Some tweaks (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Kl2
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- Thread starter
- #4
Not sure if any of you guys have ever run aluminum bumpers, I had some lying around so I'm giving it a whirl. One of my friends is convinced it won't hold up. If you have ever tried it is would live some input!
Here is the mockup, and then a bit farther along.
Here is the mockup, and then a bit farther along.
Aluminum is awesome stuff but two things to keep in mind - welding tempered typically takes it back to T0 condition so you lose a lot of strength at the joints in a welded design. Also, people will tell you that "aluminum is pound-for-pound just as strong as steel". Well, yes, but only if you're talking yield and ultimate tensile strengths. The problem is that the modulus of elasticity is roughly 1/3 that of steel, so for a given design (geometry, thicknesses, etc.) it will deflect under load quite a bit more than steel.
Having said that, with some good design I don't see any reason why an aluminum bumper can't work.
Having said that, with some good design I don't see any reason why an aluminum bumper can't work.
Jungle80farmer
Jungle Fruit Farmer
- Thread starter
- #7
Thanks for that,
I'm planning on adding a few extra gussets but maybe that will do more harm than good. I went the aluminum route to have one less thing to rust over here, having it weigh almost nothing was another big plus.
Dalton, my lc is from AZ but I did get it locally, and I live on oahu. But it will get shipped to other islands for camping and hunting trips.... I hope.
What does it cost to ship it to other islands? What does that aluminum bumper weigh? I'm curious how much lighter is really is, because the Bump It Offroad tube bumper I have only weighs 85 lbs... well, mine's probably around 75 because I asked for a stinger delete. Anyway, genuinely curious what the difference in weight is.
Another guy on Oahu! We need to do a LC meet or something. Or I need to atleast come by and check your truck out, its sweet! I just realized that I think I saw the truck before it was painted. A woman was driving and was at the shopping center in Kaneohe near Denny's and starbucks.
Jungle80farmer
Jungle Fruit Farmer
Nice. I shipped my FJ40 to oahu when I lived there. It was awesome driving to the north shore & hitting my fave shrimp truck. I've got property on da big island. Getting them both island ready so I can escape when the time comes. So many spots to explore. Take it easy. Aloha Mr hand
Why the black hood? I have actually been considering painting my hood black.
With your aluminium bumper, you should not use it for recovery in any way, you should use steel recovery points that are bolted to the frame.
Is the winch in it's own steel cradle?
I've seen several alloy bumpers fail, some just from bumping into a dirt bank in rutted tracks, others just cracked at welds due to fatigue. I saw the side wing torn clean off one when a tow strap was looped around it.
Is the winch in it's own steel cradle?
I've seen several alloy bumpers fail, some just from bumping into a dirt bank in rutted tracks, others just cracked at welds due to fatigue. I saw the side wing torn clean off one when a tow strap was looped around it.
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- Thread starter
- #14
It was probably my wife or my mom they both grab it from time to time, I live right down the road . Should do a meet for sure
- Thread starter
- #15
I'm considering lights when I do a roof rack, used a paint that I felt could handle the abuse from brush and tree branches also I liked the look
- Thread starter
- #16
It's like 350 to ship the lc, the bumper is ridiculously light like 30 lbs.
As mudgudgeon said definitely won't tow off it, I cut apart a receiver hitch and welded ears on a wrangler winch plate and bolted that up to the frame. I had the aluminum left from a sea wall so I thought it would be cool to try and build a bumper with it. I was going to layer in some extra gussets and stuff but now I'm not sure how wise that is.. hopefully I can get in the shop this weekend and finish it up
- Thread starter
- #17
So I got a bit side tracked from the bumper and got a sub squeezed into my jack compartement! Pretty happy to have it in. I put a new deck in to have hands free phone use and got carried away... thought I should add a camera too. Rear bumper with swing out tie carrier is in line after the front gets completed.
Yeah, the real take-away here is that welding aluminum is not a great idea unless it is for cosmetic usage only. That's why you see so many rivets and bolted joints in aluminum construction (next time you're on an airplane, look around for a welded joint - you won't see many). I was a design engineer in the aerospace industry for 19 years - welding aluminum was a no-no.
- Thread starter
- #19
Since the bumper was mostly done I went ahead and finished welding and rattle canned it, I figured no sense trying to make it pretty if it's going to crack apart. At least it looks like I have something there so my rig doesn't look so trashy. I'll keep an eye on it and build a steel front bumper after I get a rear one done... gotta get swing out tire carrier parts..
All these guys with access to laser cut pieces make me seriously jealous!
All these guys with access to laser cut pieces make me seriously jealous!
Looks tough as
