Chevy Silverado Custom Bumper Build (Pics + Videos)

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Goodmorning Ladies and Gentlemen of WeldingWeb!!Oh man, where to begin...So in September of 2011, I picked up this 2011 Silverado... I really like the truck, but lets face it, the OEM bumpers were nothing special. The rear bumper was okay, but the front bumper was almost straight plastic, and made the whole truck look like a bumper car IMHO... It had about 4" of ground clearance, and would scrape on those cement blocks at the end of your parking spot. But what was worse? There's literally no where to tie anything off to... The higher-end Silverados have these nice front tow hooks, but mine didnt. Needless to say, the OEM bumpers had to go.It was a project I'd wanted to do literally since I bought the truck, just never did. I procrastinated all summer, then it got cold and school started...But then... I had two weeks off for Christmas Break, and so I had time on my hands. My good friend Wes said he was coming back from college, and my steel yard informed me that they'd just dropped the price of "Flat Salvage" by 7 cents per pound. The stars lined up in a row, and I knew it was now or never.I bought somewhere around $400 worth of materials, and got to work. I never made up a plan or anything, just went for it pretty much. It was a ton of work. I even had to buy a new Impact wrench to get the stock front bumper off.What were my goals:1) They have to look awesome.2) They have to be sturdier than the stock bumpers.3) They MUST have pulling-points on them.So I went at it. These are teaser pics... I took them before the bumpers were painted (With engine enamel for that added durability), and mounted 100% on the truck, hence the front one is a little lop-sided:But I knew I couldn't stop there.They needed to be strong... I wanted to build them so they could handle more pulling than the truck could put out, just for the peace of mind. I put some 10" plate gussets on the back bumper, which ran from the frame mounts, to the face of the bumper, to prevent it from bending if I pulled or shock loaded against something.And I knew I'd have to get creative on the front bumper. Worst case scenario was it "bowed" if I pulled too hard. So, I made some plate gussets for it, too, and I ran a pipe right behind the face to keep the mounts spread to where they needed to be:While I was at it, I put 3/8" plate blocks between the "D" rings and the bumper face, and held them down with 6 passes of 7018 for good measure.I'm extremely pleased with how they turned out. They took somewhere in the neighborhood of 59 work hours to complete, over the course of 5 build days. My YouTube audience seemed to enjoy the videos, so I figured I'd share them on here, as well. They cover the build from start to finish, 100% of the way through. I can't really word everything we did all that well, so, I just made the videos about it... Hope y'all enjoy them, as much as I enjoyed making them [Account Abandoned 8/8/16 Please Do Not Attempt Contact Or Expect A Reply]. See you on YouTube! -ChuckE2009
Reply:Now, onto the Videos:Part 1:Part 2:Part 3:Part 4:I really had a blast making these... Hope y'all like them, too. Have an AWESOME weekend, everyone [Account Abandoned 8/8/16 Please Do Not Attempt Contact Or Expect A Reply]. See you on YouTube! -ChuckE2009
Reply:KICK AZZ BRO! I'll watch the vids later on. AWSOME JOB! I hate being bi-polar it's awsomeMy Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys
Reply:Look out Deer I'm going to crush you and not get a scratch on me.Dave ReberWadsworth Ohio
Reply:They look Lanse.  Nice craftsmanship.  I like the rear bumper better than the front, but that is just my opinion.  Keep up the good work.ECAVE Still learnin'Lincoln AC225Lincoln 135SPHF ChopsawVictor O/ANumerous other items
Reply:Thanks guys!!ECave, Honestly, Id say my favorite is the back bumper.The front one was just so damn hard to build. The back of the truck is all one level, all flat. The front grille bows out, then in, up on the sides and down in the middle, the headlights are at a totally different level, they turn up, then curve back. There was only so much I could do to perfectly match the lines and shape of the front of this truck, however [Account Abandoned 8/8/16 Please Do Not Attempt Contact Or Expect A Reply]. See you on YouTube! -ChuckE2009
Reply:Looks great Lanse, but for me the front corners of the front bumper are a little too square and box shaped. Also just an idea for you, and I'm not advising anyone make an air tank but.. I have always thought than when I make bumpers for my truck to seal the back of the bumper. That way I can put air quick connects on it and have a small air compressor under the truck to fill the bumpers so that I can fill tires/ run pnumatic tools.Airco Ac/Dc 300 HeliwelderMillerMatic 200 (stolen)Miller Maxstar 150STLMiller AEAD200LE (welding and generating power) Hobart MIG
Reply:I have the same body style DMax and I've contemplated building bumpers for it and the complexity that Lanse has pointed out keeps me from attempting it. Do you have pics from farther away and different angles?Millermatic 200Hobart Handler 120Victor O/A & Ramco BandsawLincoln 225 ACSnapOn AD HoodMiller XMT304/22AHypertherm Powermax 1650 G3Lincoln Idealarc DC600 w/Extreme 12 VSMiller Digital Elite "Joker"
Reply:Nice job Lanse!Esab Multimaster 260Esab Caddy160IEsab 161 STLESAB powercut 650Esab 220i tigLincoln Precision Tig 225Lincoln IdealArc 250INE SKYLINE 1500Klutch 140iMEASURE TWICE IS FOR MORONS
Reply:I really like the back bumper. those d rings are a kick *** idea
Reply:you really had your work cut out for you on that front end. new trucks are a swoopy pain in the *** when it comes to bumpers.  they turned out good for what you had to work with.    pictures like this make me think back to the good old days when you welded soem 1/4" plate on top a 3" pipe and you had your bumpers.  i'm getting old.