How do people feel about the new AEV bumpers?

[Wheelz]

I just installed this on my '22 3500. If you have ParkSense, you will need to extend the front two sensors by at least 6" otherwise your harness will not have clearance for the winch. I guess for the '22's RAM shortened the parksense harness. Also, the 2 front sensors are very sensitive to how it sits in the bumper sensor holes. The slightest misalignment will cause the sensors to constantly alert you. I also couldn't use the supplied metal intercooler shroud without significant modification of it. I just re-used the factory rubber one. I'm curious of how the intercooler guard you purchased. Please show some pictures when you get that installed. And let us know how much of a gap you have between the bumper and the body/grill. It seems for the 22's its much more than previous years. I wish AEV made a seal to cover the bumper gap. Another tip, keep everything 'snug' bolt wise for adjustment. There are so many bolts on this bumper its hard to keep track of. Use a metal marker and mark each bolt as you start to torque everything down after you have the alignment set. That center section is going to be fun with the winch inside.

The tow hook plastic bezels is just to cover the manufacturing gaps between the corners and center section and the gaps when the bull-bar gets bolted down. You'll see when you get it together.

 

[UglyViking]

[…] And let us know how much of a gap you have between the bumper and the body/grill. It seems for the 22's its much more than previous years. I wish AEV made a seal to cover the bumper gap […]

That is the biggest downside for me to be honest. I still may end up with an AEV front bumper but I'm looking heavily at other options right now.

The bumper just doesn't follow the lines of the lower grill/headlight eyebrow at all. It also doesn't quite line up with their fender flares but I'll leave that alone for a moment.

I initially thought it was just because they were using an 18 bumper on the 19+ trucks, but it looks like the bumpers are actually two different part numbers. For a company that sells a majority of their vehicles to mall crawlin upper class folks you'd think this attention to detail would be called out a little more. I get I'm nitpicking here, but one of AEVs greatest aspects is their fit and finish and how well all the parts are integrated. It's a bummer to see.

 

[Wheelz]

Yeah..the gap is horrible. Wish I would've known before hand. If they would've slotted the frame bracket holes we could adjust it up and close that gap. Heck, I can see my fog light and parksense harnesses. It's an ugly gap.
Also, if you don't want to splice the sensor harness, there is a forum member that's checking into making an extension since he makes other harnesses for people who wants to retrofit their trucks for bsm or the 12" screen.

 

[Madison18]

I just installed this on my '22 3500. If you have ParkSense, you will need to extend the front two sensors by at least 6" otherwise your harness will not have clearance for the winch. I guess for the '22's RAM shortened the parksense harness. Also, the 2 front sensors are very sensitive to how it sits in the bumper sensor holes. The slightest misalignment will cause the sensors to constantly alert you. I also couldn't use the supplied metal intercooler shroud without significant modification of it. I just re-used the factory rubber one. I'm curious of how the intercooler guard you purchased. Please show some pictures when you get that installed. And let us know how much of a gap you have between the bumper and the body/grill. It seems for the 22's its much more than previous years. I wish AEV made a seal to cover the bumper gap. Another tip, keep everything 'snug' bolt wise for adjustment. There are so many bolts on this bumper its hard to keep track of. Use a metal marker and mark each bolt as you start to torque everything down after you have the alignment set. That center section is going to be fun with the winch inside.

The tow hook plastic bezels is just to cover the manufacturing gaps between the corners and center section and the gaps when the bull-bar gets bolted down. You'll see when you get it together.

I've done bumpers, lift and suspension components on my Jeep Wrangler and I did track bar, steering and front leveling on my 2017 Ram 2500, but this will be the first in-depth modification to my 2022 Ram 2500. Thanks for the tips and tricks. How did you extend the harness for your park sense? I could get that done while waiting on my winch to arrive. I think the intercooler guard connections are different for the 3500 and AEV supplies a mod kit for that, if you're interested. I've called and talked with them a couple of times and they've been a lot of help so far, deciding what to order for mine.

 

[Rockcrawlindude]

The gap isn’t much more than the factory bumper gap. But, i understand your criticism.

However, there are zero other good looking bumper options for these trucks. So… you’re stuck with it.

Bumper gap comes down to individual trucks, I think. I supported my bumper with a floor jack while I torqued everything FYI. Any people who have been modifying trucks for a long time know that bolt on parts can’t fit every truck perfectly. I’m always surprised when something fits great out of the box.

Random internet pic factory bumper gap. My aev has less gap than this.


My bumper gap closest angle I could find

 

[Wheelz]

Yeah, your gap is much closer than mine. Heck, i did the same with a jack. I practically lifted the front end to try to get it closer. I think for the newer gens, there are slight body height differences 'cause even with the OEM bumper mine was closer than your OEM picture and it had a seal to cover the rest of it. Dont get me wrong, I like the bumper a lot. It gives the truck a totally different look.

@Madison18 As for the harness extension. Wait until you get the bumper on. I see you have '22 2500. You may or may not have to modify it. For my 3500, I had to. Right now, my Parksense sensors are unplugged. I didnt want to cut into that harness. The forum member is Jimmy07 that's looking into making a plug and play harness for it. I'll know more later and keep you posted.

 

[Lumpskie]

I agree with comments above. You'll need a gap to account for shifting if you actually flex the suspension on your truck. Even rigid frames will deflect causing the uphill side of the bumper to get very close to the body. (I built bumpers and sliders for other rigs and made that mistake... where they would contact the body when the frame deflected) The "tighter" looking gap actually has sufficient distance as well... it is separated front to back in addition to up/down.
(EDIT: I went out and grabbed a picture of that clearance for you guys. Don't say I never gave you anything)

Here's the best pic I have of my front bumper gap:

 

[flan]

I just installed this on my '22 3500. If you have ParkSense, you will need to extend the front two sensors by at least 6" otherwise your harness will not have clearance for the winch. I guess for the '22's RAM shortened the parksense harness. Also, the 2 front sensors are very sensitive to how it sits in the bumper sensor holes. The slightest misalignment will cause the sensors to constantly alert you. I also couldn't use the supplied metal intercooler shroud without significant modification of it. I just re-used the factory rubber one. I'm curious of how the intercooler guard you purchased. Please show some pictures when you get that installed. And let us know how much of a gap you have between the bumper and the body/grill. It seems for the 22's its much more than previous years. I wish AEV made a seal to cover the bumper gap. Another tip, keep everything 'snug' bolt wise for adjustment. There are so many bolts on this bumper its hard to keep track of. Use a metal marker and mark each bolt as you start to torque everything down after you have the alignment set. That center section is going to be fun with the winch inside.

The tow hook plastic bezels is just to cover the manufacturing gaps between the corners and center section and the gaps when the bull-bar gets bolted down. You'll see when you get it together.

Just a heads up on that intercooler shroud, I was sent the 13-18 shroud with my order from CJC, I notified them of the mistake and they overnighted me a correct one. The earlier one had me scratching my head for a min, but even the correct one needed a visit from the angle grinder to make it fit.

 

[UglyViking]

The gap isn’t much more than the factory bumper gap. But, i understand your criticism.

However, there are zero other good looking bumper options for these trucks. So… you’re stuck with it.

Bumper gap comes down to individual trucks, I think. I supported my bumper with a floor jack while I torqued everything FYI. Any people who have been modifying trucks for a long time know that bolt on parts can’t fit every truck perfectly. I’m always surprised when something fits great out of the box.

Random internet pic factory bumper gap. My aev has less gap than this.
View attachment 34992

My bumper gap closest angle I could find
View attachment 34993

The cap is more obvious on the AEV due to both the way it follows the line and the fact there are other visual items, so it's not so much that there is a gap, but rather that it's inconsistent in it's spacing. It also makes it look like the bumper is actually "bending down" in some pictures.

It seems to be more pronounced in the 3500 trucks than the 2500s, although that could be just the ones I've seen.

I agree it's one of the better looking options but I also like the look of the Expo One bumper, which is more angular but has been growing on me.

 

[Rockcrawlindude]

The cap is more obvious on the AEV due to both the way it follows the line and the fact there are other visual items, so it's not so much that there is a gap, but rather that it's inconsistent in it's spacing. It also makes it look like the bumper is actually "bending down" in some pictures.

It seems to be more pronounced in the 3500 trucks than the 2500s, although that could be just the ones I've seen.

I agree it's one of the better looking options but I also like the look of the Expo One bumper, which is more angular but has been growing on me.

The exp1 bumpers are are cool, I dig the tire carrier rear bumper a lot. I emailed them about their bumpers before the AEV was released but I don’t remember why I didn’t buy theirs. I think my heart was just set on the AEV

 

[UglyViking]

I prefer the look of the AEV, by quite a bit. That said, the nice thing about some of the other options if you gain approach angle, especially on the corners.

Another option, you could fab or 3d print a "filler" for the backing, or look into manufacturing a lower eyebrow that helped fill the space better. Seems like a potential ton of work, so it depends on how bad it annoys you.

 

[Lumpskie]

I prefer the look of the AEV, by quite a bit. That said, the nice thing about some of the other options if you gain approach angle, especially on the corners.

Another option, you could fab or 3d print a "filler" for the backing, or look into manufacturing a lower eyebrow that helped fill the space better. Seems like a potential ton of work, so it depends on how bad it annoys you.

You should come out and see my truck in person. Really, I don't have an issue with the gaps... everything looks natural to me. On the other hand, I have no taste... so there's that.

 

[Madison18]

Yeah, your gap is much closer than mine. Heck, i did the same with a jack. I practically lifted the front end to try to get it closer. I think for the newer gens, there are slight body height differences 'cause even with the OEM bumper mine was closer than your OEM picture and it had a seal to cover the rest of it. Dont get me wrong, I like the bumper a lot. It gives the truck a totally different look.

@Madison18 As for the harness extension. Wait until you get the bumper on. I see you have '22 2500. You may or may not have to modify it. For my 3500, I had to. Right now, my Parksense sensors are unplugged. I didnt want to cut into that harness. The forum member is Jimmy07 that's looking into making a plug and play harness for it. I'll know more later and keep you posted.

Thanks for the followup. I'll let you know what I find when I get it apart.

 

[whitexc]

Totally off topic, sort of and no pics so totally useless but.....I saw a new Chebby Colorado Bison AEV edition today. It was a pretty nice little truck. Not my cup of tea but it had really nice bumpers and wheels, a small lift along with some sweet AEV badges.

Sent from my SM-G996U using Tapatalk

 

[Rockcrawlindude]

Does anybody here know if the AEV rear bumper works with the AMP rear corner bed step? If so, how close does it tuck away?

 

[loveracing1988]

@Madison18 may I ask how many deer you’ve hit in your lifetime?

I’ve hit zero alive ones. I’ve hit a carcass. I drive the best I can and try not to worry about things I can’t control. I sleep amazingly well.

This was the second one I hit a couple years ago, but in the 18 years I lived at home my dad hit 2 and my mom hit 2 with me in the passenger seat... I've came close a few more times.

 

[Rockcrawlindude]

This was the second one I hit a couple years ago, but in the 18 years I lived at home my dad hit 2 and my mom hit 2 with me in the passenger seat... I've came close a few more times.

You have an unlucky family. You need a rabbits foot keychain or something lol.

Just for giggles I looked up deer collisions and there seems to be no correlation between deer population density and deer collisions

Top 10 States for Deer-Vehicle Collisions

There’s a difference between book smart and bar smart. You may not be book smart, but this series can make you seem educated and interesting from a barstool. So, belly up, mix yourself a glass of LMNT Recharge, and take notes as we look at the states you’re most likely to hit a deer with your...

www.themeateater.com

 

[loveracing1988]

I just don't understand why the deer refuse to use the crossings already set aside for them. I see the signs everywhere but the damn deer ignore them.

“Why do they put those [deer crossing] signs up? Deer can’t read.” Engvall’s reply: “No, but they can recognize pictures of themselves. Here’s your sign.”

 

[loveracing1988]

You have an unlucky family. You need a rabbits foot keychain or something lol.

Just for giggles I looked up deer collisions and there seems to be no correlation between deer population density and deer collisions

Top 10 States for Deer-Vehicle Collisions

There’s a difference between book smart and bar smart. You may not be book smart, but this series can make you seem educated and interesting from a barstool. So, belly up, mix yourself a glass of LMNT Recharge, and take notes as we look at the states you’re most likely to hit a deer with your...

www.themeateater.com

Woo Hoo!!! #8!!!

 

[flan]

The AEV shackles are not cheap, (nothing aev is) but man they have some beef to them..