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Im thinkin about building a custom winch bumper it's going to look nice kinda like a Hanson. I dont know what thickness would be good though? I dont want it to be too heavy but I dont want it to look like a pretzel by winch hill two either. I was thinking something like 5/16 would be strong but will it be too heavy? Im going to use 5/16 around the winch mounting area for sure but what about the rest?
Built mine from 3/16, not too heavy and pretty strong. Ive smacked it against a lot of rocks and trees as well as a deer @55mph.....just minor scratches so far.
the center structure should be out of 1/4" or thicker that holds the winch and bolts to the jeep. the outer shell 3/16" would be fine then weld some reinforcements from the center structure to the corners of the outer shell. it should be placed as far forward and low inside the bumper so that you strengthen the lower face of the bumper.
Yep, take into consideration the design of the bumper. A well designed bumper made of 1/8" is going to fare better than a crapplily designed one made of 1/2"
My BPI is made of 3/16 all around and the corners get bent up all the time because the ends are just hollow forms with no reinforcement:
I'm sure if I gusseted/plated the backside it would holdup a little better. Mine was the non-winch version and I cut it up to take one. Braced the interior with 1/4" angle between the frame mounts and then used 3/16" plate on top of that to mount the winch on. Much stiffer than before even with all the missing metal in the middle.
Another vote for 3/16". My first attempt turned out okay using 1/8" but it was not something I'd feel comfortable sliding up or or down a boulder, not that I make a habit of doing that mind you. I saved the winch tray and frame mounts and rebuilt the sides using 3/16" and it's a much stronger (and heavier) bumper now. http://www.imagestation.com/album/index.html?id=2128589480