Quote on welding my 4x4labs bumper

[ExpoGeorgia]

I was planning to weld my DIY 4x4Labs basic rear bumper (no swingouts) when I got home from deployment, but I'd like to have it done before I get home since I'm limited on time. I got a quote from a LC shop here in Atlanta, 9 hour job for $1000 which I think is crazy. Can anyone give me a general estimate of the cost/labor hours I can expect with this build?

 

[TRAIL TAILOR]

You're too far away, but to give you an idea....my hourly rate is 65-90$ an hour for most off the street walk in projects. Every shop is different. 45-150$ pending the area, skill level and quality.

Luke charges 400$ more for a base bumper welded and finished. By looking at it I'd say its a 3-4 hour fit-up, weld out and finish. So, by those numbers, your quote is about 400-500$ too high IMO.

Just my .02

J

 

[maxamillion2345]

I think 75$ hour is a pretty fair rate for a welding shop... but then again it depends on where you go... and if you're having a shop that can also do welding do the work they may charge more -- lots of auto shops are charging closer to 90 - 110/hr or more.

As for how long should it take to fit it and weld it. I'd say under 4 hours.

I used to be in the bumper business, sort of... either way I could probably clean up all the parts, tack, fully weld, rough and finish sand a bumper and double check all my work 4 hours, I think -- it's been a while. Either way 1000$ is over the top.

Also, they may not know how to finish sand that bumper... might as well just read up here and do that yourself. Less than an hour if you have a good angle grinder and some heavy duty thick flap discs and it'll save you a little money. It's just dirty...

 

[TRAIL TAILOR]

I think 75$ hour is a pretty fair rate for a welding shop... but then again it depends on where you go... and if you're having a shop that can also do welding do the work they may charge more -- lots of auto shops are charging closer to 90 - 110/hr or more.

As for how long should it take to fit it and weld it. I'd say under 4 hours.

I used to be in the bumper business, sort of... either way I could probably clean up all the parts, tack, fully weld, rough and finish sand a bumper and double check all my work 4 hours, I think -- it's been a while. Either way 1000$ is over the top.

Also, they may not know how to finish sand that bumper... might as well just read up here and do that yourself. Less than an hour if you have a good angle grinder and some heavy duty thick flap discs and it'll save you a little money. It's just dirty...

$75 an hour is fair for a straight up cost for actual work.

But, what a lot of shops do is drag their feet and charge twice to five times the time to do the job. It is a standard industry blunder for welding and machine shops. I've pulled more projects from fab shops all over the country and Canada for this reason. If a shop says it'll take 10 hours to weld out a DIY kit like Luke's.... they are soaking the hell out of the time/quote clock, PERIOD.

For that kind of money they should know EXACTLY WHAT TO DO.

Again, just my .02

J

 

[ExpoGeorgia]

Thanks for the input guys, I've contacted a few local MUD members about welding it. I figured somewhere around $5-600 was a reasonable quote but as you all said, these shops try to milk you for everything they can. Thanks again for the help

 

[GLTHFJ60]

If you're going to pay someone to weld the kit up, why not just buy a finished bumper from 4x4labs?

 

[Cruiserdrew]

If you're going to pay someone to weld the kit up, why not just buy a finished bumper from 4x4labs?

Agree.

What takes the time with Luke's bumper is preparing your truck to install. And basically you have to build it on the truck, to account for frame mis-alignment and the like.

I am a hobby welder only, not a pro like some here, but I spent 1 full weekend preparing the truck, and removing the crossmember and brackets, and 1 full weekend fitting and welding the bumper. And then part of a 3rd weekend doing the swing arms etc. I probably had 25 hours of time in it working slow.

For me, the hardest part by far, was preparing the truck. Unless you have a plasma cutter, this is not a trivial task, especially getting the rivets out.

It sounds like you already have the bumper in hand, but I totally agree that if the price difference is only $400, it would be well worth having Luke build it for you. He has a jig, bolts it all in and welds, which streamlines the process.