Front Pre-runner bumper

[BMXplorer]

Front Pre-runner bumper pictures.

Here is a pre-runner bumper that I have been working on. The metal used is pretty rusted because it's remnant steel (i.e. scrap) at .30 cents a pound it's good for learning how to fabricate stuff.

This bumper can be bolted onto the vehicle (with four bolts) using factory holes in the frame rails.

1-3/4" steel tubing 1/8" thick (0.125").
Frame mounting plate is 1/4" thick.
Tabs are 1/16" thick.
Tube End Caps are 1/8" thick.
Aluminum skid plate is 1/8" thick.

Here are some pictures (more are at http://www.cardomain.com/memberpage/509527/4 ):

Chris.

 

[DB_1]

What steelyard do you have where you live, I've got one place out by me but you have to order what you need. Looking for a place I can just go pick stuff up thats in stock. Bumper is looking good

 

[BMXplorer]

Hey DB 1,

The place that I go to for metal is called Rancho Metals and Supply on 41400 Date avenue in Murrieta CA 92562, phone # is 909-677-8586. There hours are Monday-Friday 7:30am-5:00pm and Saturday 7:30am -3:00pm. They are near the 15 freeway.

This place has remnant steel (which can be rusted and bowed) as well as new round and square tubing, sheet metal, and the have some used mills and lathes and other machinery for sale, but I have no idea how much work they need to run. They have tooling: end mills, tapered end mills. Lots of nuts and bolts too.

Thanks for the compliment on the bumper.

 

[DB_1]

Thanks for the info...I went to Schorr metals down in Anahiem a few weeks back as well as industrial metal supply but they were out of what I wanted.
It seems 1 3/4" tubing is very popular, probably all the pre run guys are buying it up.

 

[spindlecone]

Commend you on the welds, mig or tig?

 

[BMXplorer]

DB 1,
I haven't been to Rancho Metal for about a month, but I'm sure they have the metal that your looking for. I would call to see what they have before I drove out here, but its up to you, and you may have already thought of that. Good luck.

Spindlecone,
Thanks man, I'm definately not a professional welder, but can sometimes get a good rhythm going. I'm using a Lincoln Wire Feed Welder (Flux-cored). This Lincoln welder can be converted to MIG, but I haven't really focused on that a whole lot because I'm trying to learn and progress with how it is now, and maybe convert/upgrade down the line if needed.

 

[BMXplorer]

Here is an update to my pre-runner bumper project.

Hardware Used:
Four 5/8" diameter bolts for mounting tube bumper to frame rails. Two 5/8" diameter clevis rings/ D rings for tow points. 5/16" bolts for mounting skid plate and license plate.

Here are some pics (more can be seen at http://www.cardomain.com/memberpage/509527/4 ).

 

[CodePoet]

wow looks really nice

cp

 

[BMXplorer]

Thanks, Code Poet.

 

[Josh S.]

slam some light tabs on there man!

 

[rino351]

Wow that looks AWESOME!!! --Nice idea with the tow points.
All from scap metal too-- great job
Maybe you could possibly fab up a couple more to sell on the site??

 

[BMXplorer]

Thanks for the compliments, everyone.

Josh S.
I've thought about lights, and have briefly searched online for them but I have only found them in the price range of $70 to $200. Maybe I didn't look hard enough any suggestions? Thanks.



rino351
Thanks for the compliments. About producing more of these or similar bumpers. I would really like to do that, but I really need to learn more about fabrication, so I can speed up my production times as well as keeping the product quality high in the process.

This tube bumper actually took me 8-10 weekends in the past 2-3 months to construct. The main reason is because I didn't have the final product drawn out on paper, since I was learning and getting ideas from other tube bumpers online and in magazines and trying to incorperate those ideas and my own into this bumper. Limited fabricating/building time with school/work played a big part too.

One thing that I think can play a big part in the production of these or similar tube bumpers is a tubing bender, and this whole bumper was made without one, which is why I think it took me so long.

Later, Chris.

 

[Josh S.]

you gotta get some lights if you like to go offroad at night, or even driving in the country or a canyon at night. I bought 6 hella 500's($70/pr.) a long time ago. They're ok, but not very high quality. 55w I believe. the wiring and connectors and stuff like that aren't very good. None of mine work anymore because fuses blow, wires vibrate off the connectors, etc. I just say to hell wid it cuase I'm too lazy to fix em. anyways, there's 4 up top facing forward on the roofrack, then one facing rearward in the back. the four up front provided a pretty good blanket of light at night, but didn't really have long distance capabilities for hauling ass. I threw on a set of PIAA Pro580XT's and they really kick butt! 85w+h4bulb=125w. they are 'hyperwhite' too so they match my headlights and look good. These are very bright and shine a long ways. A bit more pricy ($305), but easier to install, much higher quality wiring, fittings, etc.

What price range are you looking at? There's always the cheapy baja toughs or whatever from autozone or pepboys too for like $20, or harbor freight is cheaper. but I've experienced you get what you pay for.

 

[XplorerKid]

Thought i already posted this earlier this morning but it musta not gone through, How strong are your Clevis Points? Most people i see that run them have liek 1/2" Plate they use to make their mounts. Im in the process of buildign my Tube bumper and would like to make soem clevis points, but dont feel like goign out and buying 1/2" plate, But i also dont want to use plate that aint gunna be strong enough. So i was jsut woundering if you had tested yours out yet. Also what size plate is yours mounted to? 1/4"?

Caleb

 

[bmxking5]

Looks great. Are you planning on putting some lights on it???

 

[BMXplorer]

Thanks, everyone.

Josh S.
I would probably be looking at the cheaper lights right now. I just need to price them around town and see what I can find that fits my needs.


Caleb (XplorerKid)
The plate I used was 1/4" thick and there are two washers on both sides of the plate, so there are four washers for one clevis ring. The washers make a tigher fit for the clevis rings so they don't have the side to side movement. I haven't tested the tow points out yet. I think these should be strong with 1/4", but obviously I cant say for sure because I havent tested them.

If you used purchased 1/4" plate and for example: had a 1/4" plate 4" long x 8" height and then made a 1/4" thick x 2" x 2" piece of the same material. Then weld it to the side of the larger plate on all four sides then drilled out the desired hole size for the clevis rings. This would be a possible solution to have a 1/2" thick area for a clevis ring while only purchasing 1/4" plate.


bmxking5
Thanks for the compliment. As for lights Im just going to look around and price them for now.

Later,Chris.