Matt has a great suggestion, but dimple dying a 3/16" piece of grade 80 plate is going to be a bitch.



Mike, here is a dimple die kit and a piece a metal after they have been used. They work VERY well to strengthen thin plate or sheet metal. It adds much more rigidity (sp?) to the metal. I did it to the plate that is on my rock sliders.

I have just never seen it done to metal that thick before, or holes that big. If we follow the same way RLC built my front, we should have no problem as far as strength goes

 

Double post.

 

Yeah, Josh is probably right. 3/16 would be tough to dimple. But it's still do-able.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNS5xQnDoJo

However, the 4.5" hole is a bit too big for normal Dimple Dies (at least that I've seen).

Steel, to answer your question, It's sort of like flaring the metal. By doing this you add a dimension to the metal (goes from 2D flat piece to 3D) which in turns adds strength (makes it harder to bend). Extreme 4x4 did a great example of why it's a good idea and just how much it strengthens a piece of metal, but of course that stuff ain't on YouTube.

 

Anything is do-able, but is it worth going through the hell for the end result?

IMHO, if you are needing to strengthen 3/16" grade 80 plate, there is something wrong. I mean, if it were an industrial dump truck or something, ok. A 2006 Ranger that sees much more time onroad than it does off? It would look cool, but just not worth going through trying to find dies big enough, then finding a press that could do it.

 

Mike, the drawings look great! I might just have to get you to cut 2 of those One for you and one for me!

 

hey i could do that haha. yeah I love making the drawings, think i'm gettin better at it.
I will probably try and get a quote on getting all the parts within the next week, so if you think you'd be game i could just double everything.

I see how that would strengthen it, makes sense seeing it in a picture. I think it will be beefed up enough though, gonna have quite a fwe triangle supports made to put wherever is necessary.

also worth mentioning, i went with 4.5" holes because we also have here at work the universal lights you see on utility trucks, with the rubber gasket that pop in, i was gonna get a couple of those and stick em in.
http://www.truck-lite.com/webapp/wcs...3670&langId=-1

only downside is the bulb is not replaceable.

 

if you put those in, i will smash them. lol

No seriously though, they are ugly as sin. just go with those cheap offroad lights you can get at walmart or whatever.

As far as the parts, let me know the price. I wouldn't want the back up light holes cut in mine though.

 

yeah i may take em out of mine anyway. i didnt particularly like the lights either but for $2 i couldnt resist. they have some LED ones the same size that look a little better though. it sure would be easy to just not put any lights though.

 

I just don't know why i would need them? I have reverse lights. The Ranger won't be wheeled anymore after getting home.

I personally think the lights on the back are hideous, but to each their own. Don't let me change your mind. If you want them, cut them. We can wire up lights to it

 

yeah true haha. sometimes i find when i'm hookin up the boat early in the morning i could use the extra light backin up to the trailer. but again, i havent found a totally satisfactory solution. and cutting holes in my bumper isn't something i can undo easily. so it is still under consideration. might just get some brighter lights in the taillights.

 

obviously Josh has never hooked up a trailer at 5:30 AM......or go to rescue a buddy on the side of the Interstate at 11 PM......

I would really love to have a larger version for my F-250.....light holes and all.....

l8r, John

 

John has got me there.

 

sweet

 

Steel Dirigible,
Add the backup lights, you will never regret it and can you mod the drawings to fit the rear of a Steppie.

Larger backup lights are a plus and not just for off-roading as stated, I am adding KC Backup lights, rectangles they are, and a little lower profile.

I am installing a set of backup lights in a friends Yukon for boat work… you can always use more light.

 

Scrambler... not sure what dimensions will need to be for a stepside?? I can draw up a bumper to fit one though if I knew.


Ok a few updates since I'm doing a little more work on these to try and get em cut pretty soon.

Did some revision on the design to make the bumper not be 10" tall as I feel that is pretty hefty but it has to be close to that to accommodate the hitch receiver. Got it down to 9" tall at the center point, not terrible...

The shackle mounts are 22" apart. this be fine? they are 3.5" tall, 1/2" thick, with 1" hole.
And as you can see, I will have precut alignment pins for the shackle mounts (1/2" square) so they will be aligned without any guesswork (plus can be welded front and back for extra strength)

See pics below (some components were left out to show design better)







Rear view showing protruding alignment pin:


all opinions welcome...

not really planning on doing a front bumper anymore. don't really need it or the extra weight

 

Mine is 1/4 ... Weighs like 100 lbs... Just get #1 bars and your set

 

well this is gonna be rear. front bumper is lookin a little doubtful now. for a while anyway. i'd probably just go coilovers though.

 

Looks good brother. There are a few companies out there making some bad *** LED lights that are small and compact. I think that is what i will end up doing to mine for a backup light. As far as the design, It looks real good.

 

so would those be mounted in the bumper? would you just end up drilling it out later or you want me to draw in some kind of provision for em?

the end caps were a little tricky to get right because of the multiple angles, since it comes in and down as it goes back, and the bottom is angled as well. but they should be pretty close. i think that would be a lot better than just a straight angle.

 

i'll cut it out later.

 

time to bump this thread again! I'm back at work for the summer which means I am back in the factory where they can cut the metal for us.

I redesigned the bumper to make it smaller. The hitch will be hidden behind the license plate, and per Josh's request I have designed in a wraparound plate for side protection.

Since drawing these up, I have modified the dimensions to fit the ranger better, I drew these out of my head but the design is pretty close. I have also added in two holes for reverse lights, we will be using these Optronics LED lights mounted in the bumper



And the bumpers....

 

oh yeah and josh if you look back... you'll see I was originally doing 4.5 inch holes to accomodate the same style light... just not LED... I was being cheap.

 

Lol. My bad homie! I was in the style over function then. I'm in the functioning style again now. Things that look good AND work good.

Now I'm all giddy. So stop teasing, and cut these sum bitches!

 

These look great! I like the "hidden hitch" design as well. Do you or have you ever used Autodesk Inventor? We use it all the time in my engineering classes. It's amazing what these programs can do.

 

ha well the incandescent lights do look really cheap... I may get a couple of the cheap ones as replacements for when you smash yours on a rock haha.
and I'm working on it, as i mentioned the laser guys can be a little slow to do "project" work...

nope I learned on ProE, but we have Solidworks here at work. same difference. We have autocad but I like the 3D stuff.

And the freshest pics, I THINK the dimensions are finalized. shortened the bumper two inches. going to check tonight, I left my notes at home. I added the two light holes and two bolt holes for the license plate bracket. The wrap around extends 10" towards the front of the truck, or almost halfway to the wheel well.
much more pleased with this than my original bulky design.