[lonelydriver]

awesome truck and awesome rubicon report!! Is that front bumper the 4 plus from man a fre or custom?

[boots4]

Originally Posted by lonelydriver

awesome truck and awesome rubicon report!! Is that front bumper the 4 plus from man a fre or custom?

Thanks

I've returned your PM and included brokenparts on it to answer your questions. Hope it works out.

[brokenparts]

It's a 4plus bumper. I'll PM ya.

[brokenparts]

ummm... bumper sold. I promise I'll stop hi-jacking your thread now Mike.

[boots4]

Great news! Dora came in handy as a model. Looks like I'll be working on mounting up my front bumper this week.

[brokenparts]

hahaaha, thanks for doing the modeling. I should have some time during the next few weekends or week nights if you want to come over and bend up some more tube. Plasma is up and running again too.

[GLTHFJ60]

Trac bar is coming up really fast on my list. I was dreaming up something on the drive home today and it pretty much looked like what you've got there.

Did you start with the ruffstuff kit and widen up the bracket on one side to slide up on the housing like that? Think it will provide any protection for your d-shaft out on the trail?

[boots4]

Originally Posted by GLTHFJ60

Did you start with the ruffstuff kit and widen up the bracket on one side to slide up on the housing like that? Think it will provide any protection for your d-shaft out on the trail?

Yes I copied the axle mounts from Brokenparts or Dirtgypsy (they both had the same plates from Ruffstuff and I grabbed one of them to trace). Then I bolted them to one of my links to keep them straight/aligned, positioned them on the axle and clearanced the plate closest to the 3rd member. I wanted to position the bar on the middle of the axle and that's pretty close. I moved it just a hair driverside to eliminate interferance with the 3rd. Again I'd suggest bushings/bolts that go together (there are several places offering DIY kits). I'm pretty sure the JJoint is my weakest link in the system so you might consider a 2.5 instead of the 2.0 I'm using but it's probably strong enough and I won't have any problems. I just won't know for certain until I get some wheeling time on it.

The driveshaft hangs lower so mine probably won't offer any rock bashing protection.

[GLTHFJ60]

Originally Posted by boots4

The driveshaft hangs lower so mine probably won't offer any rock bashing protection.

Yes it does, I should use my eyes when looking at pictures.

[boots4]

I've been putting off the front bumper because I needed to cut out some mounts from that 3/4" plate that I got for free. I didn't try very hard to find a local shop to cut it out so I got on a mask, put on my glasses, and started up the angle grinder. It only took me about 3 hrs to cut them out and I only used up 3 cutting disks. I went over to brokenparts place to return his bumper and once we got that one out I found my measurements were off and the plates were too tall . With some plasma and a little more grinder action I took off 1/4" more and they slid in the frame. Then my crossbrace ended up being 1/2" too short. Zach swapped out a longer piece with me and I ended up headind home. So I pretty much only got the plates cut and drilled. I decided to step up to 1/2" bolts so I drilled the holes in the plate and enlarged the holes in the frame. Zack's drillpress and sharp drill bits made cutting holes in 3/4" steel easy! I'll have to add one of those to the growing tool wanting list. I started on it the next day. Here is the mounting plates and crossbrace. I wanted a sturdy crossbrace for possible winch support in the future.



I used my engine hoist to play with positioning the bumper. My pregnant can't lift much anymore (yes for those following along that will be #3 due in Nov). I also added in a tube crossbrace.



I measured the height and angle when the bumper was where I wanted it and cut and notched some tube supports. Did some test fits and welded them on.



Tube supply is getting minimal and I'll probably have to buy some more to complete the fender protection. To save on uncut length I took some scrape pieces and rejointed them.



I cut and shaped those pieces to fit as more supports for the lower main tube. Did a little filling and took it off the truck to weld it all up.





Here is a couple of shots with it attached to Dora.









I'll eventually add the fender protection and tie it into the sliders. It will be bolted so the whole thing can be removed. I did want to put holes for shackles in the mounting plates but forgot so I'll try and add those later. I will also add something to the lower part on the front. Zack's got some dimple dies I might try out and I've also got some expanded metal from a sliding door that was in the stepvan that I'm thinking about too. It will be a solid piece in front and whenever the right winch comes along I'll open it up to fit. So what do you guys think will look better: Dimple died plate or expanded metal on the lower section?

[Tapage]

Originally Posted by boots4

I used my engine hoist to play with positioning the bumper. My pregnant can't lift much anymore (yes for those following along that will be #3 due in Nov).

you are not wasting time dude ..

[brokenparts]

dimple dies...The steel yard has plenty of 1/8th inch plate in stock which I'm pretty sure my press and dies can handle.


Looks great Mike. I should have time in the next week or two so we can bend up some tube for the fenders are at least to attach the top and bottom corners.

[boots4]

Zach, I can't remember but do you have different hole sized dies? The ends might look nice going smaller towards the points (does that make sense?).

[EWheeler]

That bumper is pimp, awesome work. I vote dimple dies.

[brokenparts]

Originally Posted by boots4

Zach, I can't remember but do you have different hole sized dies? The ends might look nice going smaller towards the points (does that make sense?).

yep three different sizes. I believe 1.5, 1, and 3/4" if I remember correctly. I check tonight for ya though.

[boots4]

Dirtgypsy attended the Mcgrew trail ride in southern OR and invited us to camp after the event. We packed up Dora and took the kids on their first camping trip. It was a decent drive (~5 hrs) and we met in O'brien OR to follow him in. It was 18 miles in on a hot, dusty road. Of course this week ends up being a record breaking heat wave here in oregon so combined with the dust they weren't the most enjoyable conditions but the company was good and the nearby river had several good swimming spots. We did a very short hike with the oldest kids and found a great spot where the water was as warm as a swimming pool! Besides that we just hung around enjoying the downtime from life. My family stayed two nights and we all left on tuesday morning. Dora was running pretty warm on the way in and out of the hills to the road. I found the TC lock-up not working and once I got to the pavement I found a wire had jiggled off. Slipping the TC just generated more heat so I saw a peak of 225F engine and 210 tranny on the climbs but it would cool down on the decents. Once back on pavement I reconnected the wire and lock-up was restored. With an expected 105F travel day Dora stuck around 210F engine temp and 185F tranny temp on the hwy all with one little fan pulling through the radiator. Yup, still haven't hooked up the other fan. I have also found another spot where I'm loosing coolant at the block intake piece that bolts on. I might make one and size it to my lower radiator port but for now I just keep adding fluid to my overflow tank. It's pretty much all water now. We ended up going ahead of Dirtgypsy and aimed for 70mph.

The heat was crazy and we refilled our squirt bottle 5 times to help keep us and the kids cooler durning the trip. We'd soak our clothes at the rest stops too. We switched drivers and was driving. She had just passed a couple of cars and a semi, we were going straight with no one around, I was just entering a vegitative state in the passenger seat and then we heard a loud bang like a gun was triggered in the cab. The driver side immediately dropped 8 inches and immediately we knew the driver front tire had just blown. My calmly let off the throttle and guided us to the side of the road. She did a fantastic job and kept her cool, I was very proud of her. I asked her what it felt like afterwards and she said it was just a slight tug at the wheel but that it was easy to control. Hydroassist definitely paid for itself here because that ram probably dampened the blow and kept things straight. 38's on 15" rims is a long way down.

We had to unpack a few things to get to the highlift that I forgot to give back to brokenparts and fish out the spare. When I looked at the blown tire the sidewall had about a 1-2' tear where it blew. I'll get pics tomorrow but it was a massive failure. I got the tire replaced and can cross that off my list of things I want to do again in 105F heat especially with no vehicle AC. At that time Dirtgypsy caught up to us and pulled over to help. With everything packed back up we merged back on the hwy. I drove to test out the tire to see how it behaved. This is a spare 38 bogger and those things are LOUD. I don't care what kind of engine you are running those tires are going to hum louder. Handling felt good so we switched drivers again and made it home without anymore drauma. Dora is going to sit for the week.

Ironically I've previously been doing some tire/wheel research on what I'd want to run next. I know I still have 3 other good tires but it's a good time to make a change plus I can sell those. What I want to run are H1 12bolts recentered and rock ringed so I'm in the process of tracking some down and have worked out my costs already. For tires, it looks like the budget will determine those and I may end up running some 37" military goodyears. I can groove and sipe those to get better performance. What I'd like to run are some pitbulls but I'll have to save to get those. Overall Dora held up in some harsh conditions.

[brokenparts]

good to hear that you are all safe Mike... Hydro assist IS one of the best steering stabilizers out there and it sounds like it payed off for you. There is a vendor in the vendor section of Pirate that looked like he had a good price on 37" military tires.

95% tread 37" H1 Goodyear radials SoCal - Pirate4x4.Com Bulletin Board


Go pitbull though.

[Tapage]

glad to ear all of your family it's safe .. and finally enjoy a great trip ..

Just a side thread question ... are the Pitbulls that good compared to a TSL tires ?

I'm looking ( maybe for christmas ) new tires for Tencha ( 5 years with the same MTR .. enough ) and will be nice 38" - 39" range tires .. but I don't want to go any wider than 13.5 or 14 ..

[boots4]

I've read a couple favorable reviews for the pitbulls and I wanted to step up to a biasply for the sidewall strength. While they are biasply they are suppost to do well on the hwy. While I like the looks of the wide tires I'd like to try out a skinnier set too. Of course my definition of skinny would be 12.50.

Pitbull offerings.
I just don't know how spendy these are.

[brokenparts]

my only gripe with the pitbulls (so far) is how difficult is was to get them here to the west coast. Its like they didnt want to sell me a set. After numerous calls to tire vendors around my local area I ended up getting mine through 4x4groupbuy.com which ended up being a reasonable transaction. I think you would see a lot more pitbull tires around this area if they were eaiser to get.

[boots4]

Thanks for that site. The prices are better than I thought. How much was shipping on your tires if you don't mind sharing.

[brokenparts]

I dont recall it being too bad... something like $100- 150ish?

[kling-on]

SWEET bumper... truck looks GREAT ...I need mine back so I can start builden cool stuff too

[CruisinGA]

When my 38.5 SX's got worn out, I started looking at the Pitbulls...

While in shop asking about them, I ended up getting 4 new biasply Irocks for less than the price of 2 Pitbulls.

IMO- Watch classifieds and pick up a deal.

[boots4]

True, I should surf the classifieds more often. Shipping always seems to get me.

[boots4]

Originally Posted by kling-on

SWEET bumper... truck looks GREAT ...I need mine back so I can start builden cool stuff too

Thanks. I'm focusing on my tire/wheel change so once I get that worked out I can continue on the bumper. It held up fine on the trip.

[LC_Hamma]

I needed to cut out some mounts from that 3/4" plate that I got for free.

Man, if I posted something in my build thread about using 3/4" plate, 10 purist newbs would be asking how much it was gonna weigh

I'm diggin the design . What size winch & how will it fit into the bumper design?

[boots4]

I'm sure purists think I'm driving around a bastard rig anyways.

Honestly I've really done no research on winches and I probably won't pick one up for a while. Although my bro-in-law has a Warn 9000 on a receiver I could play with for fitment. I'm not oppose to trimming out the valance if need be to keep it tucked behind the bumper. That 2x2 .250 wall crossmember should give me something solid to build some mounts off of when a winch comes my way and then I'd make a new front piece to house the fairlead on the center lower section where I plan to put some dimple-died plate.

[boots4]

Here are pics of my tire failure. I wonder what would have happened if I were still running my airsoft or BB's, if they would have shot out of the tire when it blew.



The inner bead stayed on the rim somehow. Rims didn't get damaged so I'll be able to sell those when my new tire setup arrives.

[Dirtgypsy]

Forget the military 37's. You need 40" tires. I like the look of the 40X12.5X17 GY Mt/r's. Used tires are not worth it IMOP. Generally people ask way too much for them anyways.

Clint