Igc's BBP Build thread and trip log

After killing another stock tire rescuing a friend and his broken dirtbike in the desert it was time for an upgrade. I was looking at the Bfgs which I've had before on other trucks and the Duratracks. Ended up with another Goodyear tire called the Ultra-terain AT which I believe is a pretty new tire. Price was good and they seemed alittle less aggressive than the Duratrack. They seemed like a better option for how much pavement this truck sees on my daily commute. Stock tires were at about 50% tread at this point as well, 23,000mi.

The next day I went out to Johnson Valley to meet some buddies for a dirtbike ride, after the ride I had to break in the new tires in the rocks at cougar buttes.

 

After we were done wheeling I loaded up the bike to head home, as I was pulling out of the area my buddies were camping I managed to rip off the driver corner of my rear bumper. hahaha. All the wheeling I did and I destroyed it leaving camp. Pretty disappointed with the stock bumper, but I've had plans to do front and rear bumpers since day one. Now was a good time to rip the stock crap off and get to work. I had a few design ideas in my head from other stuff I've seen. My truck was a base model off road so it didnt have a hitch from the factory. I don't tow stuff but I do have a motorcycle hitch carrier that gets used when I have the rtt on the rack. So the new bumper will have a hidden receiver. Needs to be higher clearance than stock. And needs to be as light as possible.

 

Pictures are a bit lacking at this point. Sometimes I just forget to take pics at different points. I started by cutting out some frame mounts, the receiver and the main crossmemebr. Frame plates got stacked together and went onto the mill for hole placement. Next up was notching the crossmemebr for the hitch receiver. Up on the mill it went as well. Here I'm drilling the corner radi with a 1" drill then the extra material will be cut out on the band saw. It will then go back on the mill for 1 last final cut to square it all up.

 

After the crossmember was cut and notched I cut and drill the receiver tube and cleaned everything up for welding. First up for welding was the junction of the crossmember and the reciever tube.

 

I also got the crossmember welded up to the frame mounts. This part, and most of the rest of the bumper will be mig welded. Next up was the back panels that form the outside edges. The middle section was cut with the bandsaw then put on the mill to cut out the hole where the receiver tube will pass through. After the receiver hole was cut, it went into the brake to form the cubby for the license plate. I don't have pictures of the side panels but they were made in the same way. Onto the mill for slots for the recovery points. Then everything was fit up and tacked onto the main structure.

 

It was time to put the new hitch to the test. Loaded up the rtt, and stuck the Beta 250 on the hitch carrier for a trip out to Spangler Hills. Plan was one night of camping and two days of riding. Met up with one of my buddies here in town and we carpooled out together. I managed to find a pretty sweet spot to park that was nestled behind the rocks just incase the wind came up. It also gave me a spot to set up my hammock for a nice nap while I waited for everyone else to get there trailers set up.

 

Fuck man, Ive got to learn how to weld. Trying to find some taco enthusiasts around my area that know how to so I can learn. I never thought about a hitch rack for dirt bikes. Been wanting to acquire one so I could scout trails out but didn't know what the best option was for doing so. Looking forward to your future updates.

 

Being able to weld and machine things opens up a whole new world of opportunity when it comes to building vehicles. As for the dirtbike, just go get one. You'll thank me later. haha

 

The bumper build got stalled out for a few weeks, so I could catch up on the backlog of work for my side business 'CDE Suspension'. But after all the customers were taken care of it was back to business. First step was some cardboard aided design for the wings. I'm using foam board for this because the thickness closely matches the .187 material I'll be using.
After I had the design figured out I got to work cutting out the steel. I use a combination of a band saw and a plasma cutter to get everything cut out. Then all the plates get sanded on the belt sander. After alot of work you end up with this...

 

Here's some pics of the finished bumper. I missed quite a few pictures of alot of the fab stuff between these points. I was tired of not having a rear bumper and was trying to finish it up quick at this point. Overall pretty happy with how it came out, but there will be a few minor changes for the next one.

 

Next up was wiring up the Led reverse lights I installed in the bumper. I wanted them to come on with reverse but I also wanted them to be controlled by a switch. I decided to go with the s-tech switching system to control all my acc. Seems like a great simple package that should take care of all my needs and it fits the budget. I ended up ordering their 6 switch universal system, and their Tacoma mounts. First matter of business was getting the main control box mounted. S-tech sent a Tacoma specific mount, but unfortunately it is not compatible with 6mt trucks, as it bolts to the same location as our clutch reservoir. I got out the calipers and the card stock and whipped up a mount to put it on the passenger side right by the firewall. Luckily there is plenty of wiring length to mount it about anywhere under the hood. Here is what I came up with.

 

Next up was getting the universal switch mounted with the Stech mount. It uses the change cubby on the left of the steering wheel. You get a nice 3d printed mount and a drill template. Drill template slides on then you mark and drill your mounting holes. Mount and switch bolted up. You just yank on the change tray and the whole assembly slides right out. All done looks good to me. I cut some black tape I had to temporarily cover the switches I wasn't using.

 

Front bumper, sso with custom tube wings.

 

Finished bumper

 

Max Trax mount

 

Exploring with the pup

 

Camping in lytle creak

 

Few more shots from the bumper build, welding out the tube joints.