tips on bumper building

[burns offroad]

hey yall im just tsarting my rear tire carrier bumper this weekend and wondering if anybody has any tips i was planning on using 1/8th inch steel let me know what you think or if you have any tips on building

 

[bugsnbikes]

1/8" wont cut it for a bumper. 3/16" would be minimum if you are going to box the corners so that theres less flex for a swingout. If you wanna use DOM tubing..... 1 3/4 or 2" x .120 wall is damn strong and light.

If you arent sure about your welding skills strength....dom is a great alternative and strong. if also not sure about engineering skills on a boxed bumper....dom would also be more viable.

 

[tonkota]

I would probably use a combination of 1/8" and 3/16" plate with reenforced sections and gussets. I have a thing against adding extra weight to an already heavy vehicle though.

1/8" plate is 5# per sqft
3/16" plate is 7.5# per sqft

 

[BattleWagon]

Look at cutting out your rear crossmember and quarters to gain some departure angle, although I don't know how that affect the placement of the swingout, the gains might be nominal.

 

[ntsqd]

Just for the record, 1/8" is 0.125" and 3/16" is 0.1875" Seems to be some cornfusion about that.

If you build a bumper that has nooks and crannies in it, dirt/mud/snow will build up there. So don't build it that way.

 

[deucemonkey]

Get you large piece 1/4" rectangular tubing and build the rest out of scrap. I don't know how far you are from Minneapolis, there is a discount steel there. Down here in Texas they are selling "scrap" cold rolled for $.50/lb. I've bought "scrap" tubing as long as 8 feet and seen 5/16" plate as big as 2'x6' in their scrap bins.

 

[LCDiesel60]

I guess you are getting the 'broad spectrum' of input; lot's of bumper builds in the site history--I've spent a lot of time there, learned a lot--sifted through the ideas/opinions--so, now I have my final design, but have yet to have the time for it....YES-definitely worth the time invested to sort through all the ideas--too heavy/too much work--too light--waste of time due to damage later and then replacement.
LCDiesel60

 

[BattleWagon]

If you build a bumper that has nooks and crannies in it, dirt/mud/snow will build up there. So don't build it that way.

really good stuff here^

 

[Mark W]

If you build a bumper with a lot of intermal bracing, you can get away with 1/8 inch so long as you do not mind the potential for actual dents and damage to the bumper itslef from trail or road impact.

For any bumper that is simpler in design, or if you are not willing to accept damage to the bumper as a matter of course... 3/16 is the way to go. I have encountered situations where 1/4 is preferable even with the extra weight. especially if you load your rear racks up heavy.

I have loaded as much as 600-700 pounds on the rear bumper of my '40 for some pretty hard trail use. The bumper itself is only a 3x4x3/16 square tube but it has a lot of bracing and attachment to the rear crossmember and the rear of the frame rails. 1/4 would have been a better choice for this bumper.

For wrap around bumpers on '60s I always use 3/16. Have used 1/4 in the past, but it was much heavier than wer discovered we needed. If you are gonna build it out of any size square tube 1/8 will be laughable weak.

Mark...

 

[kling-on]

http://www.texas4x4.org/gallery/album06

Here is a link to pics of mine so far ... I used 2X6 and 2X2 1/4 wall tubing for most of it

 

[burns offroad]

Thanks for the tips those pics are really nice to this is all very helpful thanks yall

 

[burns offroad]

Just. Finished the first part starting on the carrier tommorow

 

[burns offroad]

Illl post tomorrow when it's on the truck

 

[Rigger]

Not 100% sure what I'm looking at, but is that just a plate? Seems like it'd be very flexible. Is there a bend line at the top to stiffen it? Is it standing on the frame attachment tabs? Most folks run those out to create the recovery points.

 

[samibattlemaiden]

Also if those are D ring tabs I wouldn't use them to snatch/pull or you will likley loose the whole center section of your bumper. But again kinda hard to tell exactly what's goin on in the pic.

 

[Wile E Coyote]

^^^What these guys said. Unless there's a lot more meat to the design that the pic isn't showing, I wouldn't hang a tire carrier off of it or hook a strap to those recovery points.

 

[BattleWagon]

he's gonna box that in, definitely planning on boxing that, for sure...

 

[burns offroad]

Its 1/4 inch and i built the bumper so that it anchors to the mounts, on the top and on the front so the welds are actually just holding on the sides. the top and center bolt onto the frame of the truck although the d ring mounts probably won't do much but hindsight is 20/20 right

 

[MILLHOUSE]

I used 2" by 4" by 1/8" for my rear bumber with a swing out tyer carrer. It is bolted to the frame with 1/2" by 3" plate that has holes for pull points that I added a second layer to the ends of that protruds past the 2x4 by 2". The thing with a bumper that is made with all 1/2" steel is that the frame of the truck is 1/8". If built strong enuf a bad hit will leave the nicest bumper in the junk yard with a frame that is buckeld to hell and gone. Do not get me wrong, I see both sides of the coin here. Just sumthing to think about.

 

[burns offroad]

Good point