Front winch bumper design/build (1 Viewer)

[Saito]

That thing looks good man ! Is there a reason you spaced the winch mounting up above the frame rails ? Do you have your own plasma table or was it hand cut ?

 

[inkpot]

That thing looks good man ! Is there a reason you spaced the winch mounting up above the frame rails ? Do you have your own plasma table or was it hand cut ?

I would bet the higher winch mount placement is to allow for the tapered lower section: improved approach angle. Looks good. From the looks of the pic with all the various parts laid out I am pretty sure this was not cut freehand.

 

[mudgudgeon]

Man, that looks sharp.

I like the high winch placement, and light bar looks good tucked away.

 

[LINUS]

..... plasma table or was it hand cut ?

.....From the looks of the pic with all the various parts laid out I am pretty sure this was not cut freehand.

Agree, my plasma freehand work even with a guide isn't as uniform as his raw steel looked. I use a brass hex rod (b/c I still have from my oxy/ace torch) & either I need less coffee or anti-seizure meds to make cuts that uniform.

I need to add a table, if anyone knows of plans for one on the cheap(er)- my Miller is rated for one.

 

[I Lean]

That thing looks good man ! Is there a reason you spaced the winch mounting up above the frame rails ? Do you have your own plasma table or was it hand cut ?

See below:

I would bet the higher winch mount placement is to allow for the tapered lower section: improved approach angle. Looks good. From the looks of the pic with all the various parts laid out I am pretty sure this was not cut freehand.

Nailed it. And yes, all the parts were cut on my plasma table. I'm basically unable to fabricate anything without it anymore...I'm completely spoiled, to the point where I almost won't cut anything by hand at all.

This whole thing started with me admiring pictures of the Binks Fab bumper. Naturally, mine didn't end up quite like that one, but I really like how moving the winch higher made the whole front of the truck visually slimmer. Many/most other bumpers retain the "fat" front end, since the frame rails are so far down below the grill. Binks (and hopefully mine) camouflaged that space.

 

[bryson]

Looks even better in person!

 

[NateMob]

@northwesttaco This is the bumper with the frame notch I told you about.

 

[Jgunner]

That is very nice, I’ll take one. Pm me for my address to ship to!!

 

[SUMMIT CRUISERS Jr]

Looks awesome! I have been itching to ditch my Ironman and build my own front bumper. With the way you notched the frame, do you think a smaller winch could still tuck in down lower?

 

[I Lean]

Looks awesome! I have been itching to ditch my Ironman and build my own front bumper. With the way you notched the frame, do you think a smaller winch could still tuck in down lower?

Not really. I had a hidden winch mount behind the stock bumper before this, and the mount uses up all the space right to the front edge of the frame. You can see it in this pic:



You can also kinda see in that same pic, as soon as the winch moves up any, you start to get into the trans cooler, valence and grill. You could set the winch a bit lower than mine if the front of the bumper is more vertical...but I wanted it slanty.

 

[duvinclunk]

That looks amazing Carl!

 

[Hamachi]

Before welding, I made sure the LED light bar fit behind the hole I made for it. All is well.




I welded both inside and out of each joint, which took approximately forever. I then ground down the outer welds, rounded the corners, blended and smoothed the whole thing. This took an additional forever. This dustpan is all grinding dust swept off my table, and the floor under it.



Put it back on the 80 to verify clearances for the winch and the fairlead mount.



And also add a tube to the top.



Assembled the laminated tow points and welded them on. They consist of a 1/4” layer in the middle, then 3/16” on each side of that, all wrapped around a chunk of 1.5” .250 DOM.



Took the bumper to be blasted and powder coated Carbide Black, which is a lightly-textured finish I also used on my rocker guards and my 4x4Labs rear bumper. Here it is today.







Peek-a-boo, the LED light bar. If you look close enough, you can see the “hood” I welded in to fill the space around the top and sides of the light bar, since the face of the bumper is not vertical.

Before welding, I made sure the LED light bar fit behind the hole I made for it. All is well.




I welded both inside and out of each joint, which took approximately forever. I then ground down the outer welds, rounded the corners, blended and smoothed the whole thing. This took an additional forever. This dustpan is all grinding dust swept off my table, and the floor under it.



Put it back on the 80 to verify clearances for the winch and the fairlead mount.



And also add a tube to the top.



Assembled the laminated tow points and welded them on. They consist of a 1/4” layer in the middle, then 3/16” on each side of that, all wrapped around a chunk of 1.5” .250 DOM.



Took the bumper to be blasted and powder coated Carbide Black, which is a lightly-textured finish I also used on my rocker guards and my 4x4Labs rear bumper. Here it is today.







Peek-a-boo, the LED light bar. If you look close enough, you can see the “hood” I welded in to fill the space around the top and sides of the light bar, since the face of the bumper is not vertical.

Great design - well thought out! I’ll take one...

 

[ScubaSteve80]

Looks awesome. I'm interested in building one myself. I like the design, might use this as a reference in the future. Thanks for sharing.