New England B.S. Thread

Doing some healthy eating in preparation for Spartan Race this weekend....

 

Just doing the little 5k or is it the big one?

 

I called the bedliner guy today he shit when I told him the prices minus the paint. So insurance he I come

 

Just the 5k. We were going to do the second tough mudder in the NE area since we did the one at gunstock in Juneand it was a blast, but some more of our friends wanted to do something similar with us who aren't in fantastic shape, so we decided this would be a good starting point for them. Plus the "only" 5k Spartan race is still brutal as far a obstacles go. Makes the tough mudder ones look like childs play. I'm hoping to get a super Spartan on this year though. It's tough, have a ton of shit going on with an upcoming wedding

 

Yeah, obstacles change the nature of the race, but running 10-11 miles up and down Mt. Snow in VT was the second toughest test of determination I have ever faced.

 

Gunstock was brutal. Up and down 4 times, and supposedly far more challenging than the Mt snow course according to people who did snow last year. Obstacles were cake, it was the 12+ miles, over half of it basically going straight up black diamond trails, that were the real obstacle. But ya, after a certain point it was basically just will power moving you forward

 

It was hot for Gunstock, cold as hell for Snow. The heat will definitely ruin your day. Either way, running up mountains just sucks.

 

If I was to do a plate bumper. How much weight do they add on average? Does anyone make aluminum ones, would it be worth it, would it take my seldom abuse?

 

There's still open spots for Sundays race. In general the Spartan race obstacles are much more physical than tough mudder. And they are sadistic, they will put like 3-4 obstacles right on a row that require the same muscle groups. And if you don't complete an obstacle y you can't just go around it, you have to do 30 burpees as punishment.

For example, at the Fenway Spartan race last year they had a 500 meter row in 2 minutes, right into rope climb, into pulling a 5 gallon bucket full of concrete up to the top an a-frame using a rope and pulley, into jump roping 50 times with a like 4 inch thick piece of boat mooring rope, then about a 2 minute sprint, into the spear throw. By the time you get to the spear throw you can barely lift you're arms, then a horizontal wall climb, then into having to toss a soft ball into a can about 15 ft away. Most can't get the soft ball to the can

 

I think relentless and elite make aluminum ones. For the front I think average plate bumper weight is 100+ lbs, while the aluminum are around 48 lbs.

I think the aluminum would be worth it in weight savings

 

I did Mt Snow last year in the heat, it was over 90 degrees. A few of the guys who did the Mt. Snow mudder last year also did Gunstock this year and they all said Gunstock was a lot tougher.

Plate bumpers can vary quite a bit. The heaviest, I believe, is ARB and I they are around 110 - 120 lbs (assume your current bumper weighs about 30 lbs +/-). Relentless makes an aluminum version of their bumper that only weighs 60 lbs so very little over stock. I know others are building their bumpers out of aluminum but I can't remember which ones.

As far as abuse, steel is a lot stronger. Aluminum will crack rather than bend in the event of an impact. Depending on what you want to do with it, it'll be plenty strong but won't take daily smashing on rocks.

 

Thanks Seth

 

http://www.aluminess.com/toyota/

Comes to mind 1st and All-Pro was trying to expand their aluminum line BUT I do not know what besides skids has been actually created...

VACATION started early..THANK YOU MOTHER NATURE .....No matter how good you "Think" you are...laying pipe in the rain along new bridge footers that lead down to an ocean bay is NOT HAPPENING.... ')

 

I'd have to throw in more crossfit workouts to prepare for that.

Agreed. You will pay a lot more, but aluminum is light and durable. A huge plus being that it'll oxidize at worst, not rust into pieces like steel.

All-Pooh does a one-piece, same design as mine, out of aluminum.

 

Thanks Mike. Nothing is definite just looking at options.

 

chris do you have a good frontal pic of your bumper? I dont wheel a lot or hard so I think the aluminum would be good compromise

 

There's a couple in my build thread, and a few more in my gallery. Lemme know if you'd like to see more.

 

Nope thats ok the ones in your gallery were good

 

not sure how often you cruise ENH

http://forums.exploringnh.com/showthread.php?24634-87-4runner-22RE-5spd-2000-obo

 

I didn't weight mine . But I think it's around 100lbs . Like the others said relentless makes one but you are going to wait forever to get it. He is stupid slow with build times .
You could always take the check and buy the parts and pocket the cash .
Here are some quick price I found for the bumper .


52119A COVER, FRONT BUMPER
TACOMA (TRN225); DOUBLE CAB; TACOMA (GRN245),250,265,270,TRN24#,265 $194.90 5211904090