Cheap man's bumper builds

Nice work man!

What camper shell is that?

 

Not my cup of tea but damm nice metal work and welding.

 

eyeball engineering......love it

 

Awesome! +1

 

Bestop, it folds forward in less that 5 mins so that you can make use of the whole bed. They cost around $600.

 

Nice work! I love when people take the initiative to make something unique rather than settle for what is out there. I'm 27 too and in college (again...) so I can appreciate doing things on the budget!

Attached is the bumper I'm wanting to build for my Tacoma. I used google sketchup (FREE!) to draw it out, than took the measurements off the individual plates to create AutoCAD templates. Once I print the templates off full size, I can cut them out and trace them onto the steel. I figured I have the technology to do it, might as well save myself some time. The rectangle recessed fog light holes are still up in the air as far as I'm concerned.

What gauge steel did you work with? I was kinda thinking 12 gauge for mine... anything has gotta be better than the plastic crap that came on the truck - one good hit could cause a lot of damage and makes me a little nervous.

If you like the raw welds, by all means rock'em! Personally, I'd rather hide my welds as much as possible. I'll probably build it this summer, paint it in black crinkle?

Again, NICE WORK, and awesome to see other people who are interested in the same stuff! Let alone guys who actually walk the walk!

 

I built them out of 1 1/2" square tubing and paneled it in with 14 gauge. I did that for weight. It works fine and I only remove paint when I hit something. I never wanted it to be pretty, just even and straight, because I planned on hitting stuff.