My front license plate bracket...many large pics

Ok, I can't believe Toyota expects us to just put the front plate right on the bumper and on top of that it covers a large portion of the lower grill opening. So, before my temp tag expired I built my own bracket.

1 1/2" x 1/8" metal strap, a little bending, grinding, drilling, and off to the powder coater.



Throw in a generic license plate mount from Autozone.





It mounts using the inner bumper mount stud on the passenger side. Shown here (just follow the big red arrow) with the nut already removed.



All mounted up.



This is looking from the top down to show the gap between it and the bumper.



Now with the plate.



It does have a bit more "bounce" than I'd like so I may end up adding some gussets later but it will not flex enough to come in contact with the bumper.

Now here's one just for fun.

 

i'd like one only centered on the bumper.

 

X 2

 

Sticks out pretty far, I could totally see myself accidentally ripping that off. My garage is pretty tight in the front.

Good work on being inventive. It would be nice to not have holes in the bumper.

 

Centered is a little too expected...and no easy mount point. This is version 1.0. I had to get the first version together quickly so I could run legal. I'd like it to be a tad closer but actually if this version were closer it could hit the bumper. Next version will be stronger, closer to the bumper, and will follow the angle of the bumper. Less than $10 in material.

 

I like the product you put together, but Im also not feeling the placement. Its great if you like it, but I first though of beaver teeth or buckteeth but one tooth got punched out. Kind of goofy looking to me. kinda like mater from cars http://movies.yahoo.com/photos/movie-stills/gallery/1509/cars-stills#photo21.

If it were me, I'd do more of an S shaped bracket rather than a C shaped bracket. That would place the plate in between the lower grill and the big grill. It would also look good off center if you want to do that still IMO.

 

I guess I come by the offset look naturally as my car has the same look from the factory. The plate won't fit between the grills without blocking at least some airflow. Seems counter-productive to have extra coolers on the truck and then block the air flow. And after noting the flex in this piece an "S" shaped piece would have far too much flex. I'll try and put some more time into a way to get a centered version.

Keep the ideas coming...I'll be building the next version soon (but haven't determined what it will look like yet)

 

move to a state where they dont require a front plate

 

Hmm... Tie into both the bumper bolts, only run the part that comes out parallel to the ground along the bumper line. Then fold a tab down in the center to mount the plate.

Alternately, make a simple L bracket to attach the plate to. Then drill a couple holes in it and use another piece of the same metal and a couple bolts to clamp it to the plastic piece on your grill. The long one running horizontally across the lower opening. The L would need to be long enough to drop below the level of the air flow, but you would only block around 1 square inch of the air flow. Probably a good idea to use some rubber washers/gasket material so you don't mar the plastic.

Another idea. Don't know about a second gen, but on my first gen there is a bolt hole for the skid plate right in the middle of the front cross member. attach an L bracket coming up from there. You'd probably want a longer bolt though.

EDIT: Then there is, of course, the all powerful zip tie method.

 

Not bad for first try. Do agree with others regarding centering. I might try clamping that Autozone plate with 2 bolts and some flat brackets/nuts from the backside through the bottom grille opening. Then your plate will sit against the bumper and be more sturdy. Keep us updated.

 

This is exactly what I thought of when I saw you put the plate to one side. This is what I call R I C E !

I will never understand the Fast & Furious crowd's obsession with what the Japanese consider 'style'. But to each his own.

 

That particular placement of the license plate actually has a function. You see that giant intercooler on the front. Yea, that needs air flowing through it to work. Put a license plate in front of it and then it does not work as efficiently as it could. On the other hand, the placement of the license plate on the truck is different. Think, type, submit reply...

 

I like the idea but it looks like it'd rip off if you happened to push into a snow bank for example. I'm assuming that autozone mount kit is plastic? I agree that Toyota's method of bolting it to the bumper is less than ideal though.

 

x2

To the OP, definitely looks better than where Toyota puts them...

 

Nice .. But I live in Cali.. Didn't have it in my old car and it's not on my truck..

 

I'd read up on the law...and consider mounting it to the factory "skid" plate.

 

Any contact with the bumper is what I'm trying to avoid. I don't want to have marks in case the plate ever comes off (MO is looking at moving away from front plate requirements).

Exactly right for the car but also true for the truck (admittedly to a lesser degree). Why have the additional accessory coolers if you're just going to cover up a section of the airflow path like the factory mount does. My first goal was not to damage the bumper and the second was to not block the grill openings. Goal number three was a simple item that could be made from a single piece of metal with cut-outs, holes, and bends as needed so the part could be easily made at a local machine shop. I was assuming others don't like the idea of the stock mount. This means we end up with what seems to be a like it or hate it mount location of off-center.

It would likely break the cheap plastic mount but the metal should survive and not flex into the bumper. What happens if you drive the stock mount into a snow bank? I'm not sure but I'd guess a nice imprint of a license plate in your bumper. One good thing for anyone that goes offroad is that it is a single 14mm nut holding the entire piece on so it goes on and off quickly.

Thanks!

I'm going to investigate ways to center it and I'll take any input on ways to do so or any improvement ideas for that matter. But please keep in mind I want to end up with something that is easy to manufacture. It could be the coolest, strongest mount available but no one is going to pay $300 to mount a front plate.

I don't think that would fly in MO. Even if it is technically legal you'd be spending a lot of time on the side of the road arguing your point with the local police.

 

Glad I live in Florida

 

i have to agree with others, it does give off that "ricey" "import" look, its good tho, i kinda like it, i just slap mine on the front in the middle, im in cali so i need it, or else it would still be flying around on the back seats.

 

Try this... no bracket required, just a drill and some self tapping screws. Never been questioned after a year in Los Angeles.