CBI Offroad - Less than enthused

This might be a long one, but information like this needs shared so we can all learn and help each other. I have a 2018 SR5 Double Cab Tundra.

March 11th I ordered sliders and a covert bumper from CBI. Expected ship date was April 30th. Sweet! Long story short, they didn’t get shipped until August! Every time I called it was ‘one more month, you’re in production now’. First red flag - should’ve canceled this order then.

Fast forward to me finally getting the bumper and sliders. They sent me a covert bumper with some ‘prototype’ bull bar attached that I didn’t order. Kinda irritated me because I’m sure that only added to the lead time. They did offer to take it back and ship me what I ordered but didn’t want to take that risk because of how horrid the lead time turned out to be.

I digress. Slider install first. The rear most bolt on either side can’t even be installed, it’s too long and hits a body Mount flange. I can get a nut on but can’t get it more than finger tight. Can’t get a socket or even an open ended in there. After back and forth with CBI and them assuring me these sliders are made for the Double Cab & the Crew Max (despite the install video being for the crew max). They ended up refunding me $150 and I’ll likely weld it on.

Bumper install. Absolutely zero instructions. Nothing online except getting the bumper off. Sweet, kinda cheesy for the money we paid but whatever. Figured it out. Got the bumper on and the factory skid plate looks absolutely horrible with it. And it will catch every damn rock and piece of mud on an approach angle. To take it a step further, they say this will support a 12k winch. Unless you relocate whatever cooler lines are there, there’s no winch fitting!!

Below are other members who have had issues that I found on @SwampThing’s thread about also being displeased with CBI…

I’ve also put some pictures in for reference below.

@Ltaco17 i’d love to hear your experiences with all of this. Maybe we can DM and exchange numbers to talk over the phone.

Slider bolt issue; again rear most bolt on either side. For reference it’s the bolt they do around the 2:50-3:00 minute mark of this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bikYkBaBkFg

Here’s the body Mount flange blocking the access to the nut:


Hopefully these pics are big enough, but you can see how the factory skids are left exposed will cause issues offroad (which I do frequently) and it’s ugly as sin:


And lastly…whatever those cooler lines are for, they will 100% be in the way of any winch:

 

I wouldn't be too pleased at all. I can understand supply chain delay issues but shipping out prototypes with permission and a hefty discount for trying it out and reviewing is one thing. Shipping prototypes willy nilly without informing the buyer is another. That is some real BS right there. Correct fitment and decent instructions is paramount. CBI is dropping the ball it seems.

 

I 100% understand the supply chain and labor issues. It was the run around I didn’t appreciate. Nobody could tell me exactly where in the process my order was. Even a surprise prototype I can deal with since they offered a full refund. But the fitment issues with no proper resolution makes me question everything about this company. Where’s the R&D? I reached out this morning about the bumper now too so we’ll see what they say.

 

Yeaaaa… that would piss me off as well. Is that “bull bar” welded on or removable? If I ordered a covert bumper I would want just that a covert bumper… not a big ass bar sticking off of it. The styling of that bar is rather polarizing as well, for them to just add it to your bumper is pretty crappy, shame on cbi

 

I have a friend who's a dealer for CBI stuff and they are the most cluster fuck and incompetent company from the stories he tells me.

 

anything’s removable if you want it it be..lol. But it is welded.

 

The DC has a very annoying issue which you state about the rock sliders. Same thing happened to me with the WKOR sliders. Honestly, I tightened the bolt on the bottom of the frame and tightened the one behind the driver side rear cab mount with a needle nose plier.

You can get a stubby 3/4 wrench if you haven't welded it on yet.

 

That’s your power steering cooler. It’s close to any winch on any low profile bumper. I have a fabfours bumper which is wider that yours and the winch is about 1 inch away from the cooler. I’d ask them what 12k winch they claim fits there and if they have pics.

 

I’m definitely going to ask them to confirm the winch that goes with this bumper.

Still don’t like the idea of how restricted the airflow would be to those lines then.

Are there any threads you know of that go over relocating them?

 

Not that I can think of. I’ve never read about relocating the cooler, just the reservoir which doesn’t do you any good. I wouldn’t even know where to relocate it. Maybe in front of the radiator, but if that’s the case they should provide brackets and hardware for relocating it.

 

Would be too many problems for me on something that should be bolt on and done. I would send it back and find something else

 

For those looking into installing these on a DC, they still have the same issue with the rear bolt on the driver side slider. At least with mine, they only shipped (2) welded "rod nuts" to use at the front mounts. For that particular bolt, I inserted it from the outside of the frame, with the slider just barely onto the frame (~1" low). In this low position I was able to insert the bolt from the outside, around the body mount and slider gusset, then I jacked the slider up into position.

I used an extendable magnet recovery tool to blindly feed the square washer over the bolt from underneath the truck. Then I put the serrated/flanged nut in a 19mm 3/8" drive deep socket, put a couple layers of plastic film over the nut so it stayed tight in the socket, and was able to get the nut started and tighten the bolt head by hand, 1 flat at a time. This last step took 30-45 minutes and I'd recommend you take a beer break mid. To tighten I used a short/narrow 19mm wrench inside the body mount to hold the bolt head and switched to a standard socket with a 1-1/2"? extension. Then I got it as tight as I could with a 3/8" ratchet being pulled by 2 fingers. I'll go back in again with a long handled flex head ratchet so I can get more leverage.

Overall, this connection is HORRIBLE, but functional. The passenger side? Piece of cake!

 

Sorry that this happened to you, This re-assured my decision of going with ironman4x4, their installation instruction is 95% perfect (step by step), they shipped out my bumper same week and what I received is what I ordered.

 

For anyone who’s interested in this bumper I have nearly completed the install. I fit the 12k badlands winch with some modification. I have pictures I can post later or answer any questions directly. Thinking about doing a write up if there’s enough feedback.

Biggest challenge is anytime you mix OEM parts with aftermarket parts it’s a custom job. Getting gaps back to their proper width and centering everything is tough but doable.

A smaller winch would be better for figment, but for our trucks I feel like 12k is necessary. I tried to mount a Black Oak light bar but there is not enough space with the Badlands winch. Judging off measurements with the winch mounted the only decent light bar I suspect will fit is the Heretic. They have a different profile and are smaller due to their design.

Again, I have pictures and will answer questions or will do a write up if anyone needs it.

 

get your money back and order a different one. CBI stuff seems super over hyped by Youtubers

 

Thanks for the unrealistic advice at this point.