Rear Bumper with Swing away spare tire and Storage box

[ckent323]

I own a 1993 Dodge W250 ClubCab Diesel long bed which I use to carry my FWC Keystone. This is a very reliable truck with a great engine and I have no desire to replace it.

I have seen the bumpers made by Aluminess which have a swing away spare tire as well as a swing away storage box.

Unfortunately, Aluminess does not make a bumper for the 89-93 Dodge trucks and they will not make one for me.

My preference, due to weight considerations, is to have the bumper made out of aluminum.

Does anyone know of another manufacturer of this style of bumper or a shop that will build one for me?

I live on the Central Coast of California

Thanks

Craig

 

[nikonron]

Craig, I understand you wanting aluminum but it will be much easier to find a fabricator who will build one from steel. I'm guessing when it's all said and done the aluminum one would probably only save you 50 to 75 lbs.. Ron

 

[ckent323]

Ron,

Do you have actual comparison values or are you just guessing at the weight difference?

Steel is much heavier than aluminum. Steel is about 2.5 times denser than aluminum.

Even allowing for thicker aluminum to make it equivalently strong and stiff as a steel bumper I am guessing weight savings would be closer to 1/2 that of a steel bumper.


I just checked the Buckstop web site. It says the following about steel vs aluminum bumper weight

- A typical ¾ ton full-sized bumper with grill guard weighs approximately 220 lbs
- typical ¾ ton full-sized bumper with grill guard weighs approximately 130lbs.

I expect that the weight difference for a rear bumper with swing away tire carrier and swing away storage box would be even larger since the overall bumper is larger than a front bumper.

My truck empty is already 6650 pounds. Saving over a 100 pounds on the rear bumper is meaningful. But it is a fair question if an aluminum bumper is worth the extra cost and trouble to save that 100+ pounds.

Regards,

Craig

 

[nikonron]

Craig, I'm just guessing. Won't most of the swing arm still need to be steel for strength? I do believe when using aluminum verses steel that you'll find you need to use thicker materials which is why you don't save as much as you may think. Check out Buckstop Truckware. Ron

 

[ntsqd]

The key to weight savings with aluminum is a design that is specific to aluminum. For instance light aircraft would be built quite differently if they were using steel instead of aluminum.

A custom bumper in aluminum is not going to be an inexpensive proposition. The material alone in that small volume will be close to double the cost of steel.

Someone posted here about a custom flatbed builder in Oroville or nearby that also does custom bumpers. As the flatbed they had the company make was aluminum (I think), they may be well positioned to do a rear bumper as well.

Finally, the bumper doesn't have to be 1/4" plate. A sharp design (geometry rather than mass) can still be strong when made from nearly sheet metal thickness' with thicker material used only where it is really needed. Well designed I think the bumper could be steel and still not be a huge weight penalty.

 

[Ronin]

I had a steel bumper made locally with dual swing away tire carrier and storage box. I don't know how much it weighs but I can say that I was surprised at how light it is. My welder friend and I picked it up to bolt it on and I basically used just one hand to lift up my end. My bumper doesn't have the end tubes that Aluminess uses to hang the tire carrier and storage box on. I've read that the Aluminess takes 2 people to pull the carriers off and on. I can easily pull mine off and on by myself which I have to do when I pull my camper off. The other benefit to steel is just about anybody can weld steel - don't know about aluminum. I understand your concern about weight as I had a Reinel winch bumper on another rig that weighed a ton. The rear bumper I had made is probably half the weight of the Reinel.

 

[ckent323]

Ronin,

How are the swing away bushings and latches holding up? Any issues?

Do you have access to the plans the welder used? If I had plans I could get a local welder to build me something. Not much in the way of camper and off road stuff here in Solvang. To the best of my knowledge I need to drive over an hour to get to the nearestan offroad shop for things like bumpers.

Regards,

Craig

 

[ntsqd]

If you have a design Russ Jones in Goleta is an excellent fabricator who used to desert race so he has some idea of off-road related fabrication.
https://www.yellowpages.com/goleta-ca/mip/russ-jones-metal-works-4841683?lid=4841683

At a previous employer I used his services frequently and can recommend him.

 

[ckent323]

ntsqd,

Thanks.

Are you local to the Central Coast?

 

[ntsqd]

Ventura. Used to work on the same street that Russ' shop is on.

 

[kmacafee]

Ive had Aluminess Bumpers on two Tacoma's. Living here in Minnesota where mucho salt is used on the roads in winter, I wanted aluminum to prevent corrosion. With Stainless hardware, the bumpers show no signs of corrosion in more than 6 years of use. My friends with ARB bumpers typically show corrosion within a year.

Weight? -- I installed both front and rear bumpers by myself. I have helped install ARB bumpers and its at least a two person job. That lighter weight also translates to less stress on the drivetrain.

Strong? I was sitting at a stoplight and was rear ended by an SUV doing in excess of 45 mph. Impact was so great that the entire frame was twisted and the drivers seat back broken. I walked away from that accident with minor stiffness the next day. Truck itself was demolished and that rear bumper absorbed much of the impact. The SUV that hit me had the engine driven back through the firewall crushing the legs of the passenger. A sad story until you know that they had just robbed a convenience store, stolen the SUV and were trying to escape.

Cost? they are definitely not the cheapest option but Aluminum is an excellent material for bumpers IMHO.

 

[Ronin]

Ronin,

How are the swing away bushings and latches holding up? Any issues?

Do you have access to the plans the welder used? If I had plans I could get a local welder to build me something. Not much in the way of camper and off road stuff here in Solvang. To the best of my knowledge I need to drive over an hour to get to the nearestan offroad shop for things like bumpers.

Regards,
Craig

I've done about 200 miles of gravel roads and the swing arm bushings are holding up fine. No sagging and still swing smoothly. I also like the latch he used to lock the 2 swing arms together - no way to accidentally lock yourself in the camper. He uses 3500lb axle spindles/hubs for the swing arms.. I asked if he made plans and unfortunately didn't. I left my rig at his shop for 3 days so he fab'd it up right on the truck. Hope this helps!

 

[camelracer]

Another place to check in our area is Dave Torrey at Absolute Engineering on Depot Rd in Goleta. He use to manufacture Jeep bumpers and does good custom work.

 

[ckent323]

all,

Thanks for the input and the contact info for custom fabricators in my area.

Regards,

Craig

 

[trikebubble]

I was checking out the Aluminess Tundra at the NW Overland Rally. The bumpers looked really nice. The front bumper weighed all of 85 pounds. That's roughly 1/3 of the ARB bumper ony Xterra. I'm in the same boat as you. I'm looking for new bumpers for my Tundra, and am really looking to be weight conscious. The downside is obviously the cost. Not sure where I will end up, but in a perfect time world I'd be giddy like a schoolgirl for a set of aluminum bumpers.

 

[CamperCamper]

Someone posted here about a custom flatbed builder in Oroville or nearby that also does custom bumpers. As the flatbed they had the company make was aluminum (I think), they may be well positioned to do a rear bumper as well.

I started a thread about a custom flat bed I had made in Oroville by Precision Welding. Unfortunately, they don't make bumpers any more. I spoke with them about making an aluminum front bumper for my Tundra (2015). Aluminess does not make one and they told me they have no plans to make one. I believe they do make an aluminum rear bumper for the later model Tundra.

I ended up getting an Expedition One steel front winch bumper which their website says weighs 120 lbs. We shall see!

 

[Rockcod]

I was checking out the Aluminess Tundra at the NW Overland Rally. The bumpers looked really nice. The front bumper weighed all of 85 pounds. That's roughly 1/3 of the ARB bumper ony Xterra. I'm in the same boat as you. I'm looking for new bumpers for my Tundra, and am really looking to be weight conscious. The downside is obviously the cost. Not sure where I will end up, but in a perfect time world I'd be giddy like a schoolgirl for a set of aluminum bumpers.

I can surely second these thoughts, I have been mildly surprised at the lack of rear bumpers, with swing mount, available for the F150,esp aluminum. I do understand the slide in pop up is an ideally suited, perhaps niche market. As an add on for next year, the swing mount galley/storage box Is highly desirable to me. I'm collecting bookmarks as often as we post them here. Best I've found so far was built by nearby fabricator ( See post above from Ronin). Fortunately my oversized tires will fit in the OEM spare location. Carrying a Grill/small propane bottles/charcoal starter ,muddy boots & perhaps wood if I'm not carrying it to far, importing and exporting wood borne insects across forested campsites is a growing concern.

 

[cherbinger@frontiernet.net]

I have Aluminess bumpers on my 2005 Dodge 3500, Granby, with two boxes on rear, and deer guard on front. Super sweet. Plus they told me the front bumper is only 10 lbs lighter than stock. There's a company in Canada called Herd that makes the aluminum bumpers for big rigs and saw a pickup camping that had one for his. It looked like the design would work for any truck.

 

[cherbinger@frontiernet.net]

I also have wrap around taillight protector tubes and box hangers on the rear bumpers. The clearance of the camper was so tight that I had a local weld shop make up 4- 1/8th inch x 6inch wide flat stock steel plates with 3- 3/8th inch holes on each side where the bolts go. I leave the plates bolted to the legs and when I put camper on and off bolt them back to the camper. Works great! Lots of room. Spray painted them white. $15.

 

[Wallowa]

Question for the Tundra folks...I am trying to figure out how to add ground and positive wires to the battery on my '05 Tundra...will need lots of space since I am using the Warn 8S Multi Mount for use front and rear use. That means two grounds and two positive wires to the battery.

OEM ground on my truck is crimped into the clamp and is a real issue for me.

Any photos or suggestions appreciated!

Thanks,

Phil