Gen 2 Homemade High Clearance Rear Bumper

I went outside my comfort zone this week by chopping my rear fenders for a homemade, high clearance rear bumper. All my truck mods to date have not been this permanent or this involved so this was definitely a mind-F that took a few beers to get over and deserved a write-up.

First, I spent all my free time (which isn’t much) designing over the course of a month. I work in CAD and solidworks all day at work and I have been given the option to use my software at home due to all this covid crap. So I decided WTH I’ll design and build my own HCRB as I wasn’t really in a rush for it.

Once i was comfortable with the design I decided to use a local laser / plasma shop to cut all the metal for me. Although outsourcing the subtractive manufacturing step added quite a bit of cost, I figured this would guarantee good fitment while still designing in some cool features that I would have no way of creating manually. Overall my grand total for this build came in at $750 which is 2/3 the cost of my relentless fab dream bumper. This included: metal, washers, bolts, lighting, primer, paint, 2lbs welding wire, and some grinding wheels. Cost also has the potential to decrease because i have already talked to the laser company about how to reduce cost by nesting all the parts in one file.

Pros to this challenge have included: cost savings, fully custom and uniqueness points, manufacturing skills.

Cons to this challenge have included: slight complications with attaching to the frame, time (probably 20 hours of design time, 10 hours of assembly, welding, grinding, etc… so far), giving up my tow hitch (which i never used but i could see myself wanting it back someday)

For me, the pros far outweigh the cons. As a mechanical engineer by day, I get a full hard on for designing my own stuff. I just recently started to design my own products for my truck and I there is no end in sight.... a blessing and a curse. I also saw this as an opportunity to improve my welding skills (which I didn’t have much of).

Most of this bumper body is constructed with 3/16” cold rolled steel sheet.

The mounting plates to the frame are cut from ¼” hot rolled plate.

The mounting plates to the frame also doubled as a tow point which I added 2 extra ¼” plates to each side for a total ¾” thick tow points and were through welded.


It also already started to rust this weekend because my wife dragged me to Monterey for our anniversary and the humidity just killed it. I need to take the bumper off anyway to finishing welding / grinding / sanding, then i will prime, paint and reinstall.

Feel free to comment or post suggestions for the next build. I do have a few guys in a local group that may be interested in the next build.

 

OK, I'll bite.


One of the things that I find distressing on just about every non stock rear bumper is the lack of the hitch; as in it is deleted. For me this is not an option. A truck that is not capable of handling the factory spec hitch weight and weight load is worthless to me. From what I can see in your photo's, the hitch has been deleted.

Why not incorporate the hitch into your design?

Curiously yours,

Jim

 

Most of the bumpers have the hitch incorporated into the bumper under the license plate. The difference is they do not have them tested and rated even though most I would argue are better or equal to the factory or aftermarket rated hitch in the ability to tow as seen by many people that use them.

 

That's some nice work there, OP.

 

I like the hi lift slots you built in. Looks good!

 

Hi Jim,
You are correct, on this build I did delete the tow hitch and decided to focus completely on the bumper. I also don't tow with my truck right now so it was not an immediate concern. However, I did leave room to add one later. The point of this bumper was to add ground clearance and did not want to add in the complexity of the hitch just yet. As ovrlndkull stated, usually HCRB incorporate a hinged license plate with the hitch receiver behind it. I have seen some really heavy duty options out there that I will probably steal some ideas from.

 

Dude this is legit, the Sasquatch is a very nice touch.

 

Thanks, Hi lift jack fits like a glove too. This was a feature that isn't on some other aftermarket rear bumpers and I never understood why.
When you have a heavy duty rear bumper, why not incorporate the jack spots?? Most front bumpers have them... Another benefit to designing your own.

 

Looks great

 

Hahaha Thanks! Its the little things. Idk why, but when i was designing this I kept thinking of the BJ Badwin trophy truck video where he is chashing the Sasquatch and it stuck.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wM0qmMb3sCg
I am kind of thinking about backlighting the Sasquatch guy too, well see.

 

I like your build as well, seems like a very capable setup. I'm surprised how similar my rear bumper is to the one you had made, the light cut outs in the same spot, the recessed license plate area, even the angles are similar Wish i saw your thread before i started designing mine. haha

 

Thank you, the truck is way more capable than I am. I love that bumper so glad I didn’t get a swing out with it. Looking forward to seeing your final product.

 

Also, i just flipped through some photos and forgot about these.
This is how I created the 3/4" thick tow points. The middle piece is a 1/4" plate attached straight through to the frame, then two 1/4" tow plates were welded on each side on the outside of the bumper only.
I know my welds aren't awesome, had to knock off some slag, but it will hold.

 

Just got the bumper pulled off to finish welding, rounding corners and removing the surface rust. Then it will be time for priming, painting, and finally installing lights and license plate.

 

Why didn't you get a swing out?
That is something i was contemplating about adding later so that i could get the spare tire out from under the bed.
I have heard some horror stories of swing outs flinging open when least expected.
My wife has a swing out on her Jeep Rubicon and that sucker goes moves every time we hit a bump.... it just doesn't seem very secure.
If i made a swing out, I was thinking about triangulating the tire carrier frame from the bumper up to the bed rack to hopefully disperse the added weight. In other words, I would have a standard latch on the left side of the bumper as well as a latch at the top of the carrier but mounted to the bed rack.

 

I didn’t want the additional weight and I’m in and out of the bed entirely to much. It’s not a big deal to me to remove the spare when we go wheeling.

 

Very awesome build! In the end you get exactly what you want. I supposed you can always repair your own too should it ever get damaged. I'm interested in what the weight differences are stock vs yours.

 

My one suggestion is to get a better welder, my man. Those Chicago Electric flux-core welders are straight garbage. I'm impressed you're tackling a project of this caliber with it, but I worry about the lack of fusion as well. Once you jump to anything that's C25 gas-shielded, you'll wonder why you didn't make the switch sooner. If you want any budget-friendly suggestions, let me know.

I don't mean for this to come off harsh or like I'm putting you down, so I hope it's not received that way. I'm a huge proponent of building your own armor, I built both my own bumpers as well.


edit: And I'm very impressed at the quality of welds you're managing to lay with it. If you can lay those with that welder, I'd be impressed to see what you could do with a better welder.

 

Good question, I will weigh it tonight.
I don't know what the stock bumper weighed because i haven't had one in a while. I know the hitch receiver alone was 55lbs. Id be happy if it was <100lbs.

 

Ya, I get the ground clearance thing and for someone who is kitting out a vehicle for very specific rock crawling it makes perfect sense.

For me, I have to have a jack of all trades vehicle which means that I do not have the luxury of deleting the hitch.

My biggest concern with an aftermarket bumper that has in any way changed the factory hitch is associated with liability should my vehicle be involved in an accident that the hitch/bumper was for any reason (towing or not) singled out as something that contributed to the event in any way. It is unfortunate that we live with things like this having to be an issue but in all too many cases people do things to their vehicles that make them unsafe on the road.

It is all too easy to overload a Tacoma as it is given the limited carrying capacity. And, if overloaded when involved in an accident it is going to be difficult to dodge anything that can be directed at you in the way of your failing to have operated your vehicle in a safe manner. Have a trailer in tow just exacerbates the issue(s) should something happen.

So, call me paranoid if you like, but as much as I would like to have an aftermarket bumper, I am not willing to take any risk associated with being at fault for having altered my vehicle in a way that could be considered as contributing to the cause of an accident. If you have never had a trailer break loose (for whatever reason) you will not have any understanding of what my concerns are. If you have seen this happen to someone else then you probably get it.

Any rate, your design looks good. I'd love to be able to use it but without an engineering stamp of approval I am more than reluctant...

Regards,

Jim