Matt in AR

Anybody got a TJM -13 aluminum on thier rig? I have a 98 4runner and a lead on a used one and was curiouse:

1. How you think it fits on your rig (i.e., tight, not gaps, etc).

2. Had any problems becuase it is aluminum?

3. And if you had any pics?


I am not planning on putting on a winch and was not even considering the ARB or TJM set up because of the weight, but after one takes off the factory bumper, the aluminum set-up (I am told the tjm 13 is about 65 pounds minus your factory bumper weight) is lighter than running a factory bumper with say a manic or smittybilt grill guard (called smittybilt today, their outland grill guard has a shipping weight of 73 pounds meanding the guard is likels about 60 pounds).

Thoughts?

rimpainter.com

I would be interested too, but one might question the strength of aluminum. Why replace the factory bumper with a bumper that isnt functional? One small bump and the aluminum TJM would have a nice dent - just like the factory set-up. Am I right?

Matt in AR

well, I certainly can't say for sure, and by no means as strong as the steel, but the guy at TJM was pretty confident that the aluminum set-uip was significantly stronger than the factory set up. Although I did not ask him specifically, during our conversation he also threw in the "gauge" of the aluminum and how it was not "soft" and was not subject to denting easily (he used trees as an example but did laugh when I asked about rocks).

rimpainter.com

Well all worth considering. I am also trying to avoid adding huge amounts of weight to my rig (for performance reasons). So, a bumper of this nature may be worth looking in to.

What kind of price are we talking here?

Matt in AR

new - like $985

blemished - $585

used and I have to take off - $350

In passing, I called mike at extreme and he thinks he could get us in on his previose group buy and get it for around $760.

Problem on the used on is it is on a 99 & that poses some kind of bracket problem for being able to just bolt it on to my 98.

Robinhood150

When you design with Aluminum, you design it with much thicker wall thicknesses than steel. Depending on what thickness they use, it could be as strong as the steel bumper, but based on your conversation it sounds like it's not quite as strong. I'm pretty sure it's much much stronger than the factory one though. The fact that the Al TJM weighs as much as the flimsy steel smittybuilt (which is not a bullbar) shows that the tjm is built beefy.

The only problem I can see is that Al will tend to gouge easier.