Truck bumper/receiver photos

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Here's a bumper I just made for my flatbed pickup, it had a chinsey receiver, I needed something work-worthy.  The main tube is 4x4x1/4, the uprights are 4 inch channel, the braces are 3" channel.  Safety hooks are like 10K each.  Extra receiver is for towing farm equipment with off center hitches.  Took maybe 3 hours.  All bolted to frame with 5/8 grade 5 bolts and lock nuts.  Welded with old Millermatic 200, .035 wire with Stargon.  Still in primer, needed it to get going.  Biggest trailer it will see is 10k.
Reply:Great job. I also like that you hooked the chains correctly.Now put an air port on it and you have a portable air tank.
Reply:Time for popcorn and beerMillermatic 252millermatic 175miller 300 Thunderboltlincoln ranger 250smith torcheslots of bfh'sIf it dont fit get a bigger hammer
Reply:Nice job on the hitch.  No comment on the hooks.
Reply:Looks great! But the safety chainsI hate being bi-polar it's awsomeMy Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys
Reply:Did you gusset the inside of the hitch tube behind the bumper on all 4 sides?Keeps the side to side and up and down flex in check..And yeah CRISSCROSS the chains and use better HOOKS!!!!...zap!I am not completely insane..Some parts are missing Professional Driver on a closed course....Do not attempt.Just because I'm a  dumbass don't mean that you can be too.So DON'T try any of this **** l do at home.
Reply:Guys its a 3000lb GVW enclosed trailer hooked to it.  Those are the factory chains and they seem to tie into the center which doesn't really allow you to cross the chains much.  My big trailers have real hooks.
Reply:Originally Posted by zapsterDid you gusset the inside of the hitch tube behind the bumper on all 4 sides?Keeps the side to side and up and down flex in check.....zap!
Reply:I think this is a nice build.The tubing is the masterstroke..............it resists torque, the most crappy thing about reciever hitches.  The tubing controls the tendancy to twist.When calculating side to side sway you have to look at how far the supporting member extends below the frame (the supporting member here is the channel).  Over a short distance, as it looks here, the channel is adequate to handle sway.  There's enough meat.This is built like my recent hitch, and I like it.  Sure I'm prejudiced, but mine is in service and it works!Look at some of the commercially available crap out there, compare it to this design, and you'll see it's a good one.The fore/aft bracing is good too, way more than I did (but my vertical channel was wider).I really like to see people use structural shapes to their full advantage.This gets a 4 outta 4 on the Teat Scale   ONE CAVEAT (there's always one )  I would have welded the tubing full circumference to the channel, not just to the bottom of the channel.  You could have dropped the channel another 4", and welded the tubing full outside circumference to it without lowering the profile.  This would have transfered the stress to 12" of weld instead of the 3" holding it now."Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:BUT, HOLD THE PRESSES..................  The lateral brace takes up a lot of stress"Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:yea, lot of ways to skin cat, if I had my center tube shorter I could have brought the channel down the ends, or I could have used 6 inch channel and cut a square hole to slide the tube through but at the end this is still heavier that the crap you buy for a 3/4 ton truck.  We've built a number of these all designed about the same with good luck.  Some bigger for bigger trucks.   You should have seen the hitch I took off... it was a commercially available hitch and bolted to the bottom flange of the frame...yeaaa
Reply:Well Iam no engineer from what I can see the welds look good and you have good vertical and horizontal mounts (supports) Just my opinion
Reply:Stole this from the other receiver thread http://www.etrailer.com/Specialty-Tr...ite/41990.htmlclass IV with a 3" cross tube???   Use that for comparison.
Reply:zap, I have no idea what you are asking either. Can you clarify?farmersam,. that picture is disgusting. Bob, are you just stirring the sheeit? You know that bumper will never get certified as a pressure vessel. It's square! Yes. I know people do it. But you know how everyone here is anal about that stuff. Farmshop, were you referring to the air tank comment or the homemade bumper post or the safety chains? LOL! people do get stirred up about all 3!cd19, nice build. And just cuz a manufacturer makes a product, doesn't mean it is a-ok. We have to take all the stupid hooks off the chains that come with our trailers and install hooks that are real hooks, but also have a spring loaded clasp that keeps the hook from bouncing off the tow vehicle. I think it's a good idea. And you are right, with those stupid center mounted chains, criss crossing doesn't seem to be any better than straight. I recommend moving the chains to the outside of frame and making them crisscross effectively. And if you don't, it is all yours and we don't have to pay to replace the tongue that will grind on the asphalt, you do. And we don't have to pay for the wrecks behind you if the hooks pop off the bumper to boot! how is that for 2 cents worth?Lincoln Power Mig 210MP MIGLincoln Power Mig 350MP - MIG and Push-PullLincoln TIG 300-300Lincoln Hobby-Weld 110v  Thanks JLAMESCK TIG TORCH, gas diffuser, pyrex cupThermal Dynamics Cutmaster 101My brain
Reply:Looks good to me.The dodgy bit for me is the coupling on the trailer, but that seems to be the way you do it across the pond.Are all trailer couplings pressed steel? Never cast? Do they never wear out?This is a typical coupling over here.JFsorry for the hijack Attached Images
Reply:what in the heck is all that?I cant even tell if it is upside down or not.What is the black boot? what is the skinny cylinder? can you repost and label all the pieces?Lincoln Power Mig 210MP MIGLincoln Power Mig 350MP - MIG and Push-PullLincoln TIG 300-300Lincoln Hobby-Weld 110v  Thanks JLAMESCK TIG TORCH, gas diffuser, pyrex cupThermal Dynamics Cutmaster 101My brain
Reply:I was expecting flaming because most hitches get that. I like the use of bolts and the bracing. As Sammy said I would have ran the verticle channel past the end of the tube.Millermatic 252millermatic 175miller 300 Thunderboltlincoln ranger 250smith torcheslots of bfh'sIf it dont fit get a bigger hammer
Reply:Nice job CD19. Feen, I've seen one or two trailers from European makers. Your coupler looks very similar to the ones I saw, the quality is very good. They have a more complicated design, which is ok, but most in the U.S. are of a simpler design. Yes they can and do wear out, in fact this week we are having a special on used couplers. Mention Welding Web when you come shopping for used couplers, and receive an extra 10% savings!!  Attached ImagesLast edited by tanglediver; 07-14-2012 at 09:18 PM.City of L.A. Structural; Manual & Semi-Automatic;"Surely there is a mine for silver, and a place where gold is refined. Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore."Job 28:1,2Lincoln, Miller, Victor & ISV BibleDanny
Reply:Where did you get the D rings i like those The hitch looks goodBacked my CATMA over your CARMA oops clusmy me  What would SATAN do ?? Miller Trailblazer 302 AirPakMiller Digital Elite  Optrel Welding HatArcair K4000Suitcase 12RC / 12 VSHypertherm PM-45Rage 3 sawRusty old Truck
Reply:Originally Posted by killdozerd11Where did you get the D rings i like those The hitch looks good
Reply:Originally Posted by Joker11zap, I have no idea what you are asking either. Can you clarify?
Reply:Hey Old Man...I have reinforced tubes like that in the past as well when the situation warrants it, but I run the gussets on the corners of the tubing where it is the strongest.  From your pictures, my gussets would look like an "X"EDIT:  And I taper my gussets instead of leaving the sharp edges and don't weld the intersection where the gusset meet the receiver tube and the mounting plate - I leave a small opening - It's a minor detail but it was hammered into me as I was learning.  Plus, I am just anal that way.  Just ask my wife!Carry on...Last edited by Black Wolf; 07-15-2012 at 01:25 PM.Later,Jason
Reply:Originally Posted by Black WolfHey Old Man...I have reinforced tubes like that in the past as well when the situation warrants it, but I run the gussets on the corners of the tubing where it is the strongest.  From your pictures, my gussets would look like an "X"Carry on...
Reply:A quick SketchUp model of the gussets I use.  Radius shows where I weld.  I leave the intersection "open" Attached ImagesLater,Jason
Reply:Originally Posted by zapsterThis is what I mean..These pics are from the inside if the assy..Keeps the tube from flexing......zap!Originally Posted by farmersammThis gets a 4 outta 4 on the Teat Scale
Reply:Good job with the hitch!  I like the diamond plate *ss end, too!- MondoMember, AWSLincoln ProMIG 140Lincoln AC TombstoneCraftsman Lathe 12 x 24 c1935Atlas MFC Horizontal MillCraftsman Commercial Lathe 12 x 36 c1970- - - I'll just keep on keepin' on.