Ok guys, I could really use a little help here. I have been searching for a set of bumpers for my 81 LWB 4x4 and have not had much luck. Not only am I not finding very many bumpers that will fit my truck, the few that I have found have been well.. just not my style.

I know this has been covered a hundred times over, but here's the must haves that I'm looking for and I would really appreciate it for some input from you all.

It must have/be capable of mounting a winch permanently on the front.
It must have tow points/hooks
It must be DOT legal
It must be strong

I kind of like the double tube front bumpers like you see on alot of jeeps, but i cannot find them for my truck. I want the front and rear bumper to match in design/look. I dont want the bumper to stick 4 feet out in front of the truck and look like it really wasnt made for the truck. I'm not looking for something like the arb bull bumpers, they are just too bulky in my opinion for these trucks. I kind of like the stinger look. I want to be able to attach 4 KC lights to it.

Here are some that I have seen and liked:

Front:
Still looking.

Rear:
The one on the white truck.
http://www.marlincrawler.com/htm/r_bumper.htm


For you that have had your bumpers custom made. How much did it cost you total. My welder was stolen so I have no choice but to take it somewhere to be welded if I go this route.

 

Marlin makes a front bumper as well that matches the rear. I believe addicted off road is having a sale on front tube bumpers right now too.

 

http://www.addictedoffroad.com/bumpers.html

 

Yeah, i saw his post in the fab section, however his bumpers are not for 1st gens and he stated that he did not plan to make or mod any for 1st gens because there was not alot of them in his area. Too bad tho, because I really love that bumper w/ and w/o the stinger.

 

I, like many others, would recommend making your own. You can buy the winch mount and just build off of that. I think there is a lot to be said for an OK homebuilt product vs a perfect looking store bought item. If you don't have access to a tubing bender most fab shops will bend the pieces for you, and then you could just do the final welding. I'm not a fan of the double 3" tube "jeep" style bumpers at all. They are not strong, and usually rust out.

 

That's part of my problem. My garage was broken into a few months back and I had 2 miller welders stolen, a 200 gallon craftsman air compressor, numerous tools, a Craftsman 3 stack toolbox and a 2 stack husky toolbox stolen.

I went looking around today and found a local metalshop nearby that I never knew was even here. I talked to them and when I get my new fenders in we are going to start making a front bumper. A guy on pirate4x4 has one that I just absolutely love and i'm going to try to work it to his design abit, with some small alterations.

 

Can you take a pic of the front of your truck to show me the front bumper mounting bolts? I might be able to come up with something for you, but at least need to see some pics of what I have to work with.

 

Sure, it's dark and been raining for 3 days here now, plus the truck is covered from top to bottom in mud. I'll wash it and take some pics for you tomorrow. Do you want them with the bumper off? I can take measurements as well.

 

The Trail Gear mount that addicted off road uses as a base will weld right to the frame:

mine was modified slightly on the edges:



also check out badlands bumpers: http://www.badlandbumpers.com/

 

I like the center pull point and winch location on your OCD, I just don't care much for the way the bar and stinger look from the front. The side profile does look very nice and does not protrude too far out from the front of the truck like many that I have seen.

 

Okay, based on that, yes mine will fit a first gen truck. You will need to either:

A) drill holes and Fab an inner bracket to bolt it to

or

B) Just weld the bumper on in place.


There is nothing wrong with that, and yes, you can still remove and install a winch into the bumper without having to pull it.