Bumpers i have built

[4literranger485]

heres my ranger (before the extended beams)

http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb282/coxoffroadfab/Graduatino.jpg

a tacoma i did:

http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb282/coxoffroadfab/easterandtaco019.jpg

and a full size chevy

http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb282/coxoffroadfab/Graduatino036.jpg

http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb282/coxoffroadfab/Graduatino037.jpg

[jimd1050]

Nice work... professional looking craftsmanship and welding!

[fx4ranger]

would you be interested in making another one of the ranger bumpers
?

[Muddycowboy]

also interested in buying one if you could make it

[4literranger485]

you know, i would totally be down to make them. but i've never made one without the truck to build it on. and honestly i dont think it'd be fiscally possible. i couldnt imagine the shipping charges, those are all 1.5" .120 wall DOM and they are NOT very light. too bad i didnt post these a few months ago, im originally from ohio and we drove home for xmas. couldve been like free delivery haha. but to give you an idea...i get about 350 for a full custom bumper like the one on my ranger, or the fullsize. and about 300 for the one on that toyota. so if you add shipping......i dunno if anyone would still be interested. but thanks for the interest!

[Muddycowboy]

i could prolly build one myself but i really need to get a bender. any certian style of bender, one better than others for building something like this? and could you get some picks of how your ranger bumper mounts, shots from the undercarraige

[4literranger485]

i use the JD Squared model 3 manual bender. and i just cut off the front of the frame, plated it in. and my bumper is all weld on, its pretty much a throw away bumper so if i bend it in an impact i just cut it off, and start over. which just happened the other day, haha!

[Muddycowboy]

how many feet of pipe did you use on the ranger.

[4literranger485]

1st.) you want to use tubing, tubing is what you build with. pipe is what your shit flows through when you flush.

2nd.) i ordered 30 feet, and used most of it except for some scrap leftover.

[Muddycowboy]

oh thats not bad at all i just built a set of tube doors with 42ft of 1 1/4" ID, .140" wall thickness and it was 50$ and some change steal prices are getting to be killer. i thought it would take alot more to built a bumper like that. well now i know id be way better off to go buy a bender and do it myself than go buy the bumper. thanks alot

[Muddycowboy]

sorry about the pipe comment i know better than that.lol

[4literranger485]

haha, dont worry, i like to kid. but yeah, if you have the means to do it. you're much better off doing it yourself. and theres more pride in the end! i'm trying to get up some picutres of how that bumper held up to a 10 foot drop off......:D

[metalmacguyver]

I want to see the bumper after a 10' fall!

[AKBroncoII]

Pipe is fine for a bumper. So is tubing. Seeing as how pipe is about 1/4 the cost of DOM, I'd choose pipe for a bumper. and HREW tubing or DOM for a cage.

[4literranger485]

pipe is not designed for anything structural. and mild steel tubing is the lightest i would use for a bumper. but you can build stuff for your truck out of anything you want, i just wouldnt pit it up against much more then a mailbox. pipe has no business being any part of a well built truck where anyones safety will be in mind.

[AKBroncoII]

I think I will call bullshit on that. But anyways. To each his own. Oh, and there is pipe out there made to way closer tolerances than DOM. Just an FYI. :icon_thumby:

[4literranger485]

It's easy to call BS if you're uninformed and sitting at a keyboard, but the fact of the matter is if all you intend on doing is taking your rig out for some mall crawling, go ahead and pipe it out. Also any pipe manufactured to closer tolerances then DOM would be much pricier, and they only put those strict tolerances on the I.D. which is useless for tensile strength gains. Here's some tidbits to enlighten you....

facts:

the SCCA only allows 4 types of TUBING (seamless, DOM, ERW mild steel, and chrome moly), these types carry SAE grades of 1010, 1020, 1025, and SAE 4125 or 4130 for chrome moly which are all much higher grade materials then commonly aquired black pipe

S.C.O.R.E. International does not allow the use of pipe in any approved roll cage

NASCAR and the NHRA also only allow cages made of TUBING with diameter and thickness based on weight

Tubing has a much greater tensile strength then comparable pipe


Cons of using Pipe:

measured by I.D. instead of O.D. like tubing, would require an entire different set of forming dies (who's saving money now?)

tubing is designed with strict tolerances on the O.D. and wall thickness, pipe is manufactured only to strict I.D. tolerances, and have much looser tolerances on the O.D.

when comparing similar lengths and diameters of pipe and tubing, the pipe weighs more.

pipe is harder and more brittle, therefore prone to cracking, making it SIGNIFICANTLY weaker during bends

Pros:
pipe is cheaper, if you want looks and no safety this is an excellent way to cut build costs

I build stuff for high speed desert trucks where safety is a large priority. I would not risk the safety of anyone i build for by using sub par materials. But in the end i'm not here to teach you metallurgy, i was just trying to showcase some of my recent work. I'm sure you'll build with whatever materials you see fit, why not just skip buying a bender and get all your pipe threaded for angled fittings? I believe Lowe's threads pipe for relatively cheap.

[Muddycowboy]

hey man im with ya im more about strength than looks isnt that what a bumper is for anyway. im going to get a bender and go with tubing for my bumper

[4literranger485]

sweet! nothing compares to the feeling after building your own stuff.....even if it looks like butt or breaks the first time haha

[Muddycowboy]

last i checked saftey and strength doesnt come cheap. niether does fixing other stuff when your bumper fails

[bobbywalter]

i would rather use mid/hi grade sch 40 for sliders and constant contact bumper areas on a trail rig, but i sure as hell would not use it and would prefer chromo on a race rig.


i can say for sure 40 holds up better then tube on the trail, dollar for dollar.

its not even debatable.....shit dont crease and dent nearly as easy dollar for dollar.

[bobbywalter]

oh yeah....your bumpers are very nice..:icon_thumby:

[4literranger485]

haha, thanks, i agree for sliders....i dont really use them but i could see using the cheapest steel you can get for something thats gonna bang on rocks all day. but as far as bumpers go....i make them out of mild. because you DO want a bumper to bend and give in a real impact, because if the bumper doesnt absorb the impact then something else does....i.e. the frame, suspension components, or you and your passengers. $150 dollars in materials to replace my bumper is far less then replacing an $800 i beam or a $1000 worth of shocks, or at worst someones medical bills

[JohnnyU]

While I'm not disagreeing with what you said, for 99% of the bumpers that are fabricated, pipe is more than adequate. ROPS and Chassis components are another story.