Plate Bumpers after impact with pics?

Aluminum cracks more then bends and you will probably have a hard time finding someone who can weld thick aluminum. Thin stuff is done with Tig, thick stuff is done with Mig using a special spool gun. I doubt a body shop would ever have a spool gun, and finding a place that does and will work on your bumper will be tough and expensive.
Steel is good because it's easy to fix (rocks, trees). Aluminum is good if you aren't going to hit it hard but will get it wet a lot (mid).

When I replaced my rear stock bumper and hitch assembly it felt like the aftermarket bumper ended up lighter then what I removed. Because your rear end is designed to take a load, even if the steel bumper is a little heavier the difference is negligible for the rear shocks and MPG.
The back of the Tacoma won't absorb as much impact as a sedan because your frame runs all the way to the bumper, there are probably some crush zones, bit it's not much.
The front end has a lot more crumple zones and the front suspension isn't designed for adding weight, so if you add a front bumper and a winch it's a good idea upgrade suspension. That being said, I put a steel front bumper (no winch) and didn't notice much difference.

Look at it this way - a steel bumper is around 100 lbs. So adding a front and back is about the same as having a 200 lb passenger get in the truck. And that's not accounting for old parts removed. But I get it, in the end every pound matters.
The front bumper will more likely effect your MPG because it will worsen the little aerodynamics the Taco has. I noticed worse highway MPG (60-70 mph) while maintaining about the same MPG at lower speeds (40-50 mph).

Right now my general average is 17-18 mpg in the winter and 19ish in the summer. With front (120 lbs) and rear (100 lbs) steel bumpers, sliders (110 lbs) stock TRD-OR suspension, 265-75-16 Cooper AT3 and 155K miles. When my truck was young and stock I remember getting 19-21 in the summer.

 

How is less traction dangerous?

 

Not sure if you're serious....

But if you don't have enough traction, and you need more of it, you could die or kill others, probably an entire bus full of nuns or orphaned children nun trainees if really unlucky.
If you don't need traction and you have more of it, nothing happens. (Or you're just a bad rally driver)

So having less traction is dangerous.


Also, one added benefit to adding a lot of weight, is you lower your ride a little, which makes your truck have better aerodynamics, giving you better steady state mpg.

 

Well, pretty much this, but maybe a little less dramatic.

Losing traction on the road is a VERY BAD THING. You lose all (or at least most) control of the vehicle and can do serious harm to yourself and others.

(Most of us are not professional drifters)

 

drifting is not that hard

 

A second gen rear bumper/ hitch combo weighs about 80 pounds. And no one that I know of makes an aluminum rear due to the hitch. There’s pretty much no net gain in weight from a bolt on steel rear bumper with integrated hitch.

 

I wonder how they even tow. I was told the strongest way to tow is a Tow Package hitch attached directly to the frame
and I think the stock bumper mounts separately above the tow hitch, bolting possibly to the frame using small brackets,
supposedly "towing from the bumper" is weaker so I wonder how a few of these offroad steel plate bumpers do it,
with their hidden hitch (behind the license plate) setup and all that,
if the bumper itself mounts differently, or if they also have a second part mounting system for that hitch to tow rated capacity

it seems some steel bumpers (cheaper ones maybe) still retain the OEM hitch, adding lots of weight because of the bumper and hitch being separate
as opposed to the kind you mention that have it integrated and end up being lighter than the stock combo

maybe that explains why the ~70lbs Aluminess rear goes above the stock hitch and retains it (more weight)
besides the cargo compartment they come with, Aluminess bumpers seem more geared for overlanding including big vans, with use of swingouts (adds extra cost, $1k+ on top of bumper cost itself)

 

There’s 5 mounting points on each side that the bumper/hitch ties into. Here’s an example of one of the beefier bumpers available, from mobtown off-road.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BgrDMxGhIqG/?igshid=vxg90ejqry1o

 

No, I have 33s and a mid rise shell and fucking huge racks (my truck could work at hooters) and my mpg is still ~17mpg.

I had armor before lift and tires and noticed little difference. I noticed an MPG hit for bigger tires, and then later for the lift. Oddly, I gained an MPG going from 32" tires to 33" tires, but I chalk that up to my 32" tires wearing wrong (they ended up getting prorated / refunded under warranty).

Addressing the earlier posts too, aluminum is one-time / one-impact only. It is brittle and breaks, soaking up the impact and getting destroyed. Steel deforms and rebounds, or if it's too bad, just deforms instead of cracking and breaking. Aluminum also gouges, scratches, and dents easier. It's only advantage is it corrodes less than steel. If you expect to USE your armor, get steel.

The SOS Offroad Concepts HC rear has a full subframe for the hitch. I regularly tow a travel trailer with mine with zero issues. It's way more stout than stock. It definitely weighs more than stock, but the camper top, tools, and gear inside my truck bed weighs a lot more than the bumper. I was able to mount the bumper by myself with no help and I'm a 150lbs computer nerd, so it's not that heavy.

Here's a pic from when I was painting my bumper:


Look at how thick the frame mount is. It's way thicker than the factory tow hitch. That's DOM tubing as bracing for the receiver tube mounted to it, and the whole bumper is thick steel. It's stout and holds up great. I have Dakar HD leaf springs for the weight of the bumper, topper, and all the stuff in the back. If you want to do it on the cheap with a swingout, you can just mount sumosprings and call it done.

I've been rear-ended twice with no damage to the truck on the highway. Both times the driver harpooned themselves on the hitch. I had to touch up some bedliner paint the first time, and nothing the second time. I've also dragged it a bunch of times offroad, and that was just mundane touch-up too.

You can see how high the hitch sits in this pic. I have a 12" long hitch with a 2" drop and a step (

$40 CURT 45260 Class 3 Trailer Hitch Ball Mount, Fits 2" Receiver, 7500 lbs, 1" Hole, 2-In Drop, 3/4" Rise

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0007M308U)




Here's what I tow with it:



I just got it last summer, but we're up to 4 trips and ~8k miles with no issue. It tows great. The last thing on my mind towing is whether or not my bumper is up to the task, it's way better built than the factory tow bar.

 

Have a similar trailer to yours. Mine pulls fine till I get into the hills then I have to slow down quite a bit. It is pretty heavy with the slide out option. @synaps3

 

this pic makes me regret spray-painting mine
took a ridiculous amount of time, much of it spent escaping/hiding from the fumes waiting for them to settle down

 

That looks like the Wolf Pup 16PF?

We got the 16BHS because it was nearly 1000lbs lighter than the slide-out model. We wanted the bunks for the kids in the BHS too. You definitely get a lot more room with that pop-out though!

I drive with the truck in manual shift mode, ECT on, and don't go above 4th gear. A 3rd-gear, 4.5k rpm pull doing 60mph isn't uncommon in the mountains here on the east coast. We have way less elevation than y'all do in CO though - I'd imagine you'd have to go slow if you're going up more than 1k elevation at a time.

 

It is actually a 17jg and yes the slide out makes for a lot of room. Have not done much highway over 65mph speed limit. So far the Tacoma does the job for the short trips we have taken.

 

Oh man, that floor plan is awesome! You get the pop-out space and room for the kids.

My only complaint about ours is the bathroom's a bit small, and the factory stabilizers are hot garbage. I swapped the stabilizers for these:

$118 ADNIK BAL 23225 Set of 2 'C' Jacks with Handle - 25'

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002P2YTIA/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 - that made a huge difference. I've swapped the wheels for Taco wheels too, my tires were looking a bit worn already at ~10k miles. Here's how she sits now:

 

Im surprised that Pelfreybilt is voted #1 on this poll considering that it looks like they went bankrupt in 2018 and took all their customers money

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_rYxg8_vM8

 

Thats a pretty awesome looking roof setup that you have going on there, what parts are you using as a roof rack and camper shell if you dont mind sharing? it looks very useful.

 

@Wise Wolf it is a rhino ram back bone system on the front and a rhino rack on the ARE topper.
It is quite useful, this was yesterday with 16ft lumber.

 

That and the poll started before all the BS went down.

 

Years before it went down.