Building Bumpers...i need help

OK, i searched but i want all the info in one place so i can just check one thread...can youguys post pics of your front winch bumpers and rear tirecarrier bumpers you built yourselvs. Throw in some measurements, materials, mounting systems etc...this is my first real fab attempt and i want to do it right.

thisfirstlove said:

OK, i searched but i want all the info in one place so i can just check one thread...can youguys post pics of your front winch bumpers and rear tirecarrier bumpers you built yourselvs. Throw in some measurements, materials, mounting systems etc...this is my first real fab attempt and i want to do it right.

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there are a million threads on this topic, there is an FAQ being worked on, of which home-built bumpers will likely be a topic. i would recommend either do your own research (easy) or wait for the FAQ.

BrettM said:

there are a million threads on this topic, there is an FAQ being worked on, of which home-built bumpers will likely be a topic. i would recommend either do your own research (easy) or wait for the FAQ.

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I had a thread EXACTLY like this awhile back. Check for it

There's a bunch here...
http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=37

ok, i know how to build the bumper and i know how i am going to attach it, the question i have is how far from the " frame " forward is the average after market bumper attached, i dont want to be too far out front with it, you know what i mean????


i am figureing about 4" to 5" to make room for a hidden winch in there. what say you?

Troy

Get a large piece of cardboard (or two, or even three) and slip one between the grill and the bumper. Trace out the shape of the front of your rig and then layout the bumper design(s) and the winch location. If you don't like the first design, grab another piece of cardboard and start over. Beats the hell outta fabbing, and re-fabbing.

how did i do? just looked at it and it came together.


all i need now is the diamond plate( it goes on today) and the wench

steagall9301 said:

how did i do? just looked at it and it came together.

all i need now is the diamond plate( it goes on today) and the wench

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I hope when you say wench you don't mean winch. If my eyes are seeing correctly that bumper is welded to the factory bumper brackets. Now that's fine for a slightly beefier bumper, but by no means whatsoever capable of handling winch dutys.

Edit: I just looked at it again and I see that the are the tow hook brackets. Now these are fine for tow hook recovery but butt welding the bumper to stock brackets for winch duty is still nowhere near a good idea.

If you need pics of my bumper let me know. It is setup for multimount winch duty in a reciever hitch.

Keep in mind the bumper itself is not for the winch, you need a mounting surface for the winch and that is what needs to be attached to the frame rails. To me your mounting system has to be able to stand on it's own two brackets and pull, the bumper part is more or less just dress up. Once you have a strong enough mounting system then you can build the bumper around that and use the bumper itself as part of the tray. The frame rail part should go back at least 18" or so and can use the same holes at a minimum that the factory hook brackets use but I'd do a couple more each side just for insurance. Just my .02

so, like my original post says i dont know about fabbing at all...i actually went and took my measurements today and im looking at materials now. im having trouble deciding what i should use. i originally was thinking 1/4inch steel with 1/2in for the mounts. My friends dad who welds stuff for a living reccomended channel iron...i dont know crap about stuff so help?

thisfirstlove said:

so, like my original post says i dont know about fabbing at all...i actually went and took my measurements today and im looking at materials now. im having trouble deciding what i should use. i originally was thinking 1/4inch steel with 1/2in for the mounts. My friends dad who welds stuff for a living reccomended channel iron...i dont know crap about stuff so help?

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Not trying to sound like a jerk, but if you don't know about fabbing at all, then why are you trying to build a winch bumper? I'd suggest trying out something simpler first, get your skills polished up a bit before that. Or having someone with knowledge on the subject help you out. The last thing you want is that sucker to fail when you need it most and worse it could hurt your rig, yourself or someone around you. Not trying to discourage you, I love seeing the stuff people build themselves.

1/4" with 1/2" for the mounts isn't just overkill but pure dead weight. Properly designed you can make a winch bumper with 3/16" for the mounts and 1/8" for the bumper itself. When trying to design it, think of boxed structures, forces being dealt with from all angles instead of straight on, design it so it's just as strong pulling from the front as it would be from the side. Couple ways to start the mounts would be to either use the factory mounting holes and also extend it back to an additional hold back on the framerail, maybe even incorporate the steering box mounts into the driver's side. Another setup would be just using the factory mount locations, then wrap it under the framerail to the hole on the underside where it would attach with a nutplate and bolt. BPI used this setup on theirs and so do I without any problems whatsoever. I'm sure someone will say otherwise but I've had plenty of people outright abuse their stuff and never a failure of anykind. The mounts you could use 3/16" or 1/4", the bumper itself could be 2x6 or 3x6 in either 1/8" or 3/16" wall. The rest really depends on the design you want.

Your dad's buddy must be old school metalworker, channel sucks for bumpers IMO. The corners have really thick webbing adding a ton of weight while the center flat section isn't all that beefy, the edges don't have a nice radius on them. You can get more strength out of a piece of rectangular tubing for a lot less weight.