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Just wanted to throw my .02 on the POR comment. If you paint it over bare metal, might not last all that long.
POR is designed to be applied to rust. Spray your bare metal down a few nights in a row with water, letting it rust over its surface and then brush POR over it. Will end up with a slight textured surface but is almost impossible to get off.
Just wanted to throw my .02 on the POR comment. If you paint it over bare metal, might not last all that long.
POR is designed to be applied to rust. Spray your bare metal down a few nights in a row with water, letting it rust over its surface and then brush POR over it. Will end up with a slight textured surface but is almost impossible to get off.
Thanks, but I used the POR-15 Metal Ready stuff that they recommend. It eats into the surface of the bare metal and etches it, giving it a rough surface for the POR-15 to attach to. But your idea sounds like it would work too.
The paint has been on for almost a year now, and is still holding strong.
Hella-good looking bumper!!! Looks VERY professional! Do you have a run down on the cost of materials? If you put a price on the hours spent on it and add it to the cost of materials, I would guess that it would be close to a similar aftermarket bumper? But then you wouldn't be able to brag that you made it. That makes it that much cooler!
Hella-good looking bumper!!! Looks VERY professional! Do you have a run down on the cost of materials? If you put a price on the hours spent on it and add it to the cost of materials, I would guess that it would be close to a similar aftermarket bumper? But then you wouldn't be able to brag that you made it. That makes it that much cooler!
Design Time = 40+ Hours
Build Time = 100+ Hours
New welder = $500
Steel = $100
Consumables = $100
Satisfaction of making your own bumper = Priceless.
Bandit- Sweet bumper! I've been working on the design of one myself for a while and really like how your lights are mounted in the bumper. Where did you get those grills that fit over the lights? I'm looking on mounting a set of 5" KC's in mine and can't seem to find them anywhere? Also, what did you use to fill the gap between the bumper and the light? Looking at your photos it looks like you have a thin piece of tube steel cut at an angle to fill the gap perfectly? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated here. Thanks.
Bandit- Sweet bumper! I've been working on the design of one myself for a while and really like how your lights are mounted in the bumper. Where did you get those grills that fit over the lights? I'm looking on mounting a set of 5" KC's in mine and can't seem to find them anywhere? Also, what did you use to fill the gap between the bumper and the light? Looking at your photos it looks like you have a thin piece of tube steel cut at an angle to fill the gap perfectly? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated here. Thanks.
Thanks. The light guard/surrounds are actually custom plastic pieces that I made at work. You'll have to get creative and make your own. Good luck.
Would it be possibel for you to send me the cad file? I have a local guy who is willing to cut it out for me and I'd like to use some of your design and add some of my flavor...
I really like your bumper. I watched this thread a while back but have been away for a while. It looks great finished. I may have to hit you up for some design plans after I do my SAS. Right now deployments have killed my time for projects. Happy New Years.
Just wanted to add that I have been in contact with Bandit Runner over the past week or so and he is working closely with me to get me the design drawings - felt as if I should relay how much of a pleasure it has been working with him. Quick response on all communications. I will try to post up my build from his design in the coming weeks (usually turns into months for me!).
***Note: I am now selling custom bumper plans based on this bumper design. PM me if interested.
Well, I've been wanting to start this thread for a while now, to document my bumper build. I really like the looks of the aftermarket plate bumpers: TJM, ARB, and Shrockworks. But, I want something unique, and thought it would be a great learning opportunity to build one myself, since I've never done anything like this before. After reading several build threads, doing a ton of research, and listing all of my design constraints, I was ready to start designing.
Design constraints:
- keep it simple, easy to build, and keep cost down.
- bumper must accomidate my 1.5" body lift.
- bumper must house a 9000 lb winch.
- bumper must look good, and follow the lines of the truck.
- bumper must house a set of fog lights.
- bumper must be strong enough for winching and tugging.
- bumper must not weigh more than 100 pounds. Less is better!
- bumper must mount in stock mounting locations.
- bumper must have hoops over grille and headlights.
So here is what I came up with. Now keep in mind I started designing over a year ago, and the design has gone through numerous iterations and changes over that time.
The mounting portion with winch plate and shackle hangers:
And some pics of the end result (I hope) of what it will look like on the truck:
More to come.
Hey man. If I were you I would have the blueprints to this thing drawn up and I would have them manufactured in Indonesia or China. It's not hard to get a warehouse set up over there and get them manufacturing products. I have a killer idea for another part which could be manufactured....I guarantee it would sell....I might sell the idea for a very reasonable price. But as far as your plans go, look into it. It's not hard at all to do.
Bandit Runner - I know this is an older post of yours but I really like your work, and was wondering if you are still selling the plans to this bumper of yours?
Not to Hijack this thread. But I read it a few months ago and decided to take the plunge and buy his drawings and wanted to show you my personal experience (which was smooth as butter)
(the bumper final design created was due to my requests for modification from his original bumper, he designed it with his expertise, but if you dislike it vs his original bumper, that is why its different)
my rig is stock minus his bumper and snorkel currently, will edit this post when the 33's and lift go on.
tl;dr any ˟˟˟˟ you dont like vs his original bumper is due to me
Step 1: I emailed him via this thread, we had a back and forth discussion and he sent me this cad mockup, which we further tuned (this might have been the final drawing, either way, i annoyed him to make a few tweaks)
Step 2: He emailed me an amazingly detailed set of drawings and cad files along with very details instructions that even a novice could follow
Step 3: I called various plasma and watercutting places in my area farming for the best price.... watercutting is pricey, they quoted around 700, plasma is probably the way to go. I got this set of metal (including materials) cut for 200 dollars Canadian (around 160 usd right now)
Step 4: I live in an apartment, otherwise i would have welded myself and learned. I took it to a local fab shop who build it for me. I then followed bandit's paint regimen mentioned in this thread. So Far VERY happy
Do you guys know anywhere besides a pick and pull that sells off road bumpers for a Gen 2 pickup? I have an 89 but I cant seem to find any sites that go back that far for bumpers and step bars...also a roll bar for the back would be nice
Not to Hijack this thread. But I read it a few months ago and decided to take the plunge and buy his drawings and wanted to show you my personal experience (which was smooth as butter)
(the bumper final design created was due to my requests for modification from his original bumper, he designed it with his expertise, but if you dislike it vs his original bumper, that is why its different)
my rig is stock minus his bumper and snorkel currently, will edit this post when the 33's and lift go on.
tl;dr any ˟˟˟˟ you dont like vs his original bumper is due to me
Step 1: I emailed him via this thread, we had a back and forth discussion and he sent me this cad mockup, which we further tuned (this might have been the final drawing, either way, i annoyed him to make a few tweaks)
Step 2: He emailed me an amazingly detailed set of drawings and cad files along with very details instructions that even a novice could follow
Step 3: I called various plasma and watercutting places in my area farming for the best price.... watercutting is pricey, they quoted around 700, plasma is probably the way to go. I got this set of metal (including materials) cut for 200 dollars Canadian (around 160 usd right now)
Step 4: I live in an apartment, otherwise i would have welded myself and learned. I took it to a local fab shop who build it for me. I then followed bandit's paint regimen mentioned in this thread. So Far VERY happy
Your bumper turned out great. Thanks for posting your experience.
05-09-2011, 08:53 PM
