OK, so I don't have a few hundred to drop on bumpers for my truck... but I do have access to a welder! So... I was thinking that perhaps with the extensive knowledge of fabricators on this site maybe someone could help me out and give me tips on how they made theirs? op: I have high flying plans to build a full front bumper replacement with hook mounts and all that later, but for now I just need a bumper with a receiver hitch. The rear looks pretty straightforward as far as the pattern is concerned, I'm just worried about making sure I make it structurally sound so it'd be cool to know what you guys recommend as far as gauge of steel etc. The front is a bit more complicated; I'm not sure where I can mount safely. Also I'd like to be able to mount a winch on there as well since the plow I have in mind raises and lowers with a winch... Other tidbits; my truck is a 1996 Suzuki 5 speed, I have no plans to lift it (if that matters?) and if you need any other info I'd be happy to furnish it! Thanks, -Iron
Time I've got plenty of... or at least I've got more time than money. Besides I'd want to customize it anyway because nobody builds exactly what I want... and if I had someone else build what I want it'd be astronomically expensive. And of course I don't have an exact idea what I want so having something custom made would be difficult lol.
Well, the rear was a piece of cake just as expected. If anyone's interested I can take detailed pics of it so that someone else could easily duplicate it... it's the only one I've ever seen that was bolt on without any modification to the truck itself, although it does make the location of the spare tire pretty useless so I removed mine. I am going to be embarking on a full scale front build next, I plan on incorporating a skid plate for undercarriage protection and making the thing bolt on so you can remove it to change fluids etc so it's gonna take me awhile to do... especially since I have little experience with welding and fabrication but what the hell, my welds were pretty damn good for my rear bumper so this should be doable even if it's difficult! I'll keep this thread updated for sure!
Thanks! The front is proving to be a much more complicated process... but I'm getting there! Hopefully this weekend I'll finally get the last little bits ironed out and have it all set to go for the winter.
I hope this is what you are looking to do: Welded 2 inch flat stock to the side of the frame and then added 2x2 at the front of each frame, welding it to the flat stock to make a mounting point to the bumper. First attempt did not hold up to the plow. So following the advice of others, I beefed up the mounting location to the bumper by cutting 2x2 square in half to make an "L" bracket 2by2 inches. I then welded these "L"s to the bumper and to the protruding flat stock and square tubing combo. Then being the Frankenstein welder that I am, I filled in the top from the bumper to the mounting bracket and then ground it all down. Finished for now. Needs a push bumper addition. In the works this winter. Used the cheap winch setup last winter with no problems. Bought a spring kit off amazon and replaced the yellow high dollar nylon cord. This pictures shows the receiver attachment. The photo was taken before beefing up the bumper bracket. Nice rear bumper. I'd like to see some pictures of rear bumper that replaces the tailgate bracket hinge support/tail light sheet metal. Lifting the bumper to allow a better departure angle would be nice. The Lurker
Holy crap!!! You took all the front body panels off and everything... did you put any of that back on? Here's what I ended up doing for the front, I think it'll work out OK. First I welded some plates underneath on the front sway supports. You can also see the attachment points for my plow under there. Having the plow hook up underneath the truck really ups the pushing power. I didn't take any pictures of it but then I welded some supports straight to the pinch weld of the frame and the radiator and bolted them to the winch plate... worked like a charm and didn't move when I was jumping up and down on it.
