Starbuck75 Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 Hey guys this might be asking the impossible but I have been wondering about the feasibility of a lightweight tube bumper for one of my projects. My 89 2wd to 4wd truck is going to be an capable daily driver running 31's on stock suspension with lockers etc Mileage being a priority. So long story short I want to put stronger bumpers on front and back with tow points, but don't want a 200 pound monstrosity. Has anyone done a project like this or know of the top of their head what a minimal tube bumper weighs? No winch FYI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue88Comanche Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 I have seen it done here on the forum, i wish i had some links and names for you.. there was one guy who had a rear tube bumper made with lights and a hidden winch, it looked awesome. gearing is going to be your best friend for gas mileage. for my front bumper, i still have the factory bumper but added a warn Trans4mer grille guard. it has a 8k winch and 2 recovery points mounted to it. (you can get a front 2" receiver instead of a winch carrier) its not super heavy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMCJeepMJ Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 I have seen it done here on the forum, i wish i had some links and names for you.. there was one guy who had a rear tube bumper made with lights and a hidden winch, it looked awesome. This one? Its 1990 Pioneer 4x4's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mpace6a Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 IF you can do fiberglass, check out iceland offroad's bumpers. Theyre pretty cool, strong recovery pionts and a winch plate, but the "body" of the bumper is 1/4" fiberglass. Lightweight and still extremely strong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue88Comanche Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 I have seen it done here on the forum, i wish i had some links and names for you.. there was one guy who had a rear tube bumper made with lights and a hidden winch, it looked awesome. This one? Its 1990 Pioneer 4x4's. That's it! I love how it looks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GirsMJ86 Posted June 28, 2013 Share Posted June 28, 2013 A single piece of rectangular tubing isn't going to weight THAT much. Something along the lines of what Nates 4x4 offers. The stock heavy duty bumper for a Gladiator only weighed in at 75lbs, had one shipped to me from a member on IFSJA, and that thing was beefy. Had a small pucker in the skin of it and I couldn't get it to budge with a sledge hammer, was just making sparks trying to hammer it back out without using heat. Anyways, I plan on ordering one of the Nates ones in a week or so probably, I could check the weight once I get it if interested. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'87 fuel-miser Posted June 28, 2013 Share Posted June 28, 2013 bumper's kool , but check them tail light guards !!! :banana: . :MJ 1: . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOrnbrod Posted June 28, 2013 Share Posted June 28, 2013 I like this one: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ftpiercecracker1 Posted June 28, 2013 Share Posted June 28, 2013 :drool: Oh man, got any more pictures of that beauty? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starbuck75 Posted June 28, 2013 Author Share Posted June 28, 2013 hey guys thanks for all the replies! for the front i was thinking something along the lines of this, minus the center area for the winch ( FYI I am planning on building it myself at my work shop) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starbuck75 Posted June 28, 2013 Author Share Posted June 28, 2013 Another Question does anyone know the strength to weight difference between regular tubing and DOM, i think its DOM the stuff they use to build roll cages? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starbuck75 Posted June 28, 2013 Author Share Posted June 28, 2013 Or this for the general shape possibly filling in with plate in the open areas and adding lights in the corners, and minus the bars prerunner bars coming up ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neohic Posted June 28, 2013 Share Posted June 28, 2013 Another Question does anyone know the strength to weight difference between regular tubing and DOM, i think its DOM the stuff they use to build roll cages? This could be opening up a can of worms as there's been plenty of conversations... and arguments... over the differences of strength between DOM (drawn over mandrel) and HREW (hot rolled electric welded) tubing. While they both start life almost identical that each type starts off as a sheet, then is cut, rolled and welded back together as a tube that's where the similarities stop. The DOM starts off slightly larger in size so it can be finished by being squeezed through a die. This is a cold process so it will always be precisely the size it is required to be both inside and outside diameter. As far as actual strength, DOM is going to be almost twice the tensile strength when compared to HREW. Again, this is due to the cold process that the tubing is finished in. Then there's the applications. If you were to be building a competition rock buggy that would be taking some serious drop offs and side impacts, then one should really us DOM. For the type of offroading that most do, I'd say that HREW would be plenty strong especially if you have some good tow points that tie into the frame. DOM will be much harder to bend also. I've made bumpers out of DOM when specifically asked to do so. Otherwise, I always use HREW for bumper applications. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buffalob Posted June 28, 2013 Share Posted June 28, 2013 Ditto to all the info on the DOM material...To add a bit..yes the yield and tensile strength go up a bunch for the DOM tubing, also inportant is how much the elongation percentage drops in the process as well. While this is fine where a cut and weld is in order as the loss of elongation is inconsequential, if you will be trying to bend a DOM tube there are limitations you need to be aware of. Typically to bend DOM material (lets talk rotary draw bending aka "mandrel" bending) a miniumum OD to CLR (tube outside diameter to bend centerline radius) ratio should be held at a 3XD (CLR of bend = 3X material diameter) minimum. This is to prevent the tube fracturing instead of bending. The cause of this is for the most part due to the drag induced by the internal supporting mandrel in the tube in the bending operation in concert with the poor elongation percentage in the DOM material. If the method of bending however is compression as opposed to rotary draw (this is more what a guy would have in the local fab shop or your buddy in his garage). a tighter radius would be possible as there is no mandrel in the tube in the bend process. the down side of this is that the tube will flatten more in the bend area using this method. All this being said... The DOM is stronger by far it will be available in VERY consistent dimensions that you can depend on time after time. If you are not going to bend it and you can find what you need in small quantities to suit your need and the price is right I say go for it. It is in any case overkill for your application...Sorry to hop on the soap box but tube bending applications tooling and analyisis is my day job. (overkill is my middle name too btw) Another Question does anyone know the strength to weight difference between regular tubing and DOM, i think its DOM the stuff they use to build roll cages? This could be opening up a can of worms as there's been plenty of conversations... and arguments... over the differences of strength between DOM (drawn over mandrel) and HREW (hot rolled electric welded) tubing. While they both start life almost identical that each type starts off as a sheet, then is cut, rolled and welded back together as a tube that's where the similarities stop. The DOM starts off slightly larger in size so it can be finished by being squeezed through a die. This is a cold process so it will always be precisely the size it is required to be both inside and outside diameter. As far as actual strength, DOM is going to be almost twice the tensile strength when compared to HREW. Again, this is due to the cold process that the tubing is finished in. Then there's the applications. If you were to be building a competition rock buggy that would be taking some serious drop offs and side impacts, then one should really us DOM. For the type of offroading that most do, I'd say that HREW would be plenty strong especially if you have some good tow points that tie into the frame. DOM will be much harder to bend also. I've made bumpers out of DOM when specifically asked to do so. Otherwise, I always use HREW for bumper applications. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMCJeepMJ Posted June 28, 2013 Share Posted June 28, 2013 :drool: Oh man, got any more pictures of that beauty? I pulled the pic off the NW Roll Call thread; I didn't go all the way through it... there may be more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ftpiercecracker1 Posted June 29, 2013 Share Posted June 29, 2013 God i love these two bumpers :drool: :drool: :drool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirteatr717 Posted July 1, 2013 Share Posted July 1, 2013 I used an Or-fab tube bumper for the rear of an XJ, wasn't too heavy and is very protective :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue88Comanche Posted July 2, 2013 Share Posted July 2, 2013 I used an Or-fab tube bumper for the rear of an XJ, wasn't too heavy and is very protective :thumbsup: how did you mount it to the mj? Don't the XJ and MJs have different setups? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now