I picked up my new bumper and nerf bars yesterday and was surprised to find they had changed the design. Aluminess has added vents to the front of the bumper opening up the winch box to the elements. I talked to Kenny about it and he told me the change was done to improve ventilation through the bumper to the engine. I'm not sure how this is going to work since there aren't any new vent holes in the back of the winch box. My concern is exposing the winch to all kinds of road grime. I had hoped to protect the winch from this type of exposure. I did suggest they update the Aluminess website to show picures of vans with the new design. Their website does show the new design on the other type of vehicle links.
If I had known about the vents I would have ordered it vent deleted. Oh Well, it's not something I can't live with. I was thinking about painting a sheet of aluminum or mudflap rubber a complimentary color and attatching it to the inside of the box sealing it back up.
My question to the group is how should I attatch the inside piece. My first thought would be some kind of glue so I don't have to drill any holes in the bumper and have bolt heads showing. My second though was glue won't hold, bolt the sucker in. I'm thinking about using gloss black as the complimentary color. Any creative suggestions on color or attatchment method out there?