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sneek peek Tube bumper/tire carrier

blue88b2

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City, State
Dallas, Oregun
Year, Model & Trim Level
97 explorer
Tube bumper, swingout, new pics!

so i started building my body protection today. Even though it may be a bit early since i don't have the dana 44 or lift under it yet. I wanted to get the spare tire out of the inside, get my gas can onboard and cover up the dented hatch. so i took the old twisted bumper of and cut off the excess sheet metal, this is all i have so far, it'll be back a bit farther on the rig (for those of you wondering why it is crowding into the wheel well. The tire carrier/ can holder will swing from the passenger side around the upright. It's going to be really nice.


-Jason
 



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well the bumper end of this project is done, here are some pics from this afternoon. I"m sanding, cleaning it up and painting it now, should have it on and all done tomorrow. I'll post some more pictures then. Next step is to get the tire and gas can swing out finnished. Hope you enjoy.



thanks for looking

-Jas
 






tube bumper Finnished, New pics

so it's all finnished and painted now. next step is the tire swingout and front bumper.

here's me painting.
well hope ya like it, i'm pretty happy with how it turned out.

-Jas
 












I like it a ton! :D Where are the d-rings from and what are they rated at? Might have to photoshop this onto my Explorer. :p:
 






Looks really good. Like the extra quarter panel protection. Might have to steal this idea for mine when I get around to it!
 






looks better than the mccain palin sticker,,
although she is hot,,,
 






I like it a ton! :D Where are the d-rings from and what are they rated at? Might have to photoshop this onto my Explorer. :p:

Hey thanks everyone for the props! I cannot remember what they're rated at... they came from Six States, it's a shop that builds axles and drivelines as well as dealing wit htowing and lighting, mostly big rig stuff.
 






Nice work! Never been a fan of tube bumpers but you pulled it off about the best I've seen. What gauge? If it's only .120 I wouldn't tow too much with that receiver.
 






bottom tube is 1 7/8" sch40 the other tube is 1 5/8" cq and the reciever is 2 1/2" seamless 1/4 wall. i'm sure it's stout enough. way better than the crap that came off of it for sure. I'm not going to be hauling lots of weight anyhow, Not with an explorer Haha. About the most i'll use the hitch for is my bike rack and a trailer from time to time with camping gear. Thanks for the props by the way!!!
 






You should be OK then. It probably has similar capacity as a stock bumper hitch.

Glad to see you weren't afraid to use sch40. A lot of so called hardcore guys will tell you it's crap, but for nonstructural I think it's great, I used it for my sliders.
 






yeah! and i figured since it is a daily driver too, and probably will be for a while. If i where to ever get into a wreck, i'd want the bumper to have "some" give to it rather than crinkle the frame up. but it's still very stout! I can always build another bumper. But the frame would never be the same, even if it where pulled back to dimentions. Thanks for all the feedback! I like it!

-Jas
 






here are some updated pics, it's almost done


feels good to be almost done, i've kinda built it as i went. So it's taken longer than the ones where i plan them out first. mostly trial and error on this one. enjoy!

-Jason
 


















Looks good! What are the specs on that hinge? Did you make it yourself?


Sure did. it's (2) grade 8. 3/4" bolts. one's 5 1/2" the other is 3" use the plama to blow a hole in the bottom rail and welded in a sleeve. welded 5/16plate to the upper rail with the nuts welded top and bottom of it, and welded tube around each of them to hide the bolt and add strength so they will never bust loose. on the top one i milled out the tube to limit the swing, but also made it so i can still take the swingout off. Inside that tube is another tube that fits snug around the bolt (pivot point) also hides the bolt and looks real clean. I nipped a peice of tube 1/8 tall to go around the sleave in the bottom rail so that the hinge looks seamless.

the latch side is a 3/4" solid round drilled and tapped for a 3/8 bolt. it slides up and down inside a tube i milled a vertical slot into and a 90* lock. then welded the top up so i can put a compression spring in to keep tention down. then did the same with the plasma blwing a hole in the bottom rail and welded in a bung. with everything i build, it's all sealed to prevent water and junk getting in.

Thanks for the props! i've had the fun building this one, mostly because there has been so much problem solving.

later!
 















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Nice work i really like the bumper. Nice to see this quality of work coming out of Oregun!!! Got any snow there today? We have about 4" in the driveway here in "The Grove!"


Haha, yeah it's about 22 degrees and 4" of snow! I work in Salem, but live in Dallas, so i took the day off. My wife and i are building and Igloo. we were just taking a break. it's cold! hey enjoy your day!
 






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