Disabled Explorers - Aluminess Front Bumper

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Aluminess Front Bumper

Lance pulling winch bable

I have 1000 reasons to look for lightweight solutions for my FJ Cruiser, as in 1000lbs over gross vehicle weight, as in increased tire & suspension wear and decreased fuel mileage. So when Aluminess mentioned that they were introducing an aluminum front bumper I knew that I didn't just want one, I needed one!

But that doesn't answer why Disabled Explorers should be interested in a new front bumper, well truly there are a number of important factors that a handicapped person should think about when choosing a front bumper replacement. Lightweight to minimize load on the suspension and reduce the chance of breakage, a nice bull bar to hang on to for mobility, a winch mount to aid in recover efforts and ease of access to the winch, shackle mounts that are easy to get at and even approach angle as that is one less way to get stuck or hung up. Remember for the disabled overlander not getting into trouble in the first place is the overriding concern.

Travis drilling the bumper

With the Overland Expo fast approaching Travis from Safari Pacific was a huge help with the bumper installation. He is an amazing fabricator and even with all the work going into his own rig that will soon be taking him on a solo around the world adventure he was willing to make shop space and expertise available.

Travis & I almost ready for the Overland Expo

The bumper went on much easier than I expected and was light enough that as a below the knee amputee I was able to carry it with the Warn winch installed. The instructions were straight forward and we had it all wrapped up in a matter of a few hours. The aluminum was a breeze for Travis to drill through in order to mount the winch solenoid and I notice immediately upon driving home that the front end was lighter and more nimble.

Getting stuck for the first winch test

Of course what you really want to know is how this bumper works in the real world. Well so did I so out to do a little winch testing we went. A fellow FJC owner Dan who helps take many of the fine pictures you see around here agreed to come out for a little fun and the first order of business was to get my FJC stuck.

Digging it in

Arizona is rife with sandy washes which can often strand the abled & disabled alike. This seemed like the best place to start our fun.

No where to attach a winch cable

Also common to our sandy washes is a severe lack of winch anchor points which gave us a chance to test another cool bit of gear you will be reading about soon, a Pull Pal!

Lance bringing out the Pull Pal

A Pull Pal is a bit heavy but that is to be expected of a land anchor, however the take apart folding design makes it easy to handle for just about anyone with some upper mobility. It can even be assembled with one arm!

winch access door

One thing I really like about the Aluminess bumper is the large access door to the winch. Aluminess makes bumpers for Sportsmobiles and uses this area for gear storage. The door also has a locking pop up handle that keeps anyone from playing around with your very expensive and important winch!

Attaching the winch controller

I had no problem reaching to secure the Warn winch controller and found that I could also easily reach the winch clutch lever. I hope to be testing a wireless setup soon that will make this step unnecessary.

Taking the Pull Pal for a walk

This is the only part of the process that would give someone with a severe mobility issue pause, first you have to take the Pull Pal out a fair distance then the winch cable also. I would recommend using the winch motor to unspool cable if needed but please keep an eye on that cable. This is also another reason why it is recommended not to travel alone!

The Pull Pal dug in and did it's job

The Pull Pal was happy to sink into the sand until secure and the Aluminess bumper never flexed under the load of my 6300lb rig. Remember that being sunk to the frame even on a level surface greatly increases the load on your winch.

Next to try an incline

Next it was time to up the ante, I felt that adding an incline and high centering my rig would put considerable strain on the bumper. My goal was not to break this fine bit of hardware but to make sure that it would performed as needed in real world conditions.

A nice gear selection for winching

Having added a couple of issues to the mix I also wanted to make sure I could recover the FJC, thus it was important to have a tree saver, a few shackles and a couple of pulley blocks handy. Memories of my Overland Training were floating to the surface as I thought about rigging safety and keeping my few remaining limbs intact.

You can really see how much winch access there is

Once again the ease of access to the winch solenoid and the winch itself was a really nice bonus. This would have been even more important if I was in mud, rain or any other condition that would raise my stress level.

Taking my winch cable for a walk

These are the moments when you wish you had a nicely able bodied buddy around to pull winch cable for you. In reality we as disabled persons need to understand what our limitations are so that we come home safely, even the best feeling of self reliance is overwhelmed by a feeling of stupidity if we get hurt in the back country.

Getting it all secure

A strong anchor point, a long pull and a high centered rig on an incline ought to give the bumper a workout.

A little close for comfort

The only concern I had was the bull bars nearness to the side marker lights. However the bumper never moved and I will have to take on some flex inducing trails to see if this becomes a problem.

Keeping it all lined up

Aluminess did a great job of keeping all the stresses lined up between the cable, the winch mounts and the frame. Even the shackle mounts are along this same axis. I was impressed that even under the max load and bringing the winch to almost a complete standstill the bumper never moved.

Checking out the approach angle

I try to stay away from rock crawling but it is important to know your approach angle. And while the bumper doesn't look like it would fair the best in this area it actually allowed me to put a tire on the rocks without grounding the bumper.

As you can see I was able to make the climb and also you will note I haven't figured out how I want to mate the Rasta skids to the bumper yet. I think a nice bend will do the trick but first it is very worth taking the time to think things through.

Some solid mounts!

Although I haven't had a chance to run some rough trails with these yet I have every confidence in the Hi-Lift mounts Aluminess makes. These things are super solid and secure.

The mounts hold the jack with ease

One this I like about these mounts is that since they use wheel studs you can get locking lug nuts and not have to worry about someone making off with your jack. Also it keeps the Hi-Lift within reach of wheelchair users.

My final thoughts really start with my first impressions. This bumper is only 8lbs over the stock plastic and steel factory bits so most owners will never really understand how great a lightweight front bumper is. I could tell immediately that I had less nose dive and less of a burden on my front suspension. In use it was the ease of access to the winch that really won me over. Having a locking door to protect my winch from playful or vandalizing persons means less concern that my winch will be ready when I really need it. From a design standpoint I like that all the pulling forces are in line with the frame and that Aluminess adds and extra bracket to make sure the bumper doesn't flex. I do still need to work out the mating between the skid plate and bumper but that is a minor thing compared to how happy I am with this bumper and while Arizona isn't part of the “rust belt” it is nice to know I will never have to worry about that issue.

Overall I would say that this bumper more than meets the needs of the disabled community for ease of access to the winch and shackle mounts, has nice bull bar to hold onto when moving around the front of the rig and the lightweight will keep front end wear to a minimum.

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