probably going to start building my own bumper monday

here is another from a lower angle its kindof in your face at this spot

 

awesome man, plus 1 for the diy bumper

 

Take some shots of the sun in front so there arent any shadows if you can.

 

this is the last one i took today as the sun went down

 

thanks for all the props i have worked hard and i feel like it paid off, btw the front end is down 3/4 of an inch i have only driven like 1 mile today, its falling fast.

Sorry no in the sun pictures ill be sure and get some tomorrow. i will also borrow my girlfriends camera and get some good ones. if your wondering on the color its def Matte black, very little gloss

 

Sounds good. Looks awesome. Next you will have to test the winch and the shackle mounts

 

ill take a picture tomorrow of the truck off the grond by the shackle. i really cant test the winch untill i get stuck. that wont be long hunting season coming up.

im a little upset because the left side is slightly lower then then right, about 1/16th to 1/8th of an inch it looks worse because of the bumper cut its hard to explain but i can tell and it bothers me.

 

do you still have the rear mounted winch?

 

Sure you can. Just go find a big oak tree. Put a tree saver around a big branch about 30' up. Hook the winch up to the tree saver and winch the truck up the tree. Once the rear bumper is off the ground, jerk the winch a couple times. If it's still hanging, your good. If not, time to gusset!

 

And don't forget to have someone filming.

 

Nice looking bumper buddy! You must really be enjoying the fruits of your labor!! I wish I had the skills/guts to do one myself! Keep us updated on how it holds up!

 

Another strategy to test the strength is to take the winch line over the top of your truck and hook it to the rear bumper. Turn it on. If it breaks loose, you're going to need to reinforce those anchors. If it turns your Taco into a taco, you've got some good strong shackle points!

 

Watch this video starting at 8:14...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-MR6omTN6Q

Do that and your fine!!!

 

all these ideas seem like good ones, my question with the tree on is how would i go about getting it down? ill post some more shots tomorrow.

 

u think a tree limb that was highenough to lift the truck up would hold it?

 

With the evidence that you have displayed in this very nice thread, we are all very confident that you would find a way to do that. The way I was trained to use a winch on a drive by wire throttle was to be in the cab giving some gas to make up for the extreme load on the alt/batt.

 

Place the tree saver around a limb on both sides so that the load is distributed to both sides of the tree... you'll be fine!

 

Okay, I swear I won't ask you not to pull your truck up a tree, and I think you have done AN AMAZING JOB ON THIS ONE!!!! But... Most serious off road bumpers have their shackle bosses tied directly to the frame rails - I may be wrong - and I may be crazy, but at least get some welding tech guy (and you may be that guy) do some calculations to see if the welds alone will hold up to a jerking force.

Once again, you have done an amazing job on the look of this bumper!!! I would just hate to see someone get hurt! Especially someone that is this talented!

 

From what I understand, assuming the welds are done properly, they are frequently stronger than the surrounding steel itself. Tying it into the mounts is never a bad idea though.