Coastal Offroad Talky Time

A Titanium 140 MIG from Harbor freight did mine just fine.

 

You need to check with a construction rental place, some place a bit more hard core than Home Depot. It can be a cheap way to get a mig welder
My father in law is a farmer so he is thinking if I buy a bumper kit this is a good excuse to pick up a welder.

 

Check out ARC1 Industries in B.C.
https://arconeindustries.com/

 

Have been like 2 weeks on internet trying to find something and I just found Arc one yesterday. I already email him and I found big contry customs waiting an answer from then too. I'm living in Québec and I didn't find ONE who makes full bumper. The only one I found in the province of Quebec was https://www.apfoffroad.ca and they just make hybrid front bumper.
I'm going to buy the https://www.okexpedition.ca skid plate and maybe the https://greenlaneoffroad.com rock slider in aluminum for less weight because I'm going in bc this summer and Vancouver from Québec city it's 4'800km. So less better it is

 

+1 on the HF Titanium 140. That is what I used to weld up my skid kit and it had plenty of power to get great penetration on the 3/16 plate.
If I had the money at the time of purchase I would have grabbed the 170 but I haven't crossed anything this 140 cant weld yet.
I used it to weld up my bed rack, coastal skids, a 3/16 plate reloading riser, weld on a few nuts that broke off the stock bash plate on the truck. I also plan to build a trailer this spring with it. Its been great so far. If you watch for coupons for HF the 140 goes on sale quite often. For sub $700 I nabbed the welder and a 80cf C25 tank filled.

 

This was right after I welded and installed the bumper. Now I'm not saying I'm the greatest welder ever and that I know everything but I do know that if this bumper was welded with a little hobby flux core welder, Like all harbor freight welders are, (They are getting better though) then it would have cracked. I'm not saying go out and buy the best welder you can. If you can only afford a little buzz box then have at it. I don't even own the welder I used. It's my work welder. But facts are its not going to be able to withstand what a bumper like this is supposed to. Maybe with every edge beveled pretty hard and multiple passes but with flux core you are just inviting porosity and contaminates into every joint. If you do use a hobby welder, be super meticulous in cleaning all the slag off in-between passes. AND FOR THE LOVE OF GOD. Do not quench your steel.

 

I hit a deer with mine with no damage. Not flux core but still HF. TBF it wasn't highway speed but it wasn't a soft hit either.

 

That's awesome! It's good to hear. But I'm not saying I absolutely can't be done. And even if I did say that there is an exception to every rule. But generally speaking it's not a good idea.

 

Oh I agree, chicago electric welders should never be used. Like I said above, my wire gun exploded after one project. Trying to get replacement parts for it was like pulling teeth so it went in the bin.
The titanium is a huge step over them.

 

Has anyone tried to add their own inner reinforcement for the front bumper? I saw how the Demello bumper has an internal skeleton for extra strength.

 

We partnered up with coastal and weld their bumpers together as well! Though we are, admittedly, more expensive than $80/h cash.

 

So what’s your turnaround on a weld kit bumper.

 

We charge 8h for a front bumper, not including removal of the original bumper, or installation of any winch or lights etc. Rears take longer, especially if there are swing outs or whatever else. Also, on the bumpers where cutting the body panels is a factor, there is some extra time for that.

8h is honestly probably a little less time than it takes us, but we make them look like they can from a factory. I've seen some pretty rough looking c.o. bumpers out in the wild! not that there's anything wrong with learning to weld!

Also, we can now get the front plates prebent in one piece which should be stronger and look better as well, because we are so close to coastal's shop

 

Thanks for the info

 

it probably is all even in the end, you have the experience building them so it goes quicker for you instead of some welder I hire cash that has to learn everything.

 

Just finished this one up today in the shop

 

Looks awesome!

 

Way better lines than mine.. I made the mistake of squaring the top plate through all 3 sections. I highly believe now that I should've tacked and verified the wing angles before moving on. I was happy enough with the initial few steps and got ahead of myself!

 

Easy to do! Start blasting beads and next thing you know it's all crooked. Really easy to over heat these bumpers and have them warp too, so have to make sure to jump around a lot

 

Just finished the bumper as well. Pretty straight forward and I was happy to have more experienced amateur welder friends to help out.

Maybe not as precise as @WormSquirts did it (recognized the truck from Overland Outfitters ) But pretty ok for first try.



now question. The winch mount appears to not have a ton of space, any suggestions what would fit in there?