Aluminess on GMC's with FWC Hawk

[97grandby]

I spoke with them at the Overland West show for about 30 mins and was really impressed with their products. They are expensive, but quality normally is. It is clear they are making so much money on their currently product line they are in no rush for custom or any other type of work that doesn't fit their current line up. I offered to drop off my truck for a month to have them put some boxes on it and a swing tire carrier and said they wouldn't even consider it. Hard to blame them, if you are already turning down business on your current products, why try and offer custom work. Kind of like FWC has done in recent years. Like Henry Ford said, you can have any color of car you want, as long as that color is black.

 

[R5Hotshot]

Update on the aluminess rear bumper: 2008 GMC2500HD Z71 with 2007 Hawk
Extremely happy with it. The added storage on the rear of the truck is great. I installed the rear backup lights which I also ordered from aluminess (wired them to come on with reverse gear and also the option to manually turn them on/off from inside the cab of the truck). For reference that is a 35x12.5x18 tire on the rear. The bumper is extremely sturdy and has held up to my winter abuse so far. It holds up well in single digit temperatures after unplanned stays stuck in the snow.

My only concern is having the swing arms close on me while I'm inside the camper. If that occurs, I'm trapped and will have to utilize the emergency exit through the side window. At night, I drop the pins to hold open both swing arms.
Still trying to figure out some sort of safety release from inside the camper.
All in all, I'd recommend this bumper 100%

 

[Bombsight]

R5 ... If that's not a custom GMC bumper then I'm assuming the Aluminess Chevy bumpers fit GMC's?

Everyone says that Chevy and GMC's are one in the same .... so if that's true, I cant see why they aren't interchangeable.

.. btw, that's a really nice rig you have.

 

[Stalking Light]

I use the pins to hold my swing arms open as well. So far, after a couple of years, no problems but I suppose a prankster could lock me in. Not sure how easy it would be to get my elderly body through the emergency exit.

 

[R5Hotshot]

Bombsight-
The rear bumper will fit both the GMC and the Chevy. It is my understanding that the front is where there is a slight difference in bolt patterns/body lines. When I ordered the rear in August of last year, Aluminess had only done one GMC front bumper at that time. I'm not sure if they have done anything else since then. I don't have a front bumper on my setup.....yet.

 

[Bombsight]

Awesome! ... Good to know, R5.
I will confirm with them and order one as soon as possible if so.
I don't really care for the excessive bar fab around the side of the tail lights but I guess its required for support of tire/rim and box content.

 

[rotti]

Maybe its just the angle of the picture but it appears the taillights are for the most part blocked from view.
I see potential po-po interaction.

 

[Stalking Light]

It is strong. I didn't have mine latched good once and the swing out swung open when I turned. Scared me but no damage. I now have a pin to latch the swing outs together for safety.

 

[dakozicki]

the bumper looks great! I have the same truck and have been wondering if I should spend that kind of money on a truck that is 10 years old. But, given that mine is a diesel and only has 80k miles, it might be worth it. It would be nice to have some extra storage as I spent a lot of time in Death Valley recently loading and unloading firewood.

I have a couple of questions:
1. I see that you don't have your jacks on, but will they clear the outside of that bumper, or do you have to install new wider jack plates?
2. How eas is it to remove those swing arms (if you know)?
3. Are your truck's taillights still clearly visible?

Thanks

 

[dharte]

I recently added an Aluminess rear bumper with tire carrier and galley box to my F250-it is a great product. The only issues I have had is that the latches don't work so well when they are dirty-I had to double and triple check they would shut on my recent trip to Death Valley where i was off road a lot. Next time I travel I will bring a can of spray lubricant/cleaner. The other issue I have had is the back up sensors are not quite aimed right and I get random beeping sometimes with no obstacles behind me. Finally, I wish they could come up with a simpler way to lock the swingarms open (and closed). Those pins are not always easy to align, push in and pull out.

 

[R5Hotshot]

@rotti: It's just the angle, tail lights are not covered and are clearly visible

@dako: Wider jack plates will be necessary. I measured it and it's about 1/4" gap so I'd just slap on the wider plates. I have not yet attempted to take the camper off, I have it on the truck 100% of the time and just drive a commuter car for my daily driver. Taking off the swing arms is a simple procedure and every time you'd want to put on or take off the camper, both arms will have to be removed.

@dharte: I agree a better design to lock them open would be great! I haven't noticed a problem with mine locking shut, even after getting it pretty dusty and dirty with road o
grime. I still make a full lap around the truck every time I move it and give the swing arms a good pull though.

 

[Stalking Light]

I use a pin like this to lock my swing arms closed when driving: https://www.etrailer.com/Accessories-and-Parts/Roadmaster/RM-910032.html?feed=npn&gclid=Cj0KEQjwtu3GBRDY6ZLY1erL44EBEiQAAKIcvghBcIgTK5BIVv9cDKGxdFyssh89s0xMS-oC_QvZzroaAjZg8P8HAQ

 

[Bombsight]

I sure would like to see detailed photos of the Aluminess twin swing out armed bumper. All of the photos on their website is from a light year away.

 

[R5Hotshot]

@bombsight
What kind of photos are you looking for? I can take all of the photos you want tomorrow

 

[R5Hotshot]

@stalking light
Do you have the double latches on the bottom of the swing arms? Or do you have a different design?

 

[Stalking Light]

@stalking light
Do you have the double latches on the bottom of the swing arms? Or do you have a different design?

Each swing arm has its own latch and there is a hole where they come together where I suppose you could put a padlock but I just use the pin as a suspender/belt type of thing.

 

[Stalking Light]

 

[R5Hotshot]

Oh okay! That's a good security measure. You have the older style "trigger" locks.
I'll take a picture of mine tomorrow and show the updated version that aluminess is now using

 

[Bombsight]

@bombsight
What kind of photos are you looking for? I can take all of the photos you want tomorrow

Beggars can't be choosey.