Bored Clerk's Rear Bumper Build

Decided to get my rear bumper build going. I'm going hi(ish) clearance with dual swing outs. It'll be styled after my sliders so, hopefully, they look like a set.


Here it is...mostly. This is as far as I'll go in CAD until I get the main bumper with swing outs actually built and mounted. Then I'll work out how I want to attach the wings.

Let's get this thing started!


Step 1: Clean your space! Can't do good work with crap everywhere. And, yes, this is my idea of 'clean'. Haha.


Prep the truck! Back that azz up and tear into it. If you have the factory tow package, the hitch and bumper are conjoined and are removed as one unit. Toyota did their homework on this though. If you remove all of the bolts on the frame rails except the bolt closest to the front of the truck (just loosen them), the bumper will just sit there. Then, from behind, you just tilt the bumper up and slide it back and you're done!


I made some templates and did some measuring and figuring and staring and licking...oh...uhhh, never mind. Then I made frame plates in CAD and had them laser cut and bent. Here they are!


Time to bolt them up! They look super dope...and are completely wrong. They bolt up to the frame perfectly but they place the main bumper tube too low and too close to the truck. Too close as in jammed all up in. There's $44 down the drain. Better luck next time.


I made my adjustments in CAD and had new plates made. Picked them up yesterday and will find out if they fit today. While I was waiting I started working on the main bumper tube; a nice 2" X 4" 3/16" wall piece of rectangular tubing. I printed off some dimensions and angles and got to work.


Started by carefully scribing all of the cuts. Then completely redid it once I realized I screwed the pooch...again! I re scribed a few lines that were off.



Did some angle grinder work to get the party started then I totally cheated and took this to work and did the angled cuts on the bandsaw! Saved me mad time and added a lot of accuracy.



Needed to make some nice straight cuts where a bandsaw could not go. Bust out the angle grinder and a nice thick piece of straight metal. Clamp it down and use it for a straightedge. If it works for an X-acto knife it'll surely work for an angle grinder!

 

Like it so far!

 

Sure enough! Straight edge works awesome for angle grinders and cutoff wheels. Just remember to keep and eye on your straightedge and be sure to change edges when necessary. I was able to make four cuts that were over a foot long using just two edges.


Here's what I've done.


Here's where the hitch goes. And, yes, it will have a lot more bracing.


Some internal bracing for the hitch.

That's where I'm a right now. I'll be working on it today. More updates to come!

 

Subbed.

 

Looking good buddy

 

Subd! Sweeeet

 

Thanks! Part of this build requires bent tubing. I've never done that; but I have seen it done on YouTube! Haha! So I did what any sane person would do and I bought my own tubing bender. I just need to set it up and figure out how to use it. Should be good for messing up many feet of perfectly good tubing. I'll be sure to include my learnings and failures here for the amusement of all!

 

What kind of tube bender did you buy?

 

JD2 Model 32. It's impressively heavy duty and way over my head. I'll figure it out or you'll see an ad on here for a lightly used bender.

 

I have a JD2 model 3. You'll love it dude. Super easy learning curve. If you have any questions hit me up. I make a lot of rock sliders and bed racks and the tube bender really makes such nice bends!

 

Sweet! Man, I really appreciate it.

 

You got it bud! Stoked to see this thing take shape! It caught my eye cuz I made my own rear bumper as well. Yours looks promising

 

Minor setback. I knew that the 2x4 would spring when I cut the pieces out of it. The question was how much. Well, it sprung a lot and I couldn't correct the issue. So, I'm going to restart now so that I don't get too far down the wrong road. I'll switch to a 2x2 and add features rather than taking away features from a bigger piece. Should be able to control the shape much easier.

I did get something else done today, though!


This thing is BEAST! I'll try some bending tomorrow and see how it goes. I'm excited!

I can bend the main bumper tube that I have into being flat so I can, at least, work on bending up the tube support that goes under the hitch. That would be big progress!

 

Did a test bend to figure out where the bend actually starts. The answer for my tubing diameter and die set is...the bend actually starts 1" from the edge of the die. Now that I know that, I should be able to more accurately place tubing in the bender for multiple bends on the same piece of tubing.


Here's the 90 degree test bend. Figuring out the spring back amount is going to take some trial and error but the bender is quite easy to use despite its crazy complicated look. Makes nice bends too. Though, it took some considerable effort to bend this tubing. It's 1.75" X .120 wall DOM tubing. I'll be back on the build this week when I get my piece of 2x2 tubing

 

Good work! DOM definitely takes some oomph to bend but not too bad. You're gonna love that bender man!

 

Back on task tonight!


Picked up my 2x2 .188 wall square tubing! Took it to work and cut it to exactly 55.5". Then I put it in the vise and used a file and a square to ensure the ends were square. Deburred it a little and its ready for cleanup and welding.


Took one of the cut offs from my failed 2x4 steel start and scribed out the new upper hitch feature.


Drilled holes in the corner of the recess for the hitch tube to make a tighter fit up. I'll likely get the bandsaw after this tomorrow night.


And, in the spirit of full transparency, here are the potentially good and the positively bad frame plates. The one on the left is the new modified version which I've yet to fit to the truck to verify. The one on the right is the one I fit on the truck to verify that it's total rubbish. It happens.

I'll be cutting a few other features off of the failed first 'bumper' for use on the second. I'm excited to make some headway!

 

Did a test bend of the brace that runs under the hitch. Other than measuring and bending in all the wrong places it came out really well! Haha.


The drawing shows a bit about where we're headed but doesn't give away the whole thing.

Here's what I learned tonight:

1. I can't divide 7.5 by 2 when I'm excited.

2. I can't bend on the correct side of the incorrect lines mentioned in note 1.

So, even though it's completely wrong technically, it's actually quite correct in spirit!

I'm pretty sure I've got it figured out now. I think the next one will be dialed.

I also need to level my bender so that I don't have to eyeball level on my bends...I can actually use a level. A couple of washers under one side should do it. Even though every element of the bender is free to move a small degree, I think starting more level than I am will help. I'm open to input on this subject.

Progress will be slow this weekend because we have company in town. I'll be forced to go out and eat good food and go snowboarding. #firstworldproblems #whyislifesohard

Heh, I used a hashtag when I don't even really know what it means. #oldfart

 

Here's something that helped me a lot when I started using my tube bender.

http://www.pro-tools.com/dont-get-it-twisted-how-to-eliminate-twist-when-bending-tube-or-pipe/

 

Wha wha whaat? That's exactly what I needed to know!! Now, I'm guessing I should still level my bender to the best of my ability...then apply this. So that when I level my first bend, it's actually somewhat on the same plane as my die. Correct? Or am I way overthinking this?

 

I would agree. I think that when everything is as level as possible, the better!