I'm kinda interested in the same question. My main concerns being durability. Aparently there is a way that some manufacturers heat treat the aluminum parts so that they are actually quite strong. Also aluminum doesn't really corrode that much so you have that in addition to the weight savings.
I know Poison Spyder makes many aluminum protection parts and they are a very well established company so I'm sure there is some legitimacy to the concept. But take for example Genright's large aluminum bumper with grill hoop and stinger, I'm very interested in adding a very protective bumper like that without adding much weight, but how would it actually hold up in a rollover?
I was really adamant about going aluminum but all the aluminum bumpers have a steel winch plate or base plate which speeds corrosion (aluminum/steel contact is not so good).
I ended up going full width steel. Hope that helps add another aspect to the decision.
I went with a GenRight aluminum rear bumper to keep weight down, and it just looks really good IMO. It's at the powder coater right now. It only weighs 20 pounds (30 with the optional shackle tabs that mount to the frame rails).
Interesting point about the corrosion from the steel on the winch mount, I wonder how that plays in to Genright's design. Also the frame, hardware, and shackle tabs are steel so that would have to be addressed as well. I suppose you could use some kind of spacing/separating material to prevent it. Or maybe just a good powder coating on both the plate and bumper would handle it.
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