The "General"

Hi There!

Great thread! I just bought a '91 Sambar and I looking to start getting it ready for the hunting season. I love what you have done so far.

Where did you get the winch plate from? Do you have any specs on it? I really want to follow your lead on that one.

 

Thanks. I just used some 1/8" steel plate that was laying around and cut it to fit. If I were to have to do it by choice, I'd go 3/16" as the 1/8 flexes a little more than I'd prefer. the other option would be to put a bend in it to strengthen it.

 

Ok, makes sense. Thanks for the info.

 

I know when I do mine, I'll try to salvage what I have lying around, instead of wrestling with a bend or some kind of crease, or reinforcement for strength, I'd rather go to a heavier plate! If weight is a problem, I would consider, heavier aluminum, but sometimes that creates an application problem with welding, or mating up two dissimilar metals, and a lot of times, resorting to bolts! I'll know better when I get into it, in the near future! Just some thoughts!
Limestone

 

Yeah, you could also weld the equivalent of a "bend" which is what I probably should do.

 

Yeah, that's the fun of it, as we try to keep improving, and making it better, LEARNING A LOT FROM EACH OTHER!
Limestone

 

If I had seen this before I built my bumper, I would have probably have done something similar. The thing I would have done different would have been a better utilization of the towing hook mount points as part of the support.

 

Whole different setup on a Daihatsu vs. a Sambar. I can't see anything that beefy being more than "show" on a Sambar. I'd rather dent the front than bend the frame. My $0.02

 

They see me mulch-in... They Hate-in.. 1-1/2 yds of mulch is about all it can handle by volume. Weight was pretty close too.

 

When I do finally get to my front end, I think I'll try to keep it simple, and as easy as possible. I say this and then I find myself, heading down that other road! With these little trucks I'm always thinking about the weight issues and not to over do it! I love the look of that larger, stylish bumper, but practicality, always takes over with me! My main concern, with the bumper in mind, will be the snow plow set up. Even though we didn't have to plow once last winter! (Very unusual)! With that in mind, I like the 2 inch receiver idea, so you can drop the plow when not needed! Above the receiver, I'd like to keep, a winch, centered, so it's there when needed! That small amount of weight would stay on, all the time. I do like the simplicity of the bumper you installed, on yours, Ohkei! You left yourself with a lot of options like we talked about in the past! Jig's when you say you would have done a different job with the towing, mount, hook points! Educate me some more. What are you thinking? Are you talking about the location of the two silver clevis, that are on each side of the winch? Or where he mounted the too? Possibly, a stronger location, at the frame? I'm assuming! (I do agree!) It would be just as easy to extend the front part of the frame, to mount everything to, for strength! He was right, though, he did get a heck of a deal on everything! More good info!
Limestone

 

@11:06 into this video of his, you can see an example of a heavy duty bumper put on a sambar van with a 5" lift.

 

Yeah he did a real nice job, hard to believe he went with a 5" lift!

 

Yeah, It looks nice, but I'm telling you, the frame up front is like 1-1/4" pipe. In fact the Sambar uses the frame as the air intake on the passenger side. If that guy just bumps a tree, that bumper will just send the pain right to the frame, or if he winches just a little too vertical.. Unless he designed it to break off.

 

I guess it depends on whether you want your feet to survive or are more concerned with not bending the truck frame. I’ve had to dig people out of old Volkswagen Beatles, and Vans, after front end impacts. Invariably the ones from the pre five mile an hour bumper mandate, had crushed feet. Our mini trucks aren’t any stronger in the front end than those old Volkswagens were.

When I said I was disappointed in How MotoCheez mounted his bumper, his solution was to bolt a piece of what looks like 0.80 by 1.5-inch angle into the thin sheet metal front of the truck, with four bolts. He hits anything solid with any speed, and it will crumple right onto his feet.

Then after he put all the load on the really thin sheet metal, he tacked some spindly little angle iron onto the towing brackets, which mount to the front of the frame.

When I built my bumper, I utilized those frame mounting points out at the ends, and ran a piece of 2-1/2-inch 0.10 wall square tubing Form the middle back to the swivel point on the frame for the steering, and secured it with rivnuts. I’m connected to the three most solid points on the front of the truck, as securely as I can be.

And, yep If I hit something solid at any speed the truck may be totaled. But, I have increased the probability of my walking away, substantially. I can find another truck. I’m really attached to the feet I have, and hope to keep them in good enough shape to walk on for the rest of my life.

I thought about the Jeep Bumper briefly, but decided that, since I have a lift-picker/dump bed, I really wanted mounting points on all four corners of the truck for outriggers.

Which, since I mounted my winch on a receiver plate, also gives me six possible winch mounting points. Which has been really helpful, when yarding things up mountain sides, to get them to the road and the truck.

I put a bolt on receiver plate on the bottom of the tool box, and the winch lives there, out of the weather, when it isn’t mounted to one of the bumpers.

I have one of the BlackLine, electro-hydraulic plows, and the thing is heavy enough, I have to add 400-lbs of sand bags in the bed to balance the load on the axles, back to the fifty-fifty weight distribution, I have when the plow isn’t mounted. If, I had gone with a winch mount bumper, that would have pushed the plow further forward, and required more sand in the bed to balance the axle loads.

If your thinking of mounting one of the winch operated plows, designed for ATVs, you might rethink that. Those plows can’t generate any down pressure, and just skitter across the top of any hard snow, making it really hard to actually get the driveway clean if someone drives on it before you get a chance to plow it.

 

Jig's,
Thanks for explaining! I agree with you wholeheartedly! That's pretty much what I thought, and was thinking! We do think alike. I'm the same way, I can't just glue something on the front end, I have to work off something solid, especially something like a bumper/plow set up! I remember not to long ago, someone was questioning us on how and where to attache a rear bumper mount to! I know when I mounted my home fabricated bumper to the rear, I worked off both rear frame rails! To me and you, it's common sense! With the plow, no I'm not gonna go with a light duty winch mounted plow's! I looked at them, but I think their more for the hobbyist guys, who don't have a lot of experience with that! I have a friend who has a 6 ft. plow, almost new, off of a side by side utv, that was wrecked, and he doesn't need it any more, so were in the process of working something out for it! The winch, would be a separate entity in itself. I am still thinking about the outriggers! You got me thinking about that a while back! Another good point! I can't be one of those guy's that just runs out and does things, I'm more of a planner! I won't use it, until it's ready! That's why she's still in the shop! I've seen too many guy's improperly rig stuff, that's not me! It ain't happenin! I like my leg's too! Thanks Again!
Limestone

 

Hello, I'm new to the Sambar/minitruck world. I just did a lift kit and have too much positive camber. I downloaded the manual as you suggested, but I only see camber specs not how to actually adjust. Can you point me in the right direction?

Where did you out the shorter spacers for the shocks? What did you use as spacers?

Thanks!

 

The lift kits you can buy throw the camber way out of whack and there is no way to adjust it. I installed the michigan mini truck shock spacers but then dropped my subframe 2" to keep everything in check.

 

Any links to the shock spacer? I did not see it ok their site. What did you use to lower your subframe?

 

banz,
Forgive me as my memory elapses me. Wasn't it you that did a great job posting pics on the forum, re working the struts, at the bottom mounts to re work, and adjust the camber?
Limestone

 

I just used some 1/8" x 1" steel and drilled holes the correct distance apart and then spot welded the steel to the shock mount to keep it straight.