Bumpers, steel or aluminum?

[JMY24]

To start, this thread may already exist and if so please just redirect me as I have searched and couldn't find it.

I know this question comes up quite frequently and many answers lean toward steel for multiple reasons, strength, will bend not break, cheaper, etc.

But from an overlanders perspective, which is preferred by you all and why? My stock bumper has received little to no contact from previous excursions, and my Tacoma is my daily driver as well. The purpose of the bumper is for better clearance and to maintain gas mileage as this is important for longer excursions. So are aluminum bumpers REALLY that brittle and not worth the money? If I hit a deer would it be completely trashed?

 

[Mad Garden Gnome]

If you see little to no bashing in your future, I would go Alu-Minium (I love the way that word sounds).

If you hit a deer with an aluminum bumper, yea, you are probably replacing it unless you know a welder equipped for Alu-Minium.

 

[ExFil]

That's the age old question.. I have used steel bumpers in the past and really have only hit those front bumpers one or two times on the trail...I am currently building up a new tacoma and decided to go on the lighter side .. aluminum provides protection, less weight and less wear and tear on truck components etc etc.. like you my tacoma is my daily driver... my rear bumper will be steel due to pulling a boat and being part of my suspension in a sense.. my current debate is skid plates.. aluminum or steel ? Good luck with your build

 

[JMY24]

Skids are a solid steel for me. Those take impact way too often. I did end up going steel on the bumper. 120 lbs is only the weight of a small person.. right?

 

[NetDep]

I realize that I have not done that mod to my truck but I do watch with great attention what Expedition Overland does with their rigs - their former and current Tacoma builds - and they made a point in the series on the build of their 2016 Tacoma that they went with aluminum. The mention was the weight savings and the fact that the intent of overlanding and crawling were quite different - insofar as one INTENDED on hitting crap and one was incidental to hitting crap. That said - when I do get to the point of bumpers/serious skids (I have a Toyota OEM skid currently) I will most likely go aluminum.

Here is the segment wherein they discuss armor for the Tacoma and specifically mention aluminum:


Happy Wheeling!!!

 

[The other Sean]

Weight, cost, Location and intended usage is all important. I live in MN and while I do plan on adding aftermarket skid plates to my truck, I'm going aluminum. here in MN, I will encounter the occasional large boulder, BUT... 99% of the time, if I am bottoming out, it is on dirt and not rock. So.... my mileage varies from someone our west. Same will apply to bumpers. HOWEVER.... Aluminum for the bumpers may be out of my price range. SO, steel will probably be the deal.

 

[Justin Forrest]

My 2 cents as someone that's builds with steel and aluminum everyday. From what I've seen almost everybody that builds versions of there bumper out of aluminum use 1/4" 6061. It is quite hard. But not so hard the it would break upon impact. When I build my bumper in the future it will be aluminum. The weight savings is great. The one thing steel has over aluminum is abrasion resistance. This is really only a problem for skids as they take a lot of abuse being drug over rocks. Go aluminum unless you plan on rock crawling and don't care about fuel economy.

 

[NetDep]

My 2 cents as someone that's builds with steel and aluminum everyday. From what I've seen almost everybody that builds versions of there bumper out of aluminum use 1/4" 6061. It is quite hard. But not so hard the it would break upon impact. When I build my bumper in the future it will be aluminum. The weight savings is great. The one thing steel has over aluminum is abrasion resistance. This is really only a problem for skids as they take a lot of abuse being drug over rocks. Go aluminum unless you plan on rock crawling and don't care about fuel economy.

Always nice to hear from someone that knows -- you actually working with the metals means a lot!! Oh, and the quote from your sig -- best movie ever!!!

 

[Justin Forrest]

Always nice to hear from someone that knows -- you actually working with the metals means a lot!! Oh, and the quote from your sig -- best movie ever!!!

View attachment 11240

I'm a big Tarantino fan.

 

[geekhouse23]

On the front, I went with aluminum as that what was available to me locally (local TW member was selling his pelfreybilt at a price I couldn't refuse).

Just make sure you go with some solid bumper support brackets so that what you are making recoveries, you don't rip off your bumper; regardless if it is steel or aluminum. I upgraded from the pelfreybilt support brackets to much beefier and gusseted Brute Force fab:

Pelfreybilt -

Brute force fab -

Needless to say, my rear bumper will definitely be steel.

 

[JMY24]

I ended up going steel with OME 886 coils to accompany it. Reason is, I do a lot of overlanding but some crawling at parks here and there and also, one deer jumping out in front of me could be the difference in a little touch up paint and repairing an aluminum bumper for me... pretty costly going aluminum.

It's 130lbs so just the weight of a small person... I hope I made the right choice and my gas doesn't plummet too bad..

 

[Byron Eby]

I ended up going steel with OME 886 coils to accompany it. Reason is, I do a lot of overlanding but some crawling at parks here and there and also, one deer jumping out in front of me could be the difference in a little touch up paint and repairing an aluminum bumper for me... pretty costly going aluminum.

It's 130lbs so just the weight of a small person... I hope I made the right choice and my gas doesn't plummet too bad..

Everyone needs steel for deer! Just wash it off and repaint if needed LOL.