DIY Winch Bumper

[MooseMJ]

Here’s my cardboard mockup for a bumper I’ll be cutting out next Saturday. Will post the CAD file from the table for free here if anyone’s interested. 

[Pete M]

looks good!     I'm going to move this to Tech for the time being so more eyeballs will see it.   

[89 MJ]

How far does it stick out at the farthest point from the bottom of the grille? I really like it!

[87MJTIM]

While you are working on it, you should flip the grill so it is right side up. 

[BeatCJ]

Nice job. Any plans to sell kits?

[MooseMJ]

@BeatCJ I’m not a shop or a manufacturer, but I’ll give the CAD files for free so you can take to your local steel supplier or shop with a plasma table. 

[MooseMJ]

On 4/24/2020 at 7:47 PM, 89 MJ said:

How far does it stick out at the farthest point from the bottom of the grille? I really like it!

It sticks out 8.5” from the grill and I believe it’s a total of 6” in height. I’m trying to keep it low-profile. Should give you 2” of space to clear a winch. 

[BeatCJ]

1 hour ago, MooseMJ said:

@BeatCJ I’m not a shop or a manufacturer, but I’ll give the CAD files for free so you can take to your local steel supplier or shop with a plasma table. 

Thanks, I'm interested. My other choice is a JCR Kit, but I know I will have to modify it, I plan on using an 8274 upright.

[89 MJ]

3 hours ago, MooseMJ said:

It sticks out 8.5” from the grill and I believe it’s a total of 6” in height. I’m trying to keep it low-profile. Should give you 2” of space to clear a winch. 

Thanks. 

[MooseMJ]

On 4/27/2020 at 12:36 PM, BeatCJ said:

Thanks, I'm interested. My other choice is a JCR Kit, but I know I will have to modify it, I plan on using an 8274 upright.

Good news, I’m cutting tomorrow. So I’ll post pics of the mockup, gussets, etc. tomorrow night. Working on piecing it together for maybe doing some press-broke pieces but it won’t be mandatory for building. You’ll just have to weld a few more seems.

[BeatCJ]

How did your cutting go?

[MooseMJ]

@BeatCJso sorry for not responding. Life has gotten in the way with all the current craziness. I managed to cute the winchplate and wing skids but an error was made with the wing tops in auto cad and they’ll need recut. Here’s half a finished product. Pictured is the 1” gap in my wing top plate. The guy that’s doing my cutting is pretty tough to get ahold of. So it’s been a process. Even finding clevis tabs has been a problem. Had to hand draw one and a local machine shop is making me a one off set. I’d like to finish it when I drop my trans Wednesday.

[Pete M]

looks good    I can't tell from the image, is it attached to more than just the 3 bumper bolts?

 

 

 

have you added Honey Babies to the beer thread yet? 

 

 

[BeatCJ]

No worries, that's the nice thing about a thread like this, it's still here when you can get back to it.

 

I'm a fan of having the clevis tabs be the frame mount, too. That way your forces are transmitted in a straight line. It also eliminates welding a 1" plate to a 1/4" sheet. 

[MooseMJ]

@Pete M I used the Dirtbound builder brackets to design it. The drivers side ties into the steering box bolts, I also have their steering box brace. But the bumper itself only uses the 3 main bolts. Most bumpers I see on the market do this. I’ve thought about welding the passenger side tie in to the frame though.

[Pete M]

if it's only to be used as a bumper (as in an accident), then the original 3 bolt locations are fine.  but if you're pulling on it for extraction purposes, it needs to tie-in further back like the factory tow hook brackets.  welding to the frame won't help much, as it's all just sheetmetal and will tear right off. 

 

 

 

more bolts is better  

 

[Pete M]

ya don't want to be this guy  

 

 

[MooseMJ]

@Pete M it’s tied into a set of DirtBound builder brackets. My truck’s never had front hooks as long as I’ve owned it so I’ll have to take note to buy the extra bolts.