plate bumper build... or another way to waste tons of time.

by **boog2006** » Tue Oct 23, 2012 10:34 am

That just looks wicked

by **v7guy** » Thu Oct 25, 2012 1:04 am

So tonight I was able to get some more work done. Unfortunately the rain the last two days have slowed things down a good bit. I found that positioning the drivers side to match the passenger side was a little tedious. I ended up needing some extra hands. Luckiily Rich (GreyMatter) and Matt (Moots1288) were able to drop by and help twist and measure the tacked bumper while I welded it. Then I ran a bunch of shitty beads and tacks until I thought it might have a hope in hell of holding together. Matt said he never seen a pile of shit that heavy as him and Rich carried it in the garage. I haven't tried lifting it. I've got lots of welding and grinding to do. So I'm sitting with a bumper, a beer, and a pissed off woman because apparently the welder is too bright and loud in the driveway at 10:45pm :mrgreen:

Going to go clean the garage a little bit now.

by **SaltWaterDrinker** » Thu Oct 25, 2012 5:55 am

Who's the clown on the iPhone? ;P

Looking fantastic, man.

by **navigator** » Thu Oct 25, 2012 8:25 am

looking good, every time I see it for some reason I think of the Transformers movie, waiting for it to turn into a robot or something.

by **HARDTRAILZ** » Thu Oct 25, 2012 10:54 am

Nice to have help sometimes. Looking good.

by **Moots1288** » Thu Oct 25, 2012 11:57 am

After carrying that god damn thing.. What's the pay not a thank you but cleaning Jason's gutters at 12:00 am haha

by **v7guy** » Thu Oct 25, 2012 12:51 pm

It's probably going to fall apart and destroy my garage and truck in a dramatic and impossible "final destination" type scenario. So next time you see it it'll probably be in pieces and easy to carry.

by **bartonmd** » Thu Oct 25, 2012 2:53 pm

Looks good!

I don't mean to MMQB, but just a suggestion. Maybe it doesn't look like it in person, but seems like it looks a little empty on ether side of the winch. You may see what a cardboard template looks like in this spot:

by **navigator** » Thu Oct 25, 2012 3:14 pm

I know I can't see everything from the pictures and it might not be a big deal but it looks like that winch "tray" could collect water.

by **v7guy** » Thu Oct 25, 2012 3:28 pm

It does look a little sparse even when the shadows don't show the pieces going down to the winch plate. But I'd be covering the bumper bolt if I came all the way over. I had briefly considered putting a larger plate there and drilling a hole in it to drop the bolt into, but I could see scenarios where that could turn into a big pain in the ass and it would also hold water.
The back part bugs me a bit too. I've considered bringing a piece up to cover the stock metal bar below the grill.
Matt suggested I weld the shackle mounts to the winch plate... poking through the fairlead area on either side of the winch.

It's going to be mounted one more time before I bed line it to make sure it didn't twist up on me while welding and I may end up altering things a bit. I'm still open to ideas and suggestions.

by **HARDTRAILZ** » Thu Oct 25, 2012 3:34 pm

You can always fill it in with duct tape so it is easily removable for inserting the bolt...

by **v7guy** » Thu Oct 25, 2012 4:39 pm

I think the winch tray will definitely hold water. I've been considering drilling a couple holes, or cutting some small triangles (to stay consistent with the design) in it to let it slosh on through. I'm not sure there's another solution. It's a fundamental design flaw.

Kyle, this poor excuse for a bumper is already going to have duck tape holding it together, so i think that might work out perfect. Never know when you're going to be on a trail an hour from the nearest road and your bumper is going to come loose and need tightened up... I could just pull off the duct tape, tighten it and put a new piece on. It'd be great. :raspberry:

by **bartonmd** » Thu Oct 25, 2012 5:02 pm

v7guy wrote:I think the winch tray will definitely hold water. I've been considering drilling a couple holes, or cutting some small triangles (to stay consistent with the design) in it to let it slosh on through. I'm not sure there's another solution. It's a fundamental design flaw.

Kyle, this poor excuse for a bumper is already going to have duck tape holding it together, so i think that might work out perfect. Never know when you're going to be on a trail an hour from the nearest road and your bumper is going to come loose and need tightened up... I could just pull off the duct tape, tighten it and put a new piece on. It'd be great.

You won't have that problem if you keep the stock bolts and don't use 1/2" bolts and have slop in the holes in the frame... :finger:

Mike

by **v7guy** » Thu Oct 25, 2012 5:18 pm

bartonmd wrote:
v7guy wrote:I think the winch tray will definitely hold water. I've been considering drilling a couple holes, or cutting some small triangles (to stay consistent with the design) in it to let it slosh on through. I'm not sure there's another solution. It's a fundamental design flaw.

Kyle, this poor excuse for a bumper is already going to have duck tape holding it together, so i think that might work out perfect. Never know when you're going to be on a trail an hour from the nearest road and your bumper is going to come loose and need tightened up... I could just pull off the duct tape, tighten it and put a new piece on. It'd be great.

You won't have that problem if you keep the stock bolts and don't use 1/2" bolts and have slop in the holes in the frame...

Mike

by **HARDTRAILZ** » Thu Oct 25, 2012 5:22 pm

Send me your stock bolts....

by **v7guy** » Thu Oct 25, 2012 5:39 pm

HARDTRAILZ wrote:Send me your stock bolts....

But that's what's holding my bumper on!
What heppened to your stock bolts Kyle?

by **HARDTRAILZ** » Thu Oct 25, 2012 5:56 pm

Hard telling not knowing...

by **fishsticks** » Fri Oct 26, 2012 12:48 pm

Eff you guys.... I'm in the 1/2" bolt club. Just put your purse down and put some torque on them. :finger:

by **bartonmd** » Fri Oct 26, 2012 1:14 pm

fishsticks wrote:Eff you guys.... I'm in the 1/2" bolt club. Just put your purse down and put some torque on them.

They stay most of the time, but with the winch hanging off the front receiver, we bottomed out the suspension pretty hard on a "didn't see it was a dip" that we didn't slow down for, which caused it to tip down a bit.

Mike

by **fishsticks** » Fri Oct 26, 2012 1:21 pm

bartonmd wrote:
fishsticks wrote:Eff you guys.... I'm in the 1/2" bolt club. Just put your purse down and put some torque on them.

They stay most of the time, but with the winch hanging off the front receiver, we bottomed out the suspension pretty hard on a "didn't see it was a dip" that we didn't slow down for, which caused it to tip down a bit.

Mike

Makes sense, that receiver mount is a lever. I'm fortunate my winch sits on the frame rails.

Offroad Trailblazers and Envoys