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DIY winch bumper 'builder' brackets


hawairish
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Today I picked up 600 lbs of steel plate...enough to make the initial 6 bracket sets...and some skids plates.  I'm still debating whether that means front or mid skids.  For sure, I plan to make a mid skid to match my front skid.  There might be some other revelations along the way.  For now, still focusing on the remaining V2 tweaks.

 

I'm still dividing my time across several projects to build up some confidence using the plasma table.  I've not fired it up for a few days, but this week I will be cutting out the brackets and other items for my rear(!) bumper, which I (finally!) started last week.  The truck has been without a rear bumper for months now, and the goal is to have it done before CANVAZ.

 

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Lots of work left to do!

 

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Still pecking away at it...

 

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In hindsight, I wouldn't have made the corners stick so far back, and maybe not so low either.  Still to-dos are finishing the other insert panels (waiting on the lights tonight to confirm the mounting pattern), and put some plate on top to get some flat surfaces.  Right now it comes in at 62 lbs.  It'll probably be able 75-80 when done.

 

On a side note, I started sketching up a plate version of this with some wild dream about producing a DIY kit.  Still a lot of clean-up to do on that idea.

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In hindsight, I wouldn't have made the corners stick so far back, and maybe not so low either.  Still to-dos are finishing the other insert panels (waiting on the lights tonight to confirm the mounting pattern), and put some plate on top to get some flat surfaces. 

Looking pretty good. To be fair, you need some depth to it to be able to stand on it & to be able to put stuff on it. I think it is just the sharp 90* outer corner that you don’t care for. Not that it wouldn’t be too much work but, a diagonal on those outer corners would likely eliminate that visual aspect which catches your eye as a little too long.
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In hindsight, I wouldn't have made the corners stick so far back, and maybe not so low either.  Still to-dos are finishing the other insert panels (waiting on the lights tonight to confirm the mounting pattern), and put some plate on top to get some flat surfaces. 

Looking pretty good. To be fair, you need some depth to it to be able to stand on it & to be able to put stuff on it. I think it is just the sharp 90* outer corner that you don’t care for. Not that it wouldn’t be too much work but, a diagonal on those outer corners would likely eliminate that visual aspect which catches your eye as a little too long.
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10 minutes ago, RainGoat said:

Looking pretty good. To be fair, you need some depth to it to be able to stand on it & to be able to put stuff on it. I think it is just the sharp 90* outer corner that you don’t care for. Not that it wouldn’t be too much work but, a diagonal on those outer corners would likely eliminate that visual aspect which catches your eye as a little too long.

 

Thanks.  I guess that's a good point as far as a step goes, though I usually find myself standing on the tires instead, since it's a bit of a reach.  That's one downfall of using tubes...getting all the angles is a pain.  With plate, much easier of a problem to deal with.

 

3 minutes ago, AlabamaDan said:

These bumpers your building, how strong do you think they are?  If you backed into something or hit a deer at 35mph, how do you think they'd hold up?

 

To be fair (does anybody watch Letterkenny?), these weren't built for impact; they were built for clearance, so concessions regarding coverage and strength are being made deliberately.  My wheeling trips were literally ripping my OE bumpers off every time, so you could say these are built for less contact.  By contrast, ARBs are designed more for impact and less for clearance. 

 

I think mine would sustain direct impact well given their coverage, and they offer significantly more strength and coverage than the OE bumpers, but it's just not what they were designed for.  The only regular road hazards we have here are skinny coyotes, fat rabbits, and stupid quails...none of which will ruin my day when struck.  Will these hold up to bumping into, or dropping onto, immovable boulders?   Yes, I think they'll do fine there.  But at least for the front bumper, the shape and angles will be more apt to cut into something instead of distributing impact like a plate bumper can.  So no, I don't think it'd fair well against a deer unless it was a dead center where the most steel (tube, winch channel, brackets) is present.  The rear bumper...I really don't have much concern about it; it'll be reasonably stout when done.

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Good design and fab work!

 

I like the stick out and agree that with an angle back towards the wheel would look cleaner visually. I'd go so far as to say that an angle towards the the rear wheels would look good both from the side and from the rear. That is ti say, 2 changes could be made.... But I'm not doing the fab, just commenting from the galley lol.

 

In any case I like the reasoning for the build. Keep things light and functional, not a hardcore bumper or guard but still much mote stout than stock.

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18 hours ago, hawairish said:

To be fair (does anybody watch Letterkenny?), these weren't built for impact; they were built for clearance, so concessions regarding coverage and strength are being made deliberately.  My wheeling trips were literally ripping my OE bumpers off every time, so you could say these are built for less contact.  By contrast, ARBs are designed more for impact and less for clearance. 

 

I think mine would sustain direct impact well given their coverage, and they offer significantly more strength and coverage than the OE bumpers, but it's just not what they were designed for.  The only regular road hazards we have here are skinny coyotes, fat rabbits, and stupid quails...none of which will ruin my day when struck.  Will these hold up to bumping into, or dropping onto, immovable boulders?   Yes, I think they'll do fine there.  But at least for the front bumper, the shape and angles will be more apt to cut into something instead of distributing impact like a plate bumper can.  So no, I don't think it'd fair well against a deer unless it was a dead center where the most steel (tube, winch channel, brackets) is present.  The rear bumper...I really don't have much concern about it; it'll be reasonably stout when done.

 

I was just curious.  It's far superior to anything I could do and it looks fabulous.  I'm sure the functionality is awesome too.

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1 hour ago, AlabamaDan said:

I was just curious.  It's far superior to anything I could do and it looks fabulous.  I'm sure the functionality is awesome too.

 

Appreciated!  I think that's the catch about most off-road bumpers...you never really know how it's going to handle unless you accounted for a specific purpose (like big 'ol deer guards on semi trucks...a very singular purpose).  Tube, plate, and formed steel construction have very different characteristics, too.  Plate is surely the best impact wise because of its hard angles and fully-welded/bent seams, but as such will also weigh more.  You can reduce weight with thinner steel, but then other reinforcements are needed.  ARB uses 3mm steel (just under 1/8"), but still comes in close to 90-100 lbs for the R50 bumper, and it's still quite big.  Dustin's bumper (the other current thread) turned out great; it's a beast of a bumper.  I'd estimate the weight of my setup is probably half that, though.

 

I would have liked to have gone plate, but when I started doing the front bumper, it boiled down to what was feasible in the garage; I didn't have a way to cut plate or make long cuts (to be honest, I really didn't even know how plasma cutters worked until this year!), nor a way to bend round tube.  I had a chopsaw and protractor (and I hate dealing with angles).  I think it's turned out well for what it is, and it's definitely been a learning experience.

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Well, it's as done as it's gonna get before my CANVAZ trip this weekend.  I will eventually put some plate up top and some additional brackets under the quarter panel for support.

 

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I've been pretty pleased with the cuts.  My AZ flag apparently had some hidden lines that got cut, but I went with it.  Cheapo MicTuning lights off Amazon are wired to the reverse lights...and make the OE bulbs look like garbage.

 

I also made a new missing link and mid skid...

 

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Super pleased with the results.  It slides on/off just like the front skid, and now all the hardware is matched for a single socket.

 

...

 

I know this thread started off for front bumper brackets, but I've come a lot farther than expected.  I'm still planning to go through with the front brackets for those interested, but still need another week or so to finalize a few things and put some numbers to things.  I'm absolutely exploring options to make skids and missing link available, too.  Stay tuned!

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I just want to say you are awesome and I'm still interested in at least the brackets as I initially stated. The actual bumpers are a surprise welcome though, for me it'll be all about the $$. I won't be able to make it to Quartzsite this winter anyway as I was hoping for health reasons so the cost of shipping would probably be significant for the entire bumper. Unbelievable progress though, I agree softening the corner on the rear would look pretty sweet but it sticking out to be able to stand on would also be nice. Keep it up man, this is still an awesome thread to watch. 

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I’ve been watching this thread from afar since I bought my 03 R50 last spring. Awesome progress and I’ve only become more and more interested in purchasing the end product(s) when you decide to make them available. 

 

I’m most interested in a light weight winch bumper at the moment but I really like the looks of that rear as well! 

 

Im liking the idea of a road trip down to Arizona next spring ?

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  • 5 months later...

Looks like thing might have stalled a bit on this thread but I am interested in both front and rear bumpers and the skids too.  I live in Colorado And would be .down for a road trip to pick it all up?

Heck, I could make a weekend of it and throw down with some shop labor to help u out if needed.   I got some skills even if you only need a strong back and a broom operator.?

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8 hours ago, cgriff said:

Looks like thing might have stalled a bit on this thread but I am interested in both front and rear bumpers and the skids too.  I live in Colorado And would be .down for a road trip to pick it all up?

Heck, I could make a weekend of it and throw down with some shop labor to help u out if needed.   I got some skills even if you only need a strong back and a broom operator.?

Where in Colorado are you, also grab me some skid plates!

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12 hours ago, cgriff said:

Looks like thing might have stalled a bit on this thread but I am interested in both front and rear bumpers and the skids too.  I live in Colorado And would be .down for a road trip to pick it all up?

Heck, I could make a weekend of it and throw down with some shop labor to help u out if needed.   I got some skills even if you only need a strong back and a broom operator.?

 

Stalled is the right word, but not forgotten.  The collaboration between @TowndawgR50 and I is still underway, and I think once we've gotten off the ground, then we'll be exploring bumper and skid options.  For now, we've tabled the bumper brackets, though.  Next step in that regard is expanding my plasma table to get some larger stuff going.  I'm really hoping we get there soon! 

 

5 hours ago, Slartibartfast said:

Nah, broom technician. Make it sound like you had your own desk!

 

Too true!

Edited by hawairish
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