[howmanyds]

Does anybody know of an outfitter that has push bumpers for Transits yet? I've used Aluminess in San Diego for my roof rack but I don't like the style of their front bumper.

 

[EddieZ]

I saw your other thread and photo -- after the palm tree jumped in front of your van. Condolences. I'm not sure how much an aluminum bumper would have helped. Might even make it worse, if it might protect all of the appearance parts, but maybe buckle the "frame."

And, look at the odds of hitting a palm tree. Now, what are the odds you'd have a second accident similar to the first?

 

[Budsky]

Yep, sometimes "protection" is counterproductive.
We have a Toyoa FJ Cruiser- the taillights stick out so several companies sell a tubular metal guard to go over them.
So when you hit the guard you still bust the tailight AND damage the bodywork around it!
We do not have or want those....

 

[howmanyds]

Interesting thought. Maybe I would want steel then. Odds of it happening again are pretty small of course, but for slow bumps like the one I had it seems like it would have saved a lot of squishing.

 

[Brad]

I'm skeptical about the value of aftermarket bull bars, truck bumpers, etc when attached to unibody vehicles. Seems to me any slight hits and the "frame" could be easily tweaked.

Probably worse than most almost useless stock bumpers which have at least a little bit of energy absorption.

 

[mcsar1]

My current van is a '09 E350 Quigley. I was not pleased with the few heavy bumpers that were available so I built my own from a F250 bumper that I found online. I realize that the E350 is a body-on-frame vehicle whereas the new Transit I have ordered is a unibody, but I hope to build a similar bumper for the transit. The bumper is 3/16" steel plate and has protected my truck on several occasions.

 

[howmanyds]

Looks good. Design-wise, the Transit will be a whole new thing, with those crazy headlights going way out and up.