so as it says, I have got an internship this summer, so I will have some money to learn with. i want to make a rear bumper. my dad has a welder, and I am learning to weld. (It's a Lincoln 3200 HD I believe- just for around the house). So i want to hear some input on design or opinions about material (channel, thick sheet, tubing, etc). so far I am thinking metal plate (maybe 1/4" thick) that is bolted to the frame rails.
Another thought, I see everyone build their bumpers sticking out of the body lines (like the factory bumper). I was thinkin about building my inside the line (ie from the side view) like a roll pan kinda. The other thing was I am debating doing a swinging spare tire carrier that blends in nice. Like an inlaid double-shear hinge (maybe buy one with bushings?) and a nice latch. But not sure how a tire would look on the back of a truck??

What do you think? You can go to my photobucket to see my truck... I may have some SolidWorks shots of my proposed bumper up after I have a clear vision of where I am going......

 

My is basically flush with the body lines. I will say though that i am making a new one that will stick out about the size of the tube im gona be using, and will wrap around the edges of the body. Ive hit my garbage can a few times and dented my tailgate because of no bumper sticking out. looks good though.

Here are some of mine and one of a tire gate

 

there is a truck on here with a rear bumper inside the body lines that looks great i think. i think this style should be square pipes, most people use their factory bumper bracket to connect with.

i doubt the tire carrier will work right unless it replaces the tailgate, and i like tires on the backs of trucks... or on the front.



yes, i know dozens will claim its not pipe... well suck mine

edit : see

 

^ hah yeah just a second too late

 

yeah Interceptor, I really like the looks of yours. I llove how clean it looks, yet functional. What are the dimensions of that rectangular tubing you used?

Its so funny, those pics of the other ranger you posted up; those are like the first pics of a ranger I ever saw modded and saved to my computer; way before I even knew about RF....too funny. Yeah, that guy has some serious metalwork on his bed...

I do want to keep my tailgate, so that is why I am uncertain about the tire carrier portion. It may be done wrangler style.

 

The swinging spair tire carrier is a good idea.. I was going to buy a tire gate, but my dad says he can build the exact same thing...
this is what it will look like

http://www.truckcandy.com/TC/TireGate/TireGate.htm

 

the tubing is 2" square stock. i think its 1/8" or 3/16 cant remember off hand. And i used a 2x4 for the spacing between them, and i used the stock brackets choped up into the design.

yeah i had those pictures ever since i got my truck too haha

 

https://www.ranger-forums.com/forum2...ad.php?t=46203

DSC_0022-3.jpg?t=1198872693
DSC_0023-1.jpg?t=1198872902

 

Make me one too!

 

Hey Mikey, I Like it!! very nice. I think I am going to steal your method for mounting to the chassis. And also I think I may try to Rhino Line it too....maybe this would be a good time to try out that Herculiner stuff...

I also realized today that I should try to integrate a hole for a ball because I don't have a hitch, and why buy one if I can just throw one on...

And Trent, in all seriousness, let me see how mine goes in terms of cost of materials and all and if it is resaonable we could work something out.

 

I love the way Andy and Mikes bumper is designed, but just think of the damage of the bed if you was to be rear-ended without a bumper that dont wrap around the body lines of the truck. That was my main concern when building one. Plus imo it would be easier to incorperate a reciever-style hitch on a bumper that sticks out a lil bit rather than just having a hole to put a ball in.
Heres mine I just got finished with a week or 2 ago.


See how it wraps around the entire bed? Id almost guarentee that if someone ran into the back of me I think this bumper would keep the impact on the bumper and the frame mounts rather than someone plowing into the bed.


With all the supports running throughout the entire bumper Id hate to see the damage if someone were to hit me in the rear.



It was so much easier finding a way to incorperate a hitch into a bumper that had a nice, flat bottom plate to mount the receiver hitch. Note all the gussits that support the receiver. Id feel confident pulling anything that I could with my factory hitch.

 

Wow Ben, I really like yours!!!! You did an amazing job with all the internal supports... I bet that things crazy sturdy.... and I agree about it sticking out to protect the bed and having a flat bottom to mount a 2" reciever. I think those are all great ideas.

Man, you must have spent forever making that....you even did a great job folding the ends of the metal in. very nice

I would like to make one similar to yours, but I don't have a brake I can use to bend well, so I have got some design/planning to do.

 

Thanks Anthony! Believe it or not it took less than a week to fully fabricate! I have a good friend who works for a fab shop. He bent all the peices at work and brought em home and we assembled it at his brothers shop.
Oh yeah, its sturdy! I hope an S10 or a Tacoma runs into me one day...lol