Aries Bull Bar Installed on my Ford Raptor SVT F150

[BigJ]

Yeah will do. I plan to ask them to check this thread so they can see exactly what needed to be done, in hopes they come up with a better solution. Honestly, I don't see why a quick redesign of the bracket wouldn't solve all the problems we had. The whole issue was in making room for the bracket.

(We could have fabbed up new brackets ourselves, but given the amount of work it would take us to custom design/fab something vs the relatively minor cutting we had to do, I opted to just do the cutting. If the bull bar ever comes off, it will be in favor of a custom front bumper replacement anyway, so I wasn't too worried.)

I'll let ya know what they say!

 

[Nacho]

Awesome, Thanks!

 

[MagicMtnDan]

Kudos to you Jason for buying this product and making it work on your Raptor.

I'm always very happy to see people willing to do something different especially when it involves modifying the vehicle itself as your bull bar did.

I look forward to seeing it in person later this month. When will you get the lights?

 

[BigJ]

Thanks Dan.

I'm still trying to decide on the lights. The current forerunners are these: http://www.svtoffroad.com/showthread.php?145-LightForce-Striker-170s

But I'm looking for some real world feedback (from anyone here, searching the intertubes etc...) before I jumphttp://www.svtoffroad.com/showthread.php?145-LightForce-Striker-170s

 

[Nacho]

Hey J, Did you by any chance get a hold of Aries ?

 

[BigJ]

Yep. I spoke with Rick at Aries.

He didn't have specifics for me on the mount hole size or thread pitch, but he did say they typically recommend the PIAA 5 1/4" lights for this bar. So I can probably figure it out from PIAA drawings.

We also spoke about the fit of their bar on my Raptor. They have been trying to get a Raptor in house to test fit, but with things being as they are these days, dealerships aren't so interested in helping out aftermarket companies as they are at selling stuff. Understandable.

I invited him to sign up here and take a look at this thread (sent him an email with the link). He said he would love to and that he would review my notes and pictures carefully, and forward on the info to the powers that be. He also said he'll be happy to answer any questions we have for him. So hopefully we'll have a dialog going soon!

 

[BigJ]

I just pulled off the plate. Not sure how I feel about it. It looks... unfinished...

Before:


After:










Hardware is 5/32" allen head bolts and 3/8" nuts


In looking at it now, its kinda obvious in an "Uh duh" sort of way; the holes for the lights are passthru holes, not threaded. You access the underside from much bigger holes under the bar (on the left. The right hole is threaded and is for the bolts that hold the plate on; there are three along the bar and two on tabs for a total of 5)


These tabs stick out quite a bit


I'll leave it this way for now. I'm not sure what I'm doing light-wise, nor am I positive I know what I'm doing with a front mounted hitch. So leaving the panel off makes sense to help me visualize.

 

[Nacho]

J,
Thanks for putting up those pics. I actually like that look, could be just me i guess. Good to hear you got ahold of Aries and they will contribute to our forum. If I was in their area, I would definitely let them use my truck to assist them in fabricating a unit for us. Good luck finding some lights

 

[gotls1]

Mmmm...not a fan of it without the skid plate. Like you said - it looks unfinished. Something needs to go over that lower bumper area.

It's hard to focus on anything other than that grill tho.

 

[MagicMtnDan]

Funny, unlike "Truck Denter guy", I like this look a lot better than with the sheet metal (especially because I'm not a fan of company's advertising on their products).

Are you going to weld the hooks/loops onto the bull bar so you have them on the front?