Hello all! My fiance and I are currently working on a full shell-off restoration of a
1968 Ambassador (check out our instagram account
@therivetedlife) and we've hit a little snag in our process. A previous owner did a number on the original bumper, welding two hitches on either side for daisy-chaining ATVs or something similar. Needless to say, it's an eyesore and since we're going through the trouble of a full restoration already, we are looking for a new bumper entirely. Therein lies the problem.
We are trying to keep the same look and have scoured AirForums looking for where everyone else got their bumper. It seems like much of the information is outdated and there are a few options available. Someone had mentioned on the forums looking for a stepvan bumper, but, after looking at the manufacturer's website, unfortunately their bumpers are the wrong dimensions in both length and width. We've also heard people suggest taking one from another AS trailer, but haven't had much luck finding one the was being sold for parts. Our bumper's dimensions are 88" long x 5" wide. If anyone can share where they got their bumper for their renovation, it would be much appreciated! We've also considered, as a last resort, getting a bumper fabricated. Does anyone know where we could get a steel bumper fabricated?
Second problem: Vintage Trailer Supply has the correct style of bumper, but they only have it in Aluminum (their steel option is no long produced by the manufacturer). I think the original bumper was steel (correct me if I'm wrong) and I would assume that the steel bumper - if prepped properly to ward off corrosion - would be stronger than the aluminum bumper. After the restoration is complete we will have spent >1 yr and tens of thousands of dollars fixing the AS and I would hate for a minor accident to do significant damage on account of a weak bumper. Does anyone have any thoughts on steel vs. aluminum bumpers?
Certainly it can't be this hard to find a bumper for our Airstream, right?
If anyone could help us out, I would really appreciate it!
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