Ali Arc Bumpers....

[JR2]

Guys in searching for a front bumper replacment I found Ali Arc Inc located in Canada. I searched on the TDR and found a few post about them and then sent Ali Arc and email inquiring about there products. I just got a reply and let me tell you the price is way beyond reasonable. I can't post prices and all but I will can tell you that the bumper pictured bellow is a couple hundred cheaper than the UTE group purchase price and that was with shipping to my house. Ali Arc makes big rig bumpers that withstand moose-semi collisions and I am guessing that the pick up bars are tough too. All this and the whole thing weighs 80 Lbs.



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Check em out at www.aliarc.com



Oh ya, they said they could cut fog light holes in it for me if I wanted.

 

[JHansen]

They are a decent bumper John-in fact I was going to go that way before the Ute came along-but the one I looked at wasn't near as stout as a DOR or a Ute. 1/4" aluminum construction where the Ute is 3/8"-and the Ute has the extra strength advantage of its 3/8" thick steel mounts where the Ali-Arc is a 1/2" aluminum plate welded to the bumper itself-can't comment on the DOR as I have never seen one in person. They do make a model that has a hoop down on the bottom in front of the sloped piece that looks particularly Road-Warriorish... ... that's the one I was opting for before the Ute came along.



My observations.....



Jason

 

[lgibson]

They do look good and their reputation is solid. One question though, do they make them with a winch mount? I looked at their website and could not find any info on it.

 

[JR2]

I did not see anyting about a winch mount, I believe these are mostly for front end protecting.

I too am thinking about the UTE mostly because it can have a front reciever that you could then hook all sorts of stuff to, but this bumper looks tough and has to be considered. The problem with either of these is that I have to have a front liscense plate no matter what and I really don't see a great place to put a plate on either. If you put it on the ute you cover the winch hole, if you put it on the ali arc it will have to be bent to fit. The other draw back on the Ali is I don't see a place for my big driving lights. . but somthing could be worked out I am sure.

 

[NVR FNSH]

Originally posted by JHansen

1/4" aluminum construction where the Ute is 3/8"-and the Ute has the extra strength advantage of its 3/8" thick steel mounts where the Ali-Arc is a 1/2" aluminum plate welded to the bumper itself-can't comment on the DOR as I have never seen one in person.

Depending on how the Ali Arc is designed/built the 1/4" may be more than strong enough. As far as 3/8" steel vs 1/2" alum mounting plates I'm still waiting for a good answer how this is a big improvement when the truck frame is still ~3/16" thick - just like it was with the stock bumper.



Brian

 

[JHansen]

I guess I should have been a little more clear Brian in my description of the mounting systems. The Ali-Arc mounts are as described-plates welded to the bumper structure itself. The Ute mount is a whole extra subframe behind the bumper itself-basically think of the bumper as a shiny shell covering a bunch of ugly iron . The bumper bolts to the mounting frame with IIRC 3 large bolts on either side-bear with me-it's been 3 months since I put it on and a lot of water has passed under the bridge since then.....



I don't think you'll find an Ali-Arc that will take a winch-like John said their intent is more towards front-end protection. Doesn't mean they couldn't crank something out for ya if you talked to them though.....



Is either the Ali-Arc or the Ute stronger than the factory bumper? You betcha-especially the Glad-wrapped tin can that passes for a bumper on the Sport trucks . Is either stronger than the frame? I'm sure they are. Is the Ute stronger than the Ali-Arc? I would wager it is-whether or not it matters is a debatable point. In my opinion (very important underlining! ) the Ute looks better-and also in my opinion it's stronger. It's not perfect-if I had been starting with a blank piece of paper I would have made it a little wider and made the headlight protection tubes wrap all the way around to protect the front corners. I would also have added a little more in the way of air openings in the front of it. And I would have put in LED lighting in the corners instead of the incandescent stuff-that is 1 area that I plan to address myself.



One of our ABC buddies is building bumpers now-I'll have to dig through the pics I have to see if I got some good ones of his truck. They are cool looking things-winch mount is standard-and he will build either aluminum or steel depending on your preference. No idea on price though.



Jason

 

[NVR FNSH]

JHansen,

Didn't mean to bust your chops - my apologies.



I will whole heartedly agree that just about any aftermarket bumper is stronger than the stock POS. I'm just not a big fan of using half inch plate for mounting when it isn't necessary or of any real benefit. IMO the Reunal's go this route while the Pro Zap is built a bit smarter and uses additional structure to gain strength w/o paying the weigh penalty of a Reunel. I haven't seen a Ali Arc, DOR or Ute in person so I can't pass judgement on those particular bumpers. They all look great but some are literal boat anchors. I don't particulary like the looks of the Ranch Hands & King Klaw stuff - just my opinion.



Regarding the 'strength' of a bumper: I want my bumper to fail just before any damage is incurred by my frame or sheet metal. The bumper is a lot easier/cheaper to replace..... The factory bumper takes this philosophy to a new level



Brian

 

[JHansen]

No apology needed man-sometimes I would come through a lot clearer if I took an extra 5 minutes to detail out my thoughts the 1st time around... ...



You are correct when you say anything is better than the stocker-couldn't believe what they expected to pass for a bumper when I went to mount the front hitch on my Sport. I cut the "bumper"-more like a glorified beer can actually-with an exhaust ripping chisel on an air hammer! I really like the way the Ute mounts just because it gives you the option of the front hitch..... I have had my truck buried in the mud this spring to the point that the running boards were literally only a couple inches off the ground. If you're gonna try to pull it out of that kind of a mess you need a good strong point to hook to. IMO a front hitch is better because it spreads the load over both frame rails.



Jason

 

[willyslover]

J... Ian [SP?] needs to get some ##'s together along with a picture or three posted... his custom bumpers are very nice and good looking !! glad I got to see his in Calgary this year

 

[JHansen]

You're right Gary. I think Wee Scotty knows what they're gonna be worth-I don't even know how to track Ian down as he ran out of business cards before I could get one from him!



J