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Stealth OffRoad Metal Bumper For Avalanche

welder

Full Member
Joined
May 6, 2003
Messages
104
You know, I'm almost ashamed to admit it, but I work for a bumper company, too. AFAIK, however, we don't have any bitter enemies in the business like the RoadArmor guys do. That sounds like it was a real bad breakup.

Anyway, we're finishing up our AV front bumper model, and have the first pics posted here :

www.stealthoffroad.com

We're selling the bumper for $999, coated in texture to match AV body cladding. Unlike some other brands, we don't make you plasma cut or weld your frame to install this one.

We fill a different slot in the market, our designs are not as 'wild' as some of the others, we try instead to focus on a quality product which integrates into the look of the vehicle without standing-out too much.

We have a unit going to an AV club member who will be at the national meet in July. Check it out, and tell us what you think.

Also, if you guys are interested in additional info, like an install thread, please let me know. If you need any other information, please email me at:

Info@stealthoffroad.com

We are currently considering what to do re: the AV rear bumper. It seems that the towing system and basic bumper structure is adequate, but that we all (I own the blue Z71 in the pics - I love it) need a metal cover replacement which follows the vehicle lines.

My personal opinion is that the ultimate AV rear bumper would be a unit which was, at first glance, indistinguishable from the stock unit, but upon closer inspection, proved to be formed steel with flush-mounted, high-wattage BU lights. This is doable.

Anyway, glad to meet everybody, and please let me know what you think! Thanks!

Ben Fisher
Info@Stealthoffroad.com
Info@E-winches.com
 
Looks good, Ben. It's nice to see yet another company developing products (especially bumpers!) for the Avalanche. I'm sure you'll get a lot of response here.

Brendan
 
I think that looks good. ?I'd like to see a picture of it with the brush guard. ?What size lights do those holes accept? ?What is the estimated weight? ?I think the rear bumber would be a good idea as well.

If the Av doesn't scare people now it would with that thing on it.
 
Welder - that is once nice looking bumper - where were you guys a year ago when I was searching :)

Question - how does the bumper mount to the AV? When I mounted mine, the brackets that the stock crash gourd mounts to was cut off and a steel plate is bolted to the frame and the bumper is welded to the plates.
 
argh! where were you a month ago when i was in the market for a new bumper... as usual, i'm a day late and a dollar short! ?:C:

next time my front bumper is pulled off, u'll be the first one i call cuz that looks sweet! :love:
 
That is pretty nice but I'm in the same position as BikerChic. I bought that huge grill guard for my truck and now I just bring myself to scrape that and buy a whole bumber.
 
Thanks to the moderators for relocating this thread to the proper place- I appreciate it!

Answers to questions:

1.The bumper mounts to the AV frame through stock frame holes. Several bolts per side connect plate steel mounts to the tubular frame rails, and then the bumper bolts to the mounts with large bolts. All very rugged and simple. Some other manufacturers choose to modify the frame rails on the AV before mounting their bumpers. This is not neccessarily a bad idea if the vehicle is going to be a serious off-roader, because it can make for simpler and cheaper mountings, and a serious off-roader is going to need frame repair at some point anyway. Lots of folks, however, are justifiably nervous about taking a plasma cutter to the frame of a $40K vehicle (I am) and so we designed our bumper to be bolt-on.

Our product also does not require any specialized tools to install. Sockets and and air-wrench are about it.

2.The light ports are 6" and 4.5". On the pics of my blue 71, those are Hella 500s (6.375 dia.) and the small lights are 4" Blazers.

3.The base unit is approx 150 lbs. I'll be getting exact weight on base and grill-guard units tomorrow, I think.

4.We're located in central Texas, near San Antonio. I'd love to hear from a member in this area who has a 2500, especially. Phone # is on the site, and we offer complementary installs on everything we sell.

Hey, thanks for the questions! I'm very glad to get such a good response. I'd like to get more opinions on what the back bumper should look like, and I'll post pics of the grill-guard unit ASAP.

Ben Fisher
www.Stealthoffroad.com
Info@Stealthoffroad.com
 
Argh! I live in Texas but have a Z-71 instead of the 2500 you're looking for.

If I could ask, what are the three rectangular holes in the center section of the bumper for? I'm guessing those are the holes that the stock grill-guard have you cut in your bumper to mount. Can you sell the bumper without those holes for people who don't have and won't be getting the GM Brush Guard?

 
I like that! I am sure I'll be in some day, as soon as I ruin the stock plastic bumper. May as well use it until then.
 
welder: nice job! I really like the look of it. Couple of things:

1. Let your webmaster know that the picture order of the AV is wrong. You click on one picture, you get the enlarged image of the other picture (gosh what a nitpicker! :) )

2. I noticed that the inner fenders and some of the mountings are still visible in the picture. I am guessing you would normally trim the inner fender back to match the new bumper line. How much extra clearance do you end up with at the front?
 
Answering questions:

Wow, lots of activity on this forum! I'm guessing that some of us would rather gaze lovingly at AV pics than work ;)

The holes: The bumper that's posted on the site right now is set up for a 9,000lb. electric winch. The center hole is for the cable to pass through and to mount the roller fairlead. I'll get pics of that posted soon. The two outer holes are both ventilation for adequate cooling and to access winch controls.

Inner fenders: Yes, most people choose to trim their inner fenders approx 3" up so that they match the bottom of the steel bumper. I'll post some detail pics of the wheel-well area, probably Monday.

Oh, and thanks for telling me about the reversed links on the site - I didn't catch that one.

 
NICE! :eek:

Now all I have to do is start grad school...so I can defer payments on my student loans...so I can get one of these! You laugh...but I'm serious! :)

Very nice work. This is the smoothest, most integrated custom bumper yet! I love blue's bumper, and the Road Armor unit is nice (if a bit over the top on styling) but this thing is PERFECT. I really like the bull bar instead of the full brush guard.

Back Bumper: Also a great idea. I agree that it would ideally look a lot like the stock bumper, although it wouldn't have to be as intricate and would ideally offer a bit of improvement in departure angle on the back corners...although that's tough to do without leaving the rear rocker panels exposed...
 
Very nice. I like the design of the lines and the integrated look. The bolt on installation is definitely a plus and something I would require if I ever replace my bumpers.

The rear bumper I would recommend to keep the integrated side steps when you design a replacements. I know I use them alot.

Now if you could just get the color matched for the 2003's. I know this is difficult as I have a guy from a local Line-X that has been working on mixing up the proper color formulation for me to do my fenders. He is very close and even has Line-X Corporate begging him for the color mix formula when he gets it right.
 
I like the bumper on the Truck above the AV picture. Will the other bumper look like it?
So if I bring my 2500 from VA to Texas you'll install it...free :eek:
 
BigBlock-

I told the guys that we HAD to have pics of the grillguard-equipped unit on the site before we quit tonite. They grudgingly agreed :)

The AV grill guard is more compact, a closer fit to the vehicle than what we have done previously. I like it, myself.

Here's a pic from yesterday, in bare metal.

As far as you bringing your 2500 to TX, c'mon down! Write me an email.

Info@stealthoffroad.com
 

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I think the Grill Guard looks great. My only gripe is that it looks like it won't accept a set of Hella 4000 lights. When I purchase a grill guard that will be one requirement. It would also be nice if the guard would accept the stock fog light/DRL lights. Would it be possible to make it so that it could do that?
 
LR...

Unless I'm mistaken, the 4000s are 8.75 dia. X 6.5 " deep. That's pretty easy to fit on the guard. It might mean a different light mount, but we have dozens of types in stock. No problem

As far as stock DRL/FOGs, we've ruled that out as a regular production option. The odd-shaped mounting port isn't really practical for us to fab. It would end up being awfully expensive, like more expensive than the 6" port *with* the lights. So, no plans to do that.

Thanks for the questions!

Ben Fisher
Info@Stealthoffroad.com

 
Ok that's good, the only reason why i'm asking is because the 500s look pretty tight on the guard. The only reason I would want the Fog/DRL lights is so that I don't have to add new relays for stronger lights(wattage wise), i'd like to be able to control them from the current switches on the dash. I guess i'd have to do some hunting for some lights.
 
Okay, here are grill-guard pics! Mission accomplished, I'm going home. Everybody have a good weekend!

This unit is pictured w/ Hella 500 lights, a MileMarker E9000 winch w/ roller fairlead, the grill-guard option, and MileMarker shackles. Yes, I got to bash some rocks with it. Very fun. Oh, the clearance increase in front of the front tire is approx 4". Stock AV climbs pretty good, too.

 

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I am not sure if this was asked. Can you do it with a front receiver instead of winch mount? If yes, do two of the three holes go away?
 
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