Hefty Fabworks Aluminum Front Bumper and Skids

[STX4Runner]

Bumper looks good. I like the light weight option. Does the transfer case skid only attach to one frame rail and the transmission skid in front of it? If so, you want to be careful you don't hit it real hard. I could see that possibly being a problem.

 

[nguyenn]

Awesome looking rig. I'll be getting the same bumper soon too ;-)

 

[Miguelon]

Love the weight savings of aluminum. It's a full bumper for the same weight as the SSS slimline. How about titanium? Jk :becky:

Meh.....I'm holding out for the Unobtanium model.

 

[comtn4x4]

Bumper looks good. I like the light weight option. Does the transfer case skid only attach to one frame rail and the transmission skid in front of it? If so, you want to be careful you don't hit it real hard. I could see that possibly being a problem.

Yes the transfer case skid attaches only as you saw it on the one side in the rear. I asked Chris about it and he says it is well reinforced on the underside and has had no issues. He runs the skids on his truck

 

[Dalko43]

Totally being the contrarian here, but how are the aluminum skids expected to hold up on rocky terrain?

I really like the weight reduction and I think aluminum is less inclined to rust out on you. The price and the durability are the only issues keeping me on the fence.

 

[comtn4x4]

Totally being the contrarian here, but how are the aluminum skids expected to hold up on rocky terrain?

I really like the weight reduction and I think aluminum is less inclined to rust out on you. The price and the durability are the only issues keeping me on the fence.

IMO it's all depends on you and how you use your truck. (or your intended use). If you're going to be rock crawling and dragging your truck across rocks constantly then steel might be a better choice. If you are more of an overland user (like me) I think it would be fine. For Mall crawling they are perfect :wacko:
I have seen some pretty bashed up aluminum plates but they seem to do fine. They bend a bit but protect what is under them so that's their purpose. I haven't heard of any catastrophic failures from any manufacture.
They do cost more but I figure much of that is made up in fuel savings due to the lower weight. A steel bumper and skids would weigh about 150 pounds more. (After install of the bumper skids and winch I noticed no power loss btw. I am tracking gas mileage and will get back to everyone on that)
My rig is my daily driver and weekend off roader so for me the compromise makes sense.

Again these are just my opinions. Chris makes all his stuff in steel too so you can have it either way. And if you want something custom he'll work on that for you too

 

[Engineer]

Totally being the contrarian here, but how are the aluminum skids expected to hold up on rocky terrain?

I really like the weight reduction and I think aluminum is less inclined to rust out on you. The price and the durability are the only issues keeping me on the fence.

Not sure how the prices are coming out now but unless its a huge markup I think its well worth it. I love my Alu. RCI skids, no rust, no touch ups, reasonable weight and have held up to mild use just fine.

 

[LawnDart]

My front bumper is aluminum, my rear is steel. Steel is the most practical choice for a rear tire carrier bumper because of how much weight is cantilevering off the back spindel. But if you scratch it you need to be quick to touch it up so rust doesn't set in.

My rig is for overlanding so I'm a big fan of aluminum whenever possible. Again as stated it comes down to your uses.

 

[wfo9]

Totally being the contrarian here, but how are the aluminum skids expected to hold up on rocky terrain?

I really like the weight reduction and I think aluminum is less inclined to rust out on you. The price and the durability are the only issues keeping me on the fence.

How do your aluminum wheels hold up....?

I know they are wrapped in rubber.. but they will also contact rocks....the point is that material does not define strength. The engineering, thickness and support structure does.

I have aluminum skids and they have held up well overall. I modified the underlying support a bit and plan to do a few more gussets to make them solid enough to take anything reasonable I can throw at them.

Now for my dedicated trail rig that I allow to drop off 5ft ledges.. vs getting winched up if I get stuck... Yea huge heavy 1/4 steel plate is nice there...

Properly designed aluminum skids should hold up fantastic on any 5th gen. Key here is design/engineering....

 

[wfo9]

My front bumper is aluminum, my rear is steel. Steel is the most practical choice for a rear tire carrier bumper because of how much weight is cantilevering off the back spindel. But if you scratch it you need to be quick to touch it up so rust doesn't set in.

My rig is for overlanding so I'm a big fan of aluminum whenever possible. Again as stated it comes down to your uses.

Again, no reason a properly designed aluminum swing out bumper would not work just fine. It is a much more complex engineering and fabrication tasks... but no really much of a challenge in the grand scheme of things. I can cantilever a 10,000 lbs trailer (1k tongue weight) on an aluminium hitch with no concerns at all.

 

[LawnDart]

Again, no reason a properly designed aluminum swing out bumper would not work just fine. It is a much more complex engineering and fabrication tasks... but no really much of a challenge in the grand scheme of things. I can cantilever a 10,000 lbs trailer (1k tongue weight) on an aluminium hitch with no concerns at all.

Except more buttressing and engineering is required. And the margins on a lot of these bumpers are rather low, so steel is a more viable option when you weight cost:materials

 

[Dalko43]

How do your aluminum wheels hold up....?

I know they are wrapped in rubber.. but they will also contact rocks....the point is that material does not define strength. The engineering, thickness and support structure does.

I have aluminum skids and they have held up well overall. I modified the underlying support a bit and plan to do a few more gussets to make them solid enough to take anything reasonable I can throw at them.

Now for my dedicated trail rig that I allow to drop off 5ft ledges.. vs getting winched up if I get stuck... Yea huge heavy 1/4 steel plate is nice there...

Properly designed aluminum skids should hold up fantastic on any 5th gen. Key here is design/engineering....

All the same, it would be very interesting to see some comparison testing done on various types of terrain.

I'm by no means a rock-crawler myself, but the whole point of having skids, even for overlanding, is to prevent damage to the underside of your vehicle should you encounter rocky or rough terrain.

 

[wfo9]

All the same, it would be very interesting to see some comparison testing done on various types of terrain.

I'm by no means a rock-crawler myself, but the whole point of having skids, even for overlanding, is to prevent damage to the underside of your vehicle should you encounter rocky or rough terrain.

Again, its not the material so much, but more the engineering. Properly built aluminum skids will hold up just fine. I've wheeled my 5th gen in rocks a bunch with no skid issues to speak of. Most skids will not last forever, but if it is protecting the item above it... it is doing its job. They will eventually need to be replaced, but that is what they are for.

If you are on your skids all the time.. you are doing something very wrong in the first place.... Get bigger tires or run different trails. They are not there to drive on.... or constantly take full weight hits. Nothing wrong with steel... but aluminum feel like a better choice for an overland/light duty trail rig. Like most things, no one right answer for everyone.

 

[Dalko43]

Again, its not the material so much, but more the engineering. Properly built aluminum skids will hold up just fine. I've wheeled my 5th gen in rocks a bunch with no skid issues to speak of. Most skids will not last forever, but if it is protecting the item above it... it is doing its job. They will eventually need to be replaced, but that is what they are for.

If you are on your skids all the time.. you are doing something very wrong in the first place.... Get bigger tires or run different trails. They are not there to drive on.... or constantly take full weight hits. Nothing wrong with steel... but aluminum feel like a better choice for an overland/light duty trail rig. Like most things, no one right answer for everyone.

I'm not trying to turn this into an argument...just saying I'd like to see some comparison testing done. It's a lot of money to be throwing down for what you and I would agree is a wear item; some long-term reviews and/or testing would make a purchasing decision a lot easier for some people.

 

[JWaldz]

Properly designed aluminum skids should hold up fantastic on any 5th gen. Key here is design/engineering....

This is the key. Aluminum is very temperamental compared to steel. When built/welded in a controlled environment with the correct engineering there is no reason to doubt aluminum on it's strength. It can be just as strong or even stronger than steel in some situations.

I always make the joke about airplanes when it comes to aluminum and people dogging it. I'll ask if they have ever flown in an airplane made of steel. You can pretty much guess what their answer was and what the look on their faces were after they thought about it lol.

 

[Dalko43]

This is the key. Aluminum is very temperamental compared to steel. When built/welded in a controlled environment with the correct engineering there is no reason to doubt aluminum on it's strength. It can be just as strong or even stronger than steel in some situations.

I always make the joke about airplanes when it comes to aluminum and people dogging it. I'll ask if they have ever flown in an airplane made of steel. You can pretty much guess what their answer was and what the look on their faces were after they thought about it lol.

Yes, but as I understand it, the primary reason for airplanes using mostly aluminum in their construction is for reasons of weight savings, not because aluminum offers some inherent strength or durability over steel.

I don't even know if anyone has tried to build a steel airplane; I'm sure someone could google it. But I'd imagine that such an aircraft would weigh drastically more than an aluminum construction which would affect many aspects of the craft's performance: handling, fuel range, power-to-weight ratio, ect.

 

[Runn4est]

Yes, but as I understand it, the primary reason for airplanes using mostly aluminum in their construction is for reasons of weight savings, not because aluminum offers some inherent strength or durability over steel.

I don't even know if anyone has tried to build a steel airplane; I'm sure someone could google it. But I'd imagine that such an aircraft would weigh drastically more than an aluminum construction which would affect many aspects of the craft's performance: handling, fuel range, power-to-weight ratio, ect.

I think we're talking about airliners, but the old Russian Migs were constructed of a lot of steel. They were not nimble.

 

[cheeser]

In looking at the skid plates, there seemed to be a lot of washers being used as spacers under the bolts. Is that because the factory bolts are too long? Just asking as I wondered if I needed to obtain shorter bolts for when mine arrive.

 

[MasonCO]

How about titanium? Jk

Scandium. I'd like an aluminum/scandium alloy front bumper. Might need to import from scrap from Russia though, so it will take a while

 

[Jono.ful]

sorry to bump an old thread here, but I have a Hefty rear and skids en route so I'm reading up where I can....

the point about aluminum skids that I think everyone is missing here so far is that because of the relative softness of aluminum, they might not be the best choice where you want to slide over obstacles (ie. rocks). the comparison was made to aluminum wheels, and how they hold up after hitting rocks etc (or curbs in your wife's case), my wheels have had several good contacts with rocks while wheeling, and the result has always been the same: a jagged gash. looking at my sliders, or even the low quality ARB skids, or the stock tin foil gas tank skid - all of which have taken significant abuse - there certainly are large scratches from being dragged over rocks (dents in the case of the arb's and tank skid) but the damage is superficial due to the hardness of the material. it may be heavier, but steel will side whereas aluminum grabs.
So if all you plan to encounter are tree roots and dirt, by all means go aluminum. But if you see water crossings and rocks, suck it up and get the steel. It's not as if these things are a huge issue to put on and take off if you are concerned about weight on a daily driver.