American Backroad Econoline Rear Bumper

[Lone Wlvs]

Been looking at options for a rear bumper with swingouts for our 2003 E250. Seems the most popular are Aluminess, WTD, and U-Joint. Was leaning towards WTD, but came across an offering from American Backroad (https://americanbackroadcompany.com/...e-rear-bumper/) that seems to check all of my boxes:

- Aluminum construction (light weight and corrosion resistant)
- Dual swing outs with flexibility. Could mount two boxes, box and tire, two tires, etc depending on the specific needs for the season / trip. With all the other options you seem to be locked into a particular configuration.
- Looks good. I know that personal preferences vary when it comes to aesthetics.

I've not heard of American Backroad before, wondering if anyone has any of their products and could share thoughts on build quality.

[1der]

Finding the balance between function and aesthetics is always a challenge. I tend to give function a bit more weighting in equipment selection. When the item checks both boxes, it is a sweet spot.

In the realm of bumpers it has been difficult, for us, to beat the Aluminess design for both ends of the rig. I do wish they were a tad narrower but that would create other compromises with the bars that wrap around.

Those bars need an attach point outboard of the body to create the triangle that gives the rear posts rigidity. I have followed vans with swing arms only attached at the down on the bumper pivot point. The movement I see on rough roads of the tire on its swing arm and arm w a loaded box, is very concerning. All the forces of these loads are being focused to that single pivot point that is maybe 3 inches tall. The leverage of two to three feet of 50 to 150 lbs hanging and bouncing around on that pivot point is going to fatigue the metal, somewhere, and cracks and failure will be the result.

Aluminess adds the strap to the upper rear door hinge to help spread the loads and provide for more stability at the top of the pivot post. The wrap around bar helps to mange the forces as well. It works.

The bonus of locking storage in the bumper, front or rear, is a great feature. Amazing how much recovery gear fits in there.

Also, appreciated is the wide flat surfaces to stand on or hold a beer, gear, etc.

Just most of the considerations I look for in a bumper. I would love to see another manufacture and of course a lower price for a more functional bumper. A nice feature would be a built in bottle opener

[Lone Wlvs]

Thanks for the feedback on Aluminess. I agree the best looking bumper is worthless if not functional. This is probably why I've been on the fence for over a year trying to decide what to do for a rear bumper.

For better or worse, my main hesitation with the Aluminess right now boils down to aesthetics. The bumper looks huge. As our van does not have the huge tires (running 32's) and fender flares that others run, I'm afraid that it would look completely out of place. My secondary hesitation is the connection to the body, and having a hard connection between the body and frame (movement concerns).

So I keep searching for something that probably doesn't exist. I could fab my own bumper out of steel, but my desire to keep weight down keeps dragging me over to full / partial aluminum construction, and I don't have the equipment nor skill to weld aluminum at this time.

[carringb]

Having previously had a rear-carrier with a door-hinge attachment…I’m firmly in the “don’t do that camp”. ThT attachment will eventually fatigue and break, and it make the door rattle, which causes the latch to wear and let more dust it

The current iteration of the BuckStop-Ruenel rear bumper omits the door-hinge attachment, and instead they’ve moved to an oversize bearing setup for the pivots. No shake. Nothing is wearing abnormally.

The best part is the regular automotive style latch, rather than pins or cam latches.

Plus you can order with a 20k hitch receiver that’s higher that the stock one, for a better departure angle.

https://reunel.com/rear-bumpers/

[dhally]

We've got the Buckstop/Reunel and it sure seems to be rigid for our box. I was surprised by how much it compressed our rear springs but that includes the weight of the box contents too. I was concerned about attaching to the door hinge too.

Ours has an integral Class 3 hitch, which is a bit lower than bolt on hitch it replaced.

[Nrobert10]

I have the Ruenel/Buckstop rear bumper with double swing arms and integrated hitch.

It’s HEAVY but I love it!!

I didn’t like how wide aluminess bumpers stuck out and I wanted integrated hitch.

[Lone Wlvs]

The Ruenel bumpers definitely appear to be bomb-proof. I'm leary of the added weight though. I've got an E-250 with the semi-float Dana 60, and when I'm fully loaded right now for a multi-week trip I'm within 300# of the rear axle GAWR of 5,520#. I want bumper storage so that I can move some of that stuff that gets piled in the very back of the van out and free up some floor space, so if I can keep the weight of the new bumper fairly close to the factory bumper I should be ok.

Just emailed the owner of American Backroad with some questions on the bumper design, we'll see if he gets back to me. They list their bumper weight at 75#, which is up my alley. Looks like they're using dual shear hinges for the swingouts, which is what I typically see the Toyota guys using on their swingout bumpers. They're website states that the bumpers come with a "lifetime" warranty, which whenever I see that I'm hesitant to take at face value...

Did notice that Wasatch Overland appears to use them regularly for ladders, so I might try to reach out to them as well to see if I can get any beta.

[Nrobert10]

American backroad is on instagram also. I talked to him a few years ago when he starting making front bumpers, nice guy and very responsive.

Rob

[Nrobert10]

Also might check out heavy metal works. He was making rear bumpers for timberline vans.

[Lone Wlvs]

Whelp, think I'm gonna go ahead and be a guinea pig for the group. Nick with American Backroad got back with me explaining his bumper design, and I think I'm comfortable enough to move forward with it. Folks that I've been able to contact within his orbit all have good things to say. The guy also seems passionate about his product, which I definitely appreciate. In case anyone is interested, here is a synopsis he provided about the bumper design:

Brad,

Thank you for reaching out.

The hinge design is not outsourced. Everything is laser cut or machined for a slip fit. It is laser cut mild steel double shear with a 3/4” stainless tight tolerance bolt. The pivot is a self lubricating oil empregnated brass sleeve and washers top and bottom. The steel pivot bolts through the back face of the bumper with 1/2” bolts and through the bumper surface with the 3/4” stainless pivot bolt. The bottom edge of the steel bracket is designed to distribute the load over internal gusseting inside the bumper. Even the end cap is designed to stiffen the pivot mounting location. It is the stiffest carrier design I’ve ever designed.

I’ve used variations of this sleeve design and latch for 20yrs since designing at an offroad manufacturer. I’ve had it on my own box van dual carrier set up for 13 years. I live in a heavy snow environment and have never had to change any bushings or latches and my carriers are still tight. This product is all of the best of these experiences and improvements in what had been lacking. We’ve got customers in both the mountain and ocean environments for over a year now.

The arms are 6061 aluminum tubing laminated with laser cut panels and cnc formed panels wrapping all sides and Tig welded for structural redundancy. On the latch side we use a lockable cast compression latch. There is an internal rib welded in the tube to reduce crushing over time and the contact with the back face of the bumper is UHMW fastened with stainless hardware. The arm also rests on a UHMW skid when closed to support load and not have Powdercoat on Powdercoat contact.

We include a powder coated mild steel spare tire mount that can be bolted to either arm. It adjusts for wheel backspacing and we offer either 8x6.5 or 8 on 170mm lug nut hole selection. It comes with Econoline wheel studs and lug nuts. This allows customer to upgrade to a matching wheel lock later. (Locking lug nuts not included)

The bumper portion is 48lbs and arms are approximately 30 lbs. each. The bumper body and arms are powder coated aluminum, we pre assemble it and include mounting hardware and zinc plated internal 1/2” nut plates for ease of install. It is designed to fit over a stock or aftermarket hitch. In cases where there are not stock mounting holes on the van frame the provided but plates can be used to match drill holes.

We suggest a 150lbs rating on each arm and the bumper is designed for the masses to fit a 35” tire.

If you are expecting heavy loads we suggest drilling a 4th bolt hole on the outside upper portion of your frame end plate to reduce frame flex.

For further support we have also suggested that customers weld bracket gussets to reduce frame flex at the end mount. A simple 3/16” x 2” flat strap fits nicely to weld in. (We don’t include this but pictures are attached)

We use a powder coater I’ve used for 15yrs while running several equipment manufacturing and job shops in the area, they are the best in our area.

We strive to provide a product we’d want for ourselves. This is an investment and we tried to design value into the product and use the best processes available for manufacturing.

It does ship LTL and with a pallet is about 180-200lbs. We have a flat rate shipping of $595. This usually works out well for customers ordering multiple products. In some cases we’ve had issue getting carriers to rural routes for delivery so you make that call on if it’s easier to receive at your commercial business. It is usually easier process at a business.

I hope this helps with your decision on a rear set up. Good luck on your build.

Thank you,

Nick

I'll keep this thread updated as I progress on this adventure.