[Awl_TEQ]

Do you want the fancy round tube stuff or just the 2x4" 1/4" wall tube shown above?

[BinaryDude]

i was half kidding... but i want to see what kind of protection (the fancy round tube stuff) you put into it, and how you mount the rear lights.

[Awl_TEQ]

Stay tuned.......

My lights are in the rear valence of the bed, not the bumper like yours.

[BinaryDude]

Well i can fix that.

[oldfj40]

Looks good so far! I'm looking forward to your progress.

[Awl_TEQ]

A shot of my safety chain gusset template - copied off of another hitch.


Had to grind of the mess left by the PO on the bottom of the frame rails - He had some 1/2" flat bar welded on for his bumper. Note: grinding upside-down = not fun. Face shield or asbestos face required.


1/2" flat bar plug welded inside the tube to be drilled and tapped - grinding the plug weld flush

[Awl_TEQ]

Tapping M10 thread


Bolted to the frame in the center section


Made some frame doublers a work and set them in place while I measured for a half hour to make sure the frame was level and not twisted in any way.

[Awl_TEQ]

I tack welded everything in place - I'll take it to work and have one of the welders finish it off with better equipment and skill. Then I'll match drill the bolt holes in the frame doubler and flat bar using existing holes in the frame where possible.

[BinaryDude]

that looks great. i would hate to rear end that.

[miker]

Nice work! And HEAVY DUTY too.

[Awl_TEQ]

The bottom chain gusset plate is 3/8" and I added a couple of gussets to the top

[Awl_TEQ]

I decided to weld shut the two factory rivet holes at the end of the rails and drill a single hole for a bolt in that area




And in places where the nut would be difficult to access, I welded them in place.

[Awl_TEQ]

I set the bed back on the frame to see how it looked - the rear valence is touching the hitch sleeve but there are no rubber mounts in place at the moment. New mounts will lift the bed a half inch. I like how the hitch doesn't stick out much and is up quite high. I intend to make a matching trailer at some point and have the frame of the trailer at the same height.

[24HOURSOFNEVADA]

That looks great. This has got to be one of the best builds right now. Keep up the good work.

[Awl_TEQ]

I need to make a bracket to accept the rearmost bed mount that used to hit the rear crossmember. I'll measure and then fab up something at work.


This view of the tube will be obscured by the rear bumper/ slider tube that will follow the bottom edge of the bed side.


Now I need to buy some round tube and borrow the tube bender again.

[madams557]

Love the bumper build so far. Are you going to fab a swing arm for a spare tire or continue to hang the tire in the factory location?

I'd like to get a rear bumper/tire carrier combo built with sliders, but I don't have the skills and haven't been able to figure out how to fab something that would accommodate the rear valance for mounting the tailgate hinges.

Other things on my long list includes an aux tank and a roll bar, bucket seats, center console...etc.

Keep up the good work.

[Awl_TEQ]

The spare tires will be mounted similar to this picture but one on each side and mounted higher. The mounts will be incorporated into the canvas bed topper structure. Sorry for the small pic - couldn't find a better one online.

[merbesfield]

Nice bumper. Now move on to the rest of truck so I can get some motivation.

[Awl_TEQ]

Just waiting for a paycheck to buy tubing for sliders etc......couple more days.....

[Awl_TEQ]

Got a little done last night and this afternoon.

I need somewhere to bolt up my rear slider/ bumper so I got some 1/2" x 3" flat bar and welded four pieces inside the rear of the frame. They will serve to increase the thickness and get more threads when I drill and tap. I want all my armor to be removable for repairs or alterations so it will all bolt on.



Magnets hold the flat bar so it can be plug welded in place

[Awl_TEQ]

Welded



Drilled and tapped. I have four 1/4"x3"x5" plates to bolt on. They will become the "landing" pads for the round tube. There will be a left and right side tube starting at the receiver (with clearance to remove the pin) and extending out to the corner and wrap around to the rear tire. Each side will have three anchor points to the frame and be sturdy enough to lift the truck with a Jack-All (hopefully).

[Awl_TEQ]

I made some brackets at work. At top of the pic you have the mounts to anchor the rear slider directly behind the rear wheels off the side of the frame. Middle of pic is the mounts to replace the rear most bed mount that I removed as part of the rear frame channel. And at the bottom right is the four plates to bolt the rear sliders to the back of the frame. Bottom left is the 1/2" plates used above to tap into.



I've got to mention the I-beam I put across the garage. It is working perfectly to lift the truck bed on and off and on and off and on and off and on and on and on...


Here I am positioning the rear most bed mount for welding. Because the original rear frame member was a C channel and my mod is a tube the bed mount is ahead of the tube. I didn't put it on the frame rail like the others because at that spot there is a cutout - so I put it on my tube mod.

[Awl_TEQ]

More...

[24HOURSOFNEVADA]

I'm digging this build.

[BinaryDude]

Looks great. keep it up.

I wish I worked somewhere that I could fab up brackets... damn IT job. :(

[Awl_TEQ]

Some more work done....


Here is a shot of the scab plates for the rear bumper tubes.


I made this bracket out of 3/16" material above (the pic on the tailgate) but I decided to thicken up to 1/4". The goal is to protect the bed with sliders that "slide" rather than "bend" over obstacles.


The bracket in pic two is going to replace the factory one directly aft of the rear axle (center of pic three) and anchor the rear slider.

[Awl_TEQ]

You may have noticed the beginnings of my rear tank in the last post. When last I mentioned it I had resolved to go with stainless steel for a water tank. Careful consideration has led me to go with an aluminum diesel fuel tank in this location. I am still doing a midship diesel tank as well. My basic theory is that having fuel inside the cab is not ideal in a daily driver. So I will have two tanks between the frame rails and none in the cab. Water, when needed, may be in a tank in the cab or in the bed - dunno yet. I made up the bottom and sides in one piece from 0.188 5052 aluminum. I brought it home to test fit before adding baffles and the top. Notice the two sets of notches approx. 2" wide and 3" deep. They will straddle the cross-members on the underside of the bed shown in pic two. They will create three expansion chambers, one at the front, middle and rear. The center section will not really be an expansion chamber because the filler tube will be plumbed into it. The front and rear will be "air locked" and provide expansion room. At the moment I plan to use this tank as the auxiliary and have a pump to transfer the fuel to the main tank when needed.




The filler for the rear tank will be cut into the side of the box behind the wheel arch. Once my bed drawers and other things are in the bed, the filler wont be visible anyway.

[Awl_TEQ]

[Awl_TEQ]

Can the shackles be installed either way??

[miker]

Originally Posted by Awl_TEQ

Can the shackles be installed either way??

Yes. Should work either way with nuts inboard or ourboard.