Making homemade bumper. need ideas!

does this affect the on road handling of the truck? yes i know its a truck and handling isnt what its about, but i feel like it would be weird having that weight way back there? maybe not a difference at all?

thanks, looks sick!!

 

looks like he only worked on a for a little each week though? if we set aside a couple weekends wed have around 14-16 hours of work per weekend to get it done within. i doubt itd take more than 30 hours. am i wrong? (not trying to challenge you im genuinely wondering)
thanks!

 

There was another one that I couldn't find. A guy was building it for his girlfriends truck. I think he worked on it for almost a year and then they broke up. She came on here and asked for help getting it finished, and some TW members stepped up and finished it for her.

 

I don't know your buddies abilities or what kind of steel cutting equipment you have access to. If you take on the project, I genuinely hope you follow through to the end.

 

haha thats kinda funny but also sucks. i saw a few that people finished in just two days, but they seemed a little more experienced (not pros though) so i figured i could probably get it done in a few weeks maybe a month idk yet. im probably over ambitious, but i need to be to grind it out. not sure what cutting tools he has, but hes a 50 year old airplane mechanic and has an awesome shop so i bet hes got a plasma cutter.

 

yes ill totally post updates!

 

Lots of thoughts on this. I'm gearing up to do mine as well.

Rear bumper:

• Rear swinging carrier is the most important feature. Overland style is ideal. This means a tire carrier to one side, and a large flat plate you can rest a cooler/propane tank/lock box for the other side. When this swing opens, you want to a have an aluminum drop down tail gate that can support a camp stove - make sure it doesn't hit your actual camp stove.
  
• Add a rear backup light. A manual controlled bright white light that you use to help you reverse at night.
• Super burly trailer hitch.
  
• Two huge tow hook. use hooks, not closed eyes. Imagine someone only has chain link... yeah, the hooks make a lot more sense as long as pick ones that nearly come full circle.
• Don't forget the wiring for the trailer hookup.

Front bumper:

• Add a solid set of off road lights, deeply recessed and protected by cages. You will break these.
• Make the front flat and high as you progress towards the wheels. This will drastically increase the tire exposure. IE - your tires hit before your bumper does (helpful for steep approaches and rock crawling).
• Keep room for a winch
• Front tow hooks, similar to back (make sure these are tied into the frame, front and back hooks).
• I like a nice bull bar with some good clearance. I drive roads where using these to part and push brush is really nice.
• Study your factory bumper, take close notes of where your sensors are running. New trucks like these usually have airbag/crash sensors built into/around the bumper. You will want to preserve these.

Lets say you take the time to fab all this up. Dont just paint this. This will be $100s in welding/metal/your time. Find a facility to powder coat it for you. If you don't have access to a CNC rig to cut your parts, consider working up some cad files and having everything professionally cut. Also very worth it.

 

I appreciate all the info!! isnt powdercoating easy to scratch? the hanger i work in has a painting booth so id be able to paint it myself if i used that, or maybe use a bedliner?

i dont do any rock crawling or hardcore offroad (yet), but i do love driving through the woods and down tougher dirt roads and stuff. ill see what my buddy has for cutting tools over in his hanger. hes got tons of tools i dont know about so maybe hes got a cnc as well. thanks!

 

handles fine, just need upgrade your leaf pack.

 

hm. ill probably make the bumper without it first, and maybe in the future add one on. thanks!

 

It’ll take a while, but it’s not all that hard. If you have a mind for learning, enjoy problem solving and are prepared to make a lot of mistakes, you’ll be fine. My first bumper was a disaster, but each one after got easier. Feel free to message me with questions. I’m in the process of designing and building a plate bumper for a friend’s 1st gen.

Big tip... learn some basic welding techniques before you jump in. It’ll make your work a lot easier. Lay a few (hundred) practice beads if your buddy’ll let you. The less you need to grind, the happier you’ll be.

 

ill definitely take you up on those questions! well fuck around a little with the welder beforehand im sure. do you have any pics from your projects? id love to see them!

 

Stock rear replacement I did for a 1st gen. Between design, cutting all the pieces out with an angle grinder, and tig welding it together, this one took a week.


Front bumper on my truck, and the first one I made.


Old one of my rear. Don’t have any current ones.

Can’t find any photos of other bumpers I’ve made. But there’s a small sampling.

 

ill definitely take you up on those questions! well fuck around a little with the welder beforehand im sure.

i really like all three of those. ill definitely send the questions over as i get started!
great work man

 

Here is mine it took about 25 hours of work. But I work at a steel fab shop so I got everything cut on a CNC plasma table. If I had to cut everything it would have took a lot longer.

 

looks awesome man. im excited to see how this comes out!

 

did you do that rear bumper and side steps/sliders (not sure the difference) as well?

 

Also, make sliders. If you have the metal, and things are going well, finish out your armor with some sliders. That will give you some serious confidence going off road.

 

Yeah I made the sliders but I got lazy with the rear and ordered it from mobtown offroad

 

looks great!