Aluminess Bumpers and Storage Boxes photo shoot....

[haywoodphoto@mac.com]

I am a big fan of the Aluminess product and have plastered my van with almost everything they make. The last time I was in they told me about some new Toyota products they were working on and we discussed a photo shoot. I made arrangements with a friend of mine for the location. Dave, the owner or Aluminess, Kenny, the man in charge at Aluminess, the owner of the truck Jay Peery with Evolve Sports & Designs (who came down from the LA area), Ron my video guy and myself were on scene for a half day shoot. Great weather and good times. Here are a couple of the images and hope to have a behind the scenes video out soon.

These should be up on their site soon....

 

[Dave Bennett]

I'm a big fan of Aluminess products, especially after seeing Al Walter's new Tacoma and FlipPac. Were I to build my truck again, it would be all aluminum armor except maybe the rock sliders.

 

[TOPDECK]

Wow! Those are very nice! Nice pictures too!

 

[Tim A]

Nice photos! Was off-camera lighting used?

I'm a big fan of Aluminess products, especially after seeing Al Walter's new Tacoma and FlipPac. Were I to build my truck again, it would be all aluminum armor except maybe the rock sliders.

Really? I've read that if aluminum is dented it's compromised (referring to bicycle frames, so tubing vs. flat metal) If you had aluminum skids or bumpers, and they took a hit, how does that affect their integrity? If you have 3/16" thick steel skids, would you replace them with 3/16" aluminum?

 

[clcoyle]

I'm a big fan of Aluminess products, especially after seeing Al Walter's new Tacoma and FlipPac. Were I to build my truck again, it would be all aluminum armor except maybe the rock sliders.

Yeah, I love Al's rear Aluminess bumper and I am planning on getting one soon

 

[Plannerman]

Very nice. I really like their products and am considering one for my Tacoma.


Sent via fat thumb

 

[upcountry]

Thats a lot of stuff to have that far past the bumper hanging off the toosh. How much do those boxes with all that cargo weigh?

I suppose that it is possible that even loaded they weigh less than my steel swing gate bumper/tire combo?

 

[kai38]

I have the Aluminess bumpers front & rear on my FJ Cruiser, great products and customer service.
I was thinking of starting over and building a Tacoma and was planning on their bumpers again.

 

[LBPtaco]

I'm a big fan of Aluminess products, especially after seeing Al Walter's new Tacoma and FlipPac. Were I to build my truck again, it would be all aluminum armor except maybe the rock sliders.

Yeah, I love Al's rear Aluminess bumper and I am planning on getting one soon

Iv'e seen pictures on the Aluminess website, but can someone point me in the direction of pictures of Al's bumper? If its different from the website that is...
Thanks

 

[Flagster]

Thats a lot of stuff to have that far past the bumper hanging off the toosh. How much do those boxes with all that cargo weigh?

I suppose that it is possible that even loaded they weigh less than my steel swing gate bumper/tire combo?

maybe...but I suspect that truck is way over payload capacity...even with all the aluminum bling...
I so wish we could have a "world" type small truck with a true 2000lb payload...

 

[loren85022]

Nice stuff Brent. I think that after some good product shots, the next step is to get some action shots. Mud, snow, creek crossings, beach run, etc. Sounds like a fun week of shooting. Especially if it includes an expense account.

 

[Mrknowitall]

I definitely like the aluminess bumper for the front- priced very competitively and saves weight on the front axle. In the rear, that much stuff cantilevered past the end of the frame would concern me. Some experienced European builders reccomend that the completed rig, ready to roll, not exceed 50% of the rated payload. Easier said than done, but that really helps to keep your GVW in check. Does any one know how (if at all) the Hilux axle is sronger than a Tacoma axle?

 

[Utah KJ]

The winch position does not seem to be well thought out.

 

[Aluminess]

Thanks for all the kind words everyone. We had a lot of fun that afternoon with Brent and Jay and I think the pictures turned out looking fantastic.

To answer a few of your questions, the bumper is mounted with an aftermarket hitch which allowed us to grab the frame with steel brackets instead of mounting down through the top of the hitch with the couple if tiny bolts that Toyota uses. We also utilized the hitch as a 3rd mounting point. The hitch alone has a 350+ pound tongue weight rating. This setup is very strong and allows us to put the extra weight on the rear bumper. Our Tacoma rear bumper with 2 swing arms weighs 73 pounds and each of those boxes weigh 34 pounds which puts the total weight of our product at 137 pounds.

The winch position in our front bumper is directly off the frame. You don't want to move it above the frame because it creates leverage off the frame that is not ideal for heavy duty applications. If you were to look inside the bumper at where the winch is mounted you would see that its the best place for it.

Thanks again to Brent and Jay for being a part of this project. We hope to do more of this in the future.

 

[fourfa]

I have the Aluminess front bumper and winch. The bottom of the winch, where the line feeds, is exactly between the frame rails. It just doesn't look like that because of the slant on the exterior. I don't think it's a good fit for roller-type fairleads, just because of how they stick out compared to the recessed mount on the ARB for instance. I have synthetic line and a Hawse fairlead and it works great and looks fine FWIW.