Ok folks,

Time to get serious about the design if we are going to have a build day.

We need to decide: Tube, Plate or round "PreRunner" Style.

Once we come up with a design I can get some pricing on steel and get a "per Bumper" cost. Those who want to build one can come on down and lets get er done. Supposedly I will have a loaner of a tubing bender to use, if we can get some welders, grinders, torches, plasma cutters and fabricators here, we will be in great shape.

I am thinking this time, we have it over 2 weekends. Spend the first Saturday ganging up on one - working out all the bugs and details, then spend Sunday - or another Saturday the following week producing several more. In this fashion I think we can get at least 3-5 done for the club.

This is the basic style we (Drew and I) are liking. One option we are considering is to ad flat plate to the whole lower section like a skid plate. Thus beefing it up for kamikaze mud pit launching and rock bashing but also matching it to the rear as well. Kind of a tube/plate bumper.

http://cdn.wildhorses4x4.com/images/upl ... _popup.jpg

Folks, lets get a discussion going here, figure it out and get a plan together. Fall will be upon us before we know it and this is when we will be looking to have our fab days.

Here is an option for a plate bumper. It came from a thread on CB. The major down side is it would mean a ton of welding and we would probably need to get someone to cut the plates to spec for us to assemble. Comes out looking something like this but not quite as tall:

http://logansmetals4x4.com/id13.html

I've also attached a variation on the simple 2x6 steel tube bumper that I really liked. Very simple and clean, and would match the previous rear bumper well.

I'm in. I will look @ what is available and add my two c@ents. Jayson

Just me, but I would make anything you do have either one of two things for the front bumper. Either have A) a trailer hitch integrated into it or B) have it set up to take a winch or a third option would be to have both. My front bumper has the hitch on it and I have used it countless times from moving my pop up around to dragging logs up camping. It's the best feature that I have on my bumper and I wouldn't build another bumper without having that hitch on the front. But like I said, thats just me.

I like the pictures of the one off the vehicle, but I would suggest to add a hitch receiver so you can slide the winch in and out and do not have to drag the extra weight around and could possible slide it in to the rear if needed. I wold be up for one saturday with plenty of notice so I can make sure I am off since my schedule is pretty set. Just my two cents. Jayson

Supposedly I will have a loaner of a tubing bender to use,



This is 100% correct.

I have it in my garage right now and have plans to put it into use in the very near future.
It will make its way to your shop as soon as I am done with it or as soon as you need it, whichever comes first.

planning o starting to build mine in about a week,
not really sure of the design yet but the picture in my head looks just like JTS's front with a small hoop over the winch to mount some lights.

Will mine look like my vision? probably not even close as it might very well change as I build it.

I recently found a pic of a front bumper from back in late nineties of my First EB that i built. I will try and get the pic scanned in soon.

All be danged, this rig looks familiar:


I'm a plate bumper guy as it just seems the tube bumpers don't look finished to me, but I have one built, so I am just throwing out my $.02 for you guys to consider.

If you want to get pretty serious into rock crawling, you want to follow the "high and tight" principle. Having one hang way out there will cause you to not even be able to approach some rocks.

here's mine, (man I need to get new pictures of it!)


Plan to add some tube to protect the winch.

As sbolt and soco said, you want to build in some sort of attachment point, be it a receiver or a nice d-ring or holes for a clevis. Winch or not?

If you start with something like a 2x6, you can cut wedge shapes out of it to get it to bend how you want. But do so in a manner that leaves the radius of the tube in there. For instance, this guy just cut off the triangle all together and that makes that leading edge very square. But if he would have started his cut behind the radius he could have bent that radius back into place and would have looked much more finished.


But you have to make your bumper wider than you thought because when you bend the front piece back into place, it won't meet the end.



J.D.

Well, personally I am not looking to get into anything serious in terms of rock crawling. Far to many upgrades to do first.

But the plan I am leaning to is for a 2 X 4 tube for the main beam, notched as you describe so we can bend it back and have the center section further forward for a mounting point for the winch. Cut from the outside corners to the front so the top is flat and it flares down in the center for a receiver and D rings.. The idea is to match the rears we are already building somewhat. And to have some round tubes bent that come from the corners to the center "stinger" to protect the winch and add maybe some light tab's

I am drawing up the plan now. I will scan it on and post it for commentary.