Aluminum plate bumper strength?

I'm not so much concerned with hitting other cars, but up in this neck of the woods we have an abundance of wildlife. How would something like the Relentless aluminum plate bumper hold up to an impact with a deer at 100kph (roughly 60mph)? The GF wrecked her Ford Focus a few years ago when she hit one so that is something that is always on our minds when traveling. Obviously steel plate would be better but then I'd need a suspension upgrade and I don't really intend to off road enough to make that extra cost worth while.

 

Hmmm, not many aluminum plate bumper owners around I'm guessing?

My plan B would be an ARB bumper with 5100's all around and the Eibach coils, something like this: http://toyteclifts.3dcartstores.com/Bilstein-Adjustable-lift-kit-with-5100-shocks_p_132.html. The cost isn't too crazy. How much lift is achieved using these coils and setting the shock at the 0" clip setting? The OME set-up starts to get a little too pricy as wheeling isn't my priority. I'd also prefer to keep the lift around 2-2.5". Not worried about leveling. I actually don't mind a bit of rake as it levels out nicely when I am towing the trailer.

 

To really answer this, you would need to do some serious calculations.

You'd have to know the speed of the vehicle, the exact contact point, the exact size of the deer, the exact direction the deer was traveling in relation to the vehicle, then perform finite element analysis with the exact dimensions and material thicknesses of the bumper................................or you could just hit one and tell us how it went.

 

With my luck, I'd go looking for a deer to hit to test the bumper and find a moose or wood bison instead. They are called Alaska Highway speed bumps for a reason...

 

Then I'd say get a steel plate bumper and hit anything you want

 

Aluminum bumper would be plenty strong

 

Aluminum is 1/3 the strength of steel. Just how big are these deer? Haha

 

Just to give you an idea of what we deal with up here: https://www.google.ca/search?q=wood...q=alaska+highway+wood+bison&safe=off&tbm=isch

I think the ARB is the way to go. I'll have to budget for a suspension upgrade first though.

 

Aluminum would be plenty strong

 

If that was my potential target, the strength of my bumper would be the least of my concerns.

 

I dont think anything short of a full cage will protect you from driving into a bison lol

 

I had aluminum front bumper on mine and beat the crap out of it. Never hit a deer or tree though. It held up plenty fine banging in to rocks the size of deer at 4 lo speeds.

 

Most work boats in these parts are made from 1/4" aluminum and they beat the living shit outta them , no problems

 

OP, check out aluminess bumpers. It's what I'm wanting for mine.

 

lol, true enough. Mostly it's the deer that are a problem. Also the odd moose, elk or caribou running across the highway. Not that I'm planning to hit anything but hey, you never know. We were doing about 110 kph when the GF hit that deer and it was pretty scary. The total repair bill was $7300 but the insurance company didn't write it off.

OZ-T makes a good point about aluminum boats. Most of the river boats in the area are aluminum hulled and they do take a pretty good beating. I'll have to look into it some more. Not having to shell out extra money for a lift would be ideal at this point.

 

How you hit a deer matters too , it may just go over the bumper , steel or aluminum , so if you're concerned mainly about animal strikes you may want to make sure you get a style that has the upper headlight protetion bars

 

Oh I intend to. Thanks.

Torn between the ARB which by all accounts is a beast and the Relentless which looks way more awesome.

 

If you decide to go with an ARB and OME set up , check out OUIPACK for ARB / OME stuff in Canada

 

Thanks!