Delica Canada | Mitsubishi Van Club

So I welded a decent swing-out tire carrier onto the back of my van last summer. Its steel. Its solid. And it weighs a freakin' TONNE. So much that I think it is actually having a big impact on my mpg and acceleration.

I like the design of my tire carrier, but I want to reduce weight. Can I re-make it out of aluminum? Or is it too soft a metal to carry the weight of a heavy tire (good year duratrac 31") over bumps? Would I experience bending/warping over time? Thoughts?

I would look into aluminum thickness/gauges online, basically educate yourself a bit before going around and talking to local fab shops, read up on some off road rear tire carriers and see what they are using for material. I was defiantly glad I did my homework before I got a custom steel bumper made for my first gen tundra...saved me a lot of cash and after seeing what the order ready crap you can find online that everyone else has, I know for a fact that the odds of another trucks bumper being constructed out of 1/2" plate steel for rad protection, 2x 2.5" schedule 80 steel pipe, 1/4" end caps, 3/16" sheet fairing up and 1.5" schedule 40 pipe for the stinger is going to last longer than generic fill in the blank brand bumpers. I figured I easily saved almost 2K having a local fab shop build me what I wanted instead of paying for something everyone else can buy and didn't really like their styles available. IMO, delicas are a one of a kind van so why not keep it one of a kind when doing mods.

short of the long is this, if you can walk into a fab shop and tell them pretty much what you want with a picture AND the kinda material you are thinking you want it built with, the less chance of getting scammed because you walked in their shop with a good understanding of what you want ie design and materials used.

should post a pic of your steel contraption you welded too!!

Check out aluminess bumpers

Thanks for the help. Aluminess makes some amazing stuff! I'd never heard of them before. Thanks overlanderjay. Faith restored in aluminum.

If you want something close to home contact Todd AQAULU in Kelowna.

His crew can make just about anything out of metal.

Any shop that does the first of something will probably need the van for a few days to check dimensions and fitup.

I also have a pretty heavy steel rear carrier.
I've been thinking of redesigning it as well.
using steel for the bottom for collision protection and the pivot, and using aluminum for the top part that holds the tire. this way you save some weight, but the steel in the bottom is still strong enough to protect you.