Bumper idea. Thoughts?

Caleb_19 · Oct 25, 2015

Kayakcrazy said:
If your going to fab part of it just do it all. More fun to me building it myself. even if its not always perfect I can say i did it myself. I also like to build as I go. I have a basic design on things but usually modify it as i go to get the look or function i want.

I definitely agree with you, I really enjoy doing projects myself. However, my fab skills are nearly non existent haha. I have a good buddy who could help me, but I just hate to take advantage of him as he's been working alot lately.

Maybe I'll cut all the pieces and then bring it over to him with a half gallon of bourbon to weld it all up! [emoji2]

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ghunt81 · Oct 26, 2015

Caleb_19 said:
So I just discovered Google sketch up! In the process of designing the bumper now. I'm thinking about giving the plans to a shop and having them build the bumper and then I'll build the spare tire carrier myself. Anybody know roughly what a show would charge for something like that?

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I do autocad for a living and used to do lots of fab steel drawings.

I'm not familiar with how sketchup works or what file types you can create...but, what I used to do was finalize the design, then make a drawing with all the plates drawn out 1:1 just like they would be cut, and save it as a DXF file. We sent the DXF file to our fab guy, he loaded it into his CNC cutter and it would cut out all the pieces on his table.

If you can do that, it will save you lots of money, you'll pretty much just have to pay for the steel + whatever the shop charges you to cut it out on the table. It'll make it easier for them too if you do have them build it. If you make out a materials list for them they will love you and give you a more accurate price.

Or, if you design something that would be primarily built out of readily available steel shapes (angle, strip etc), that also saves you some money on the "prep work." I'd talk to a couple shops and find out what they can do for you.

Caleb_19 · Oct 26, 2015

Thanks ghunt81, that's a really good idea. I think thats the route I'll go. Still learning the program myself, and playing with different styles of bumpers. Once I get a good design I'll post it up here, see what you guys think.

Thanks everybody for your help!

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Kayakcrazy · Oct 28, 2015

Maybe I'll cut all the pieces and then bring it over to him with a half gallon of bourbon to weld it all up! [emoji2]

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There ya go! I know my welder runs great on bourbon, beer too actually :beer:

Maybe I'm too easy

Caleb_19 · Oct 29, 2015

I texted my buddy about welding it up for me and offered to pay him and his reply was "Jamison works" that's a true friend!

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Caleb_19 · Oct 29, 2015

Found this hinge kit, anybody have experience with this one? Or anything to watch out for?

http://www.emsoffroad.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=181

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Caleb_19 · Oct 29, 2015

Almost have my 3D model complete!

Sorry for the crummy pics, I was in a hurry.

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Caleb_19 · Oct 29, 2015

I found a place locally with a laser CNC that will cut all the pieces for me. The receiver, shackle mounts, and hinge kit I will buy and then weld it all up.

For the main shell I'm going to use 3/16" and for the ribs behind the shackle mounts, bracing for the hitch, and mounting brackets to the frame I will use 1/4". Think that will be strong enough?

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Caleb_19 · Oct 30, 2015

Also found this pic online.

I like the way the stop is incorporated into the hinge mount, I think this is the route I will go. I also like the rubber foot he has on the beam so that it rests on the bumper when closed and isn't constantly under tension. I think I'll end up mounting a rubber foot behind the stopper plate so it isn't really seen.

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ghunt81 · Oct 30, 2015

Caleb_19 said:
I found a place locally with a laser CNC that will cut all the pieces for me. The receiver, shackle mounts, and hinge kit I will buy and then weld it all up.

For the main shell I'm going to use 3/16" and for the ribs behind the shackle mounts, bracing for the hitch, and mounting brackets to the frame I will use 1/4". Think that will be strong enough?

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That will be way strong, you might want to check the weight. I'm pretty sure most plate bumpers just use 1/8" plate.

Caleb_19 · Oct 30, 2015

All the aftermarket bumpers I've looked at use 3/16 or 1/4. The receiver will be built into the bumper, plus the tire carrier so I want it to be stout. I can always add a leaf if I get saggy a$$ syndrome lol.

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Caleb_19 · Nov 5, 2015

Finished my design on sketch up last night and got it sent in for a quote. Hopefully I'll hear back from them tomorrow.

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RockRanger · Nov 9, 2015

I would like to know what the quote is when you get it back. I use sketchup for all of my design that I use to cut out on my cnc plasma table. Here is my rear bumper I drew up. It is for a tube bed but a few things hold true.

bumper drawing by Matthew Dresselhaus, on Flickr

My side plates that bolt to the frame passed thru the bumper and were part of the clevis mounts. I layered my clevis mounts out of four pieces. One is the frame mount. Two slide in the back of the face so they would have to pull thru the bumper and then a fourth to butt weld to the face of the bumper. This builds it up thick enough to not bend from a side load. Make the two inside pieces 1/8" less radius on the clevis mount to leave a nice bevel to weld into. I didn't and wish I would have.

The second is on the plates leave small tabs sticking out to help align the pieces during assembly. I make them interlock from one on the piece next to it. Leave a 1/32" gap between the two tabs. I usually use half the thickness of the material I am using for how far they stick out. Then just weld over them. It helps things align and wont need as many clamps/hands to hold everything.

For material I would use 3/16 for the whole thing. You are attaching it to 1/8" thick frame. My front bumper is 3/16 center for the winch with gussets under it and the areas outside the frame are 11 gage fully boxed. They have taken hits and are still strait.

I like the design. A few things to consider. The spare on the passenger side creates a larger blind spot then if on driverside. With that said I like it on the passenger side cause you can add a second carrier on the driverside to hold water/fuel. When it swings open it potentially would be close enough you could use a siphon hose from the can right to the truck without having to remove the can. I would consider boxing in the end with the swng out. Help stiffen it up some from the leverage being placed on it with the carrier.

Caleb_19 · Nov 10, 2015

RockRanger said:
I would like to know what the quote is when you get it back. I use sketchup for all of my design that I use to cut out on my cnc plasma table. Here is my rear bumper I drew up. It is for a tube bed but a few things hold true.

bumper drawing by Matthew Dresselhaus, on Flickr

My side plates that bolt to the frame passed thru the bumper and were part of the clevis mounts. I layered my clevis mounts out of four pieces. One is the frame mount. Two slide in the back of the face so they would have to pull thru the bumper and then a fourth to butt weld to the face of the bumper. This builds it up thick enough to not bend from a side load. Make the two inside pieces 1/8" less radius on the clevis mount to leave a nice bevel to weld into. I didn't and wish I would have.

The second is on the plates leave small tabs sticking out to help align the pieces during assembly. I make them interlock from one on the piece next to it. Leave a 1/32" gap between the two tabs. I usually use half the thickness of the material I am using for how far they stick out. Then just weld over them. It helps things align and wont need as many clamps/hands to hold everything.

For material I would use 3/16 for the whole thing. You are attaching it to 1/8" thick frame. My front bumper is 3/16 center for the winch with gussets under it and the areas outside the frame are 11 gage fully boxed. They have taken hits and are still strait.

I like the design. A few things to consider. The spare on the passenger side creates a larger blind spot then if on driverside. With that said I like it on the passenger side cause you can add a second carrier on the driverside to hold water/fuel. When it swings open it potentially would be close enough you could use a siphon hose from the can right to the truck without having to remove the can. I would consider boxing in the end with the swng out. Help stiffen it up some from the leverage being placed on it with the carrier.

Thanks for the tips, I really appreciate it! I will let you know what they quote me. I didn't lay everything out correctly when I sent it in, so I'll have to resubmit my quote with the changes to the file. Im out of town for our 3 year anniversary, so that wont be till next week. This is my first time doing anything like this, so it's all new to me and I'm trying to learn what I can.

I didn't realize that the frame is only an 1/8" I think I will do it all from 3/16". I plan on boxing the bumper in where the tire carrier will bolt on. I also plan on having a rubber bushing on the under side of the arm so it will rest on the top of the bumper when closed reducing the amount of leverage on the hinge.

I know that the spare on the passenger side cuts visibility, but I already have a tinted canopy that cuts visibility down and I rely mainly on my side mirrors. My thoughts on the passenger side mount were 1) I like the look lol 2) the gas tank, t-case, and driver are all on the driver side, so the spare on the passenger side would help with weight distribution right?

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RockRanger · Dec 5, 2015

Did you ever get your quote?

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Bumper idea. Thoughts?

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