New Low Profile Option FBTT1-05

Those sold out quick, I was going to order when I get home from work.

 

Does work out ok? I was want to order, however they are out stock and it will take them 4weeks to get new shipment.

 

Was wondering how you thought these compare to the bumpers by Victory 4x4? They seem very similar.

 

Anyone put a winch in this yet? I am looking to add one once my mod fund get back in the green.

 

Stirring the winch pot, again. Anybody installed one yet? Figured out which one(s) fit or which one(s) don’t? I’ll be shopping for one this week...

I’ve been slicing and dicing my DV8 bumper and a Roadmaster tow bar base plate mount. I have it 95% mocked up. I’ll have both kits cut, fit, fabbed and welded up by tomorrow. Then off to powder Monday. I’m having to modify the Roadmaster base plate kit as the two end pieces that the draw bar attach to, bolt to the front of the frame rails as does the DV8 winch plate. I have notched these brackets the fit around the DV8 winch Mount plate and have welded them to the winch plate itself. The draw bar brackets will retain their bolt on points under the front frame horns and through the side of the frame horns. When all is said and done, the DV8 winch plate will be nicely reinforced with 4 additional “through the frame” fasteners and my tow bar will be sold as a rock, as well.

I also had to trim the bottom of the DV8 bumper itself to completely clear the Roadmaster cross bar.

Yes, I will flat tow my 3rd gen.
Yes, I know you can’t flat tow a 3rd gen.
Not my first rodeo.

 

scared to install a winch to then only be used once and result in damages without any reinforcement.

 

I understand. The more I looked at it when I got it, the more I saw the potential for failure. Fortunately, I have a shop and enough experience to adapt and overcome! Not to mention a want and a will to set this truck up for a particular job set.

Beings that I am setting my truck up to be flat towed behind "random" trucks on the regular, as well as part time by our MH, I saw a way to add both the Roadmaster Towbar and reinforce the winch mount by merging/purging the two kits together. In the picture below, you can see the two end brackets in the illustration from Roadmaster that bolt to the front/sides and bottoms of the frame horns. I just cut the parts out of them that utilized the front frame horn bolts leaving the 6 bolts solely for the DV8 winch mount. The Roadmaster brackets were then welded to the winch mount plate and along with the 6 bolts that would normally retain it, it now also benefits from a pair of 5/8 x 3.5" long bolts through each "side" of the front frame horns and yet another pair of 1/2 bolts/nuts through the bottom front lip of each frasme horn. That's a total of 10 bolts holding just the winch mount/cross bar assembly in place. Welds are rock solid and this puppy isn't going anywhere.

All that said, I need to add a gusset to each of the outer bumper mounts. I think the greatest failure point is the outer part shifting side to side during a pull to the side. It's a simple fix if you have a welder and the ability to utilize it.

 

Guys, listen. I don’t mean to muddy the bumper waters here with my custom tow bar/winch bumper modifications.

Fact is, there are companies out there that make, market and sell winch bumper reinforcements already. Some for their own bumpers and some for “any” bumpers. I’ve just come up with a way to adapt this setup to my needs and in the end will have a super strong setup. One that will perform well beyond anything I’ll subject it to.

In the end, however, im just trying to show how easy it can be to beef up this particular bumper.

 

nice welds!

sadly my skills arent that good =( but keep up the pics so we get some ideas or someone to come up with some "bolt in" style brackets maybe.

 

Here are the bumper brackets after adding a simple gusset to each one. The tabs on the bumper itself that bolt to these brackets are already gusseted from the manufacturer. This should help prevent the bumper from from shifting left or right during a side pull with the winch.

 

Seems like the water is an easy fix, just drill a couple 1/8” holes from the backside into that lowest points of the hoop. And shoot some rustoleum down in there as best you can. Doesn’t seem unreasonable for the price point. Very good catch though, that water can be trapped here.

 

I second that. Anyone who installs a light bar will find the void, and magnets will do you no good getting out a wedged screw. Good news for bikers is that the lightbar screws are identical to the stainless screws you use to hold the bottle cages on your mountain bike (or so I hear).

I've done exactly what you describe and will keep it clean/ coated.

 

Yes sir.. great idea. I put a couple of 3/16” holes per side behind each hoop for drains.

 

A vendor here makes these, not sure if they would work with this bumper though

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...rmarket-bumper-reinforcement-brackets.612276/

 

Nope. Already contacted every vendor and was told that I this if for show only and not function.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...orcement-brackets.612276/page-9#post-21825724

 

Make sure to treat your bumper around the light bar extension so the rust doesn't bleed out like on mine:




This is the rust after 6 weeks of weather in Virginia without any snow exposure.

 

Thanks for the heads up. Bummer about that.

 

Question for those who have installed this bumper - do you remove the aluminum cross piece that the plastic absorber is mounted to? My wife was in a fender bender and damaged the cross piece, I'm wondering if this would replace it.

 

Yes. The aluminum piece is removed and is not reinstalled.

Edited because I ain't the gooderest at the spellings.