera connector, which is the add-on plug and not your backup camera.

US shipping is free. The fit is guaranteed on every part here. If Hammerhead is not the answer for your truck, the Dodge Ram 2500/3500 bumper page carries every other brand we stock for it.

Frequently Asked Questions