bumper, for daily driver

admin

I made this bumper for my little Nissan truck. I was all made from scrap metal. It has a hidden 12,000 LBS winch and a flip up license plate mount. I don't 4x4 the truck, but I do spend some time in the woods. So I thought a good bumper with a winch would be handy. I have also used it on the farm. If I made it again I would change a few things, but over all I think it came out good. I also made it in a barn with dirt floor, a mig welder, a cutting torch, and a 4 1/2 grinder.would like to hear what you think? Attached Images
Reply:very simple and not overdone. i like it.i.u.o.e. # 15queens, ny and sunny fla
Reply:how did you bend the tubeinggood job on bumperThe main thing is not to panic or get excited Bobcat 250, X-Treme 12VS,  MM211Meltabo, Milwaukee,Porter Cable,Dewalt,MakitaVictor O/A, Ingersoll-RandEvolution Rage2, 40 amp PlasmaLincoln 225 AC/DC
Reply:Looks good, well done!  Being somewhat of a design guy, I may have had the center section tapered the other direction to match the design of the grill on the truck.  Functionally, your design is better though."All of this and some of that's the only way to skin the cat!"
Reply:Nice looking bumper, I made on for my truck last year and it looks similar.  I did not do the bars because I can not bend pipe.  Nice Build.. Have any pics of when it was being constructed?  What did you use to weld it?  How thick is the material? How are the lights mounted inside?  Did you use a hole saw for the light holes?Lincoln Weldanpower AC/DCLincoln LN-25Miller WC-115a Miller Spoolmatic 30aCheck out my youtube TV Channel
Reply:thanks for all the kind words.Sorry I forgot. I did take the tube down to work and used the tubing bender, then I used my grinder to match the end of the tube up the best I could before welding. I also work a heavy equipment designer, but I didn't draw any of the bumper. I wanted to try and do it from scratch as I went. even if I wanted to make a 3d model I would have had a hard time since I work with such heavy steel I would have really over built it. LOL
Reply:I used a Hobart 210mvp with .035 wire and c25 gas. It is made of 1/4 steel which is overkill, but I got it dirt cheap. I will have to look to see if I have any pic's before I painted it. I just marked holes and cut them out with a torch and then cut a piece of pipe at the same angle as the bumper and welded it to the back. That way the lights would face straight. I cut the mount up that came with the lights and welded them to the pipe on the back side of the bumper and used some rubber as an insulator between the light and steel. I can adjust the lights but not vary much. luckily the lights worked out where I didn't need to adjust them. I also came up with a way of using resistors and diodes so the amber lights work as running lights and blinkers.Last edited by weekendwelder70; 12-30-2013 at 01:35 PM.Reason: s
Reply:Nice clean design....
Reply:Great job weekendwelder.
Reply:next project is a dump trailer. I just got the steel last week and stripped the old flat bed gooseneck trailer. It should be a fun build. I will start a thread the next couple of day showing pic of the build as I go.Esab 253 mig welderHobart 210 mvp w/ C25 gasmiller 225 a/c stick welderO/A torchHF 40 amp plasma cutter
Reply:Really nice job! Clean work.PlasmaCam CNC cutterLathe and Band SawClamps
Reply:I see that you used 1/4" does it make the truck ride heavy? Can you tell it's on there when driving? It looks good from here.Miller trailblazer301gLincoln sa200Miller251Miller spectrum 625Victor oxy-acc2002 Chevy duramax 3500 dually 4x4
Reply:I am not sure I can notice it at all. I thought I could at first, but when I took it off to finish it and drove to work with the old one on I couldn't tell. if it does, its not much. If I had to do it again I would have only used 1/4 for the winch and 3/16 for everything else. mainly because I cant lift it by my self. LOLEsab 253 mig welderHobart 210 mvp w/ C25 gasmiller 225 a/c stick welderO/A torchHF 40 amp plasma cutter
Reply:Installing a winch on a truck usually requires installing stronger springs or stiffer torsión bars so they extra weight gets somewhat compensated. If we add up the additional weight of a 1/4" Steel bumper (that you cannot lift by yourself)... then you truly need to upgrade the front suspensión.Other than that, it looks good from here.Mikel
Reply:the bumper looks great. the truck is a little ugly tho. should have got a ford. lol
Reply:I am a ford person to, but they don't make a 4 door small truck (in the us). I wish I could get on of the 4 door diesel rangers from over seas. Esab 253 mig welderHobart 210 mvp w/ C25 gasmiller 225 a/c stick welderO/A torchHF 40 amp plasma cutter
Reply:Nice job!