1st Gen CBI DIY Moab 1.0 Front Bumper Build

These bumpers are a great deal for anyone who is handy, enjoys saving a good bit of coin, & tackling a fun project.

They don't come with instructions. It's the most epic puzzle to put together. I wish I took more, but I did take some pictures during the build process that may be of some aid to others who are building their own. Had a buddy help me weld mine together in SoCal, nice to have two people working at it.

CBI says to mount the base and tack everything into place on the truck to ensure a fit, then take off and lay the welds.

I used Herculiner from Amazon for a cheap finish after priming it. Still holding together great after 4 years.

Anyways, hope these pics help anyone who is looking to piece one together!

Final Product:

Build:

 

Wow that does look good! Thanks for writing this up. Did you mig or arc weld it together?

 

Thanks for posting this, I’ll post mine up when I’m done, I’m taking a few more pictures from different angles, so hopefully that will be helpful to others as well.

I’ve been using my flux core wire feed welder. No gas. It might take a couple passes in several areas, but that’s what I have, lol.

 

Thanks, I'm stoked on the turnout. No worries, guys on here do such a great job about describing installs, this is pretty half-assed haha. I've learned so much from this site, I can only hope to help a bit. It's mig welded.

Hope it helps you, & am sure if you take detailed pics it'll help those in the future. I always get busy with installs & forget to take the time to stop and document the progress! Happy building!

Cheers.

 

So I'm sitting here looking at the shackle mounts and wondering if that is strong enough. They are basically just welded to the plate, without much reinforcement.

Have you yanked off them?

I’m considering making another small gusset, but it can’t be too big because it’s so close to the vertical mounting plate

 

If you look at the 3rd pic you can see the hole were it gets through welded. Also seen on pic #16 you can see the welds.

 

Yeah, I know that. It just doesn’t seem like it is reinforced enough as designed, since it is esentially butt welded to 3/16ths plate. If you compare that to a typical rear bumper that has the shackle mounts are extended pieces of 1/2” or 3/4” steel tied directly to the frame.

I’m wondering who has made some decent pulls off them and if it seems like it’s enough.

Here’s mine so far, tacked together:

 

I haven’t been in a recovery situation where I’ve needed to yet. But iirc I slightly inset the shackle mount inside the hole maybe 1/4” and welded the front & back side of the plate? This is the whole I mounted them “inside”

 

Yeah, I know that’s the hole for the shacke.

I kinda like your idea, I was also thinking about putting a gusset on the back side.

I don’t want to sound like I’m doubting the design of a well respected bumper manufacturer, but I gess I kinda am... lol

 

What if you put a flat plate across the back side too, kind of like a beefy washer? The gusset you mentioned is probably about the same thing. That said, the way mine is fabricated, I have no doubt it'll hold up to getting me yanked out of any situation.

 

It’s one of those “I’m sure it’s fine” things, CBI aren't idiots, they make good stuff. It just seems like the shackle mounts might twist the sheet metal when being pulled from the side.

 

Thanks!

 

I hear you, not all recoveries are straight forward. That sheet metal is pretty thick & reinforced right next to it, so I’d hope it wouldn’t shear.

 

Do the round turn signal lights come with the kit, or where are they sourced from?

 

I believe they came with the kit. You will need to install a different signal relay though, unless you want to keep the hyperblink, as they draw less power, tricking the computer into thinking one/both bulbs are out. I'll link the Amazon part tonight when I get home from work.

 

Nice looking welds with flux and no 75/25. Pretty job stitching the verticals.

 

Is there room to put a small flat plate on the back side of the shackle? I was thinking of having an opening (drilled holes, maybe?)over the centerline of the shackle, giving a way weld to the shackle, and then weld all the edges, especially to the vertical plate.

 

Mine came with the LED's.

I had already relocated my turn signals to the corner marker lights, so I plan to just splice into the existing wires for the LEDs so I don't need to worry about the hyper blink situation.

I suppose you could. I think a gusset could end up being lighter and be more rigid, though. I was thinking a small triangle shaped piece that goes across the back of the shackle, kinda like this:


I think a good practice would be to use both points, if possible, during a recovery anyway...

In the end, I'm sure laziness will take over and I'll convince myself that the folks at CBI know what they're doing. If I'm really that concerned I should get a beefy frame mounted recovery point like the Aussies use. I do plan to keep my OEM hook, anyway...

 

I'm thinking something about like this, probably a 3/16 plate piece:

 

Those both look like solid options