My Aluminess bumper attacks a tree!

[1leglance]

Ok well maybe not attack, but it cracked the tree in half and pushed it out of the way with no damage at all.
I was running a trail with my younger son and we came across a tree that had fallen across the trail. Almost since I bought my FJ Cruiser I had run a heavy steel front bumper so with only a quick glance to see that the tree looked fairly weak & rotten I eased up and gave'er a push.
The truck snapped and went right out of the way and it was only as I was backing up that I remembered my recent change to the Aluminess front bumper.
A quick limp out of the truck showed me not much more than a rub mark that came off easily and no tweak, bend or other sign that I had abused the aluminnum at all.
Just goes to show that lightweight doesn't mean weak!

 

[JIMBO]

:sombrero: Sure beats breaking out the chainsaw !!

KEWL

:costumed-smiley-007:safari-rig::safari-rig: JIMBO

 

[92 red cummins]

I would have used the winch too move it.(save the bumper)
just my 2 cents

 

[1leglance]

I looked at the trunk before rolling forward and it looked pretty rotten. If it hadn't moved easily then of course I would have backed up and either pulled out the handsaw and winched/shoved the remainder off the trail.
If the tree trunk had been bigger/longer than I would have started with the winch.
The most impressive thing to me was that the aluminum bumper didn't act any different than my previous steel bumper would have.

 

[Martyn]

Lance, what is it with you and trees?

Last post of yours I read you were walking up the truck of a fallen tree lopping off limbs (not your own than goodness) with a chain saw.

How many trees fallen across trails can one man find in a lifetime?

 

[Blackeye]

The most impressive thing to me was that the aluminum bumper didn't act any different than my previous steel bumper would have.

I agree with you Lance...I nailed a full size deer (or rather it nailed me) with our Aluminess bumper at 50mph. All it did was clean some of the dirt off of the bumper. Not even a scratch. I like the lighter weight and the strength combo!

Post deer strike (after washing).

You are the driver in this one.

 

[CanuckMariner/Nomad]

Tread Lightly?...hmmmm?

 

[Skylinerider]

Tread Lightly?...hmmmm?

??? He's only moving debry off the trail, so yes he is treading lightly.

 

[FlatlinesUp]

Tread Lightly?...hmmmm?

what's your CONSTRUCTIVE comment on how he should have handled the situation in your "tread lightly" methods?

 

[1leglance]

Tread Lightly?...hmmmm?

Well Jan since we have met in person & I think you might be asking an honest question I will try to explain things better.

As I mentioned in my post there was a tree fallen across the trail.
This trail is a shelf road in this section so no going around.
Also this trail is known & used here as I believe that if you have the ability to fix something then you also have a responsibility to fix it.

There were a couple of options.
1) Get out and use a handsaw to cut the tree and then lift/roll it out of the way. This presents a risk of hand injury from the saw, back injury from lifting the log and take time.
2) I could attach a snatch strap and try to break it which really increases my risk.
3) Winch cable to tree strap. Risk of injury from winch line, strap and damage to my strap. I would still have to manually move the log risking back injury.
4) Give it a little push with my bumper which also moved it out of the way, hey this option only risk my bumper and it held up great. Also it was quick and done.

So all in all what I did was clear a trail of a hazard which is endorsed by Tread Lightly and I did it in the way with the least personal risk.
If the tree had not easily cracked or if the bumper looked to be under strain I would have stopped, backed up and looked into other options.

If you have any other Tread Lightly concerns please list them with as much detail as possible so I can offer my explanations.
Thanks

 

[winkosmosis]

I'm amazed these bumpers even exist. I have learned that in the offroad community, there is prejudice against anything but thick heavy steel. Or maybe that's just the Jeep community...

 

[1leglance]

Aluminess has been building bumpers for Sportsmobiles for quite a while now. And you can see from the pic by Andy - blackeye that they are a big tough bumper.
Well when they starting making ones for the FJ Cruiser I went nuts as I was 1000lbs over GVW so any savings was bonus.
The fact that it is proving to be very strong and well built as I try winching, pulling, pushing and everything else with it just makes me happier and happier.

 

[CanuckMariner/Nomad]

Well Jan since we have met in person & I think you might be asking an honest question I will try to explain things better.

As I mentioned in my post there was a tree fallen across the trail.
This trail is a shelf road in this section so no going around.
Also this trail is known & used here as I believe that if you have the ability to fix something then you also have a responsibility to fix it.

There were a couple of options.
1) Get out and use a handsaw to cut the tree and then lift/roll it out of the way. This presents a risk of hand injury from the saw, back injury from lifting the log and take time.
2) I could attach a snatch strap and try to break it which really increases my risk.
3) Winch cable to tree strap. Risk of injury from winch line, strap and damage to my strap. I would still have to manually move the log risking back injury.
4) Give it a little push with my bumper which also moved it out of the way, hey this option only risk my bumper and it held up great. Also it was quick and done.

So all in all what I did was clear a trail of a hazard which is endorsed by Tread Lightly and I did it in the way with the least personal risk.
If the tree had not easily cracked or if the bumper looked to be under strain I would have stopped, backed up and looked into other options.

If you have any other Tread Lightly concerns please list them with as much detail as possible so I can offer my explanations.
Thanks

No slight intended Lance, my appologies if you took it that way. Just thought that others reading this initial post might think otherwise and I just wanted to get you to explain why you did it and you did that very well, thank you.

BTW, thanks again for the cigars, I am waiting for an appropriate time/occasion to light another one up and enjoy it. Had one in San Carlos on the beach one evening, great smoke! Currently stored in a friend's humidor.