According to the Chevrolet Truck Data Book (that was given to the dealers/salesmen), only the front bumper was standard equipment. But I can't find the rear bumper in the section for "Optional Equipment" although the section is prefaced with the statement that "the following pages cover the more frequently used special truck options."
I'm wondering if the rear bumper was a dealer-add on of a factory part, not a true after market accessory... All of the true 3804 rear bumpers I've seen (including my own) are the heavier/thicker ones.
When you are going through the bumper collection at the swap meet, look for the one that looks just like the others, but it is waaaaaaay heavier and noticeably thicker -- enough to make you notice once you start looking for the the thicker ones. That one is the 1-ton bumper
Cosmo helped me find mine and in the process, we learned the 1/2-ton and the 3/4 ton bumpers don't quite line up correctly (but they will if you mismatch the brackets). Which is another thing as 4spdwgn says -- finding the correct brackets will be as challenging as finding the correct heavier bumper. The 1/2-ton and 3/4-ton brackets won't line up correctly. You can get them to work, but they won't be mounted correctly and the bumper will be slightly offset to one side -- which will probably be noticeable to the person behind you at the stop light.
Perhaps someone like Tim has more definitive literature that can shed some light on this.
In my own case, I think the truck looks better with a rear bumper. And I'm glad I found mine.
