So, I have an 87 4runner. I already smashed up my rear smittybuilt bumper and got a custom tube bumper in its place. But now I wanted a front bumper. Unfortunately, I haven't seen any bumpers that I liked to look at. I actually liked the design of the front bumper, only wished it was stronger and I could mount a winch behind it. Nobody makes anything like this, so I decided to make it myself.

But first I had to strengthen the frame and add support from the A-arm lift bracket to the bottom of the frame rail.

Heres the stock bumper with everything stripped off

and here is the first bracing pieces that I welded to the bumper


I used 2 pieces of 4x4 angle 10" long for the new mounts and test fit them on the truck. I had to get longer metric bolts since there was so much more steel in the way.


Then, I continued bracing everything until I was satisfied that I could put the bumper cover pieces on and still have a strong bumper underneath.






At some point I welded the angle to the bumper and test fit the whole thing on the truck. It fit nicely.



Finishing touches included some more bracing on the outer corners of the bumper and some triangulated steel to resist bending.





finished product. The bumper has enough room for a winch in below it and doesn't look ugly or weigh 500lbs. It just took me a couple of days to build this. Nevermind that it was literally my 3rd day welding...

 

I did something similar to a plate bumper I had. It was made from 1/8 C-channel and I added angle all over the inside to beef it up. Its fun learning to weld isn't it?

 

you're kinda going against the norm...very creative! i like it !!!

 

Thats a great idea, i love it

 

It is fun learning how to weld. I messed up a lot, so I had to just grind the bad welds off and do it again until it looked right. I am used to inspecting welds, just never actually doing any welding. It was interesting to look at some of the weld errors that I made and know what I did wrong and why it would not pass inspection.

If anyone has any comments about my design, feel free. Its my first bumper build.

 

Looks nice. Are you sure its strong enough for a winch though?

 

nice! its a beefed up stocker lol

 

Does this really serve any purpose aside from adding weight? Where and how would you mount a winch to it? Reinforcing the x-member is a must so I like that part.

 

A few of things I noticed. I know you are new to fabbing, so hopefully it will help you out.

1. The nuts that are welded on the back side of the front crossmember that try to pull through the crossmember are around 7/8" in diameter. Your reinforcement plate holes look to be at least 1.5", so I am not sure adding that steel to it did anything more than beef up the crossmember itself. The nuts can and will still pull the frame. In fact, you may have just made it easier for them to pull through.

2. While on paper, adding the bracing from the crossmember to the IFS crossmember may seem like you are adding strength, you are actually creating a way to bend your IFS mount. If you hit someone with the bumper its going to try to twist the IFS now. Not to mention that dropping the front 3rd member is going to be a massive PITA as well. When we drop a 3rd to regear its, we usually drop that crossmember with it to allow easier access to it. You just welded it to the frame.

3. The angle iron mounting point will bend if winched with. You need to gusset it to help box it in top, bottom and middle. Otherwise it will just bend outward when you pull with it.

 

The bumper is a lot stronger now. It is difficult to make something stronger without adding any weight. I already had a 280lb steel bumper made of .188 wall square tube reinforced with .750 wall hydraulic ram pistons on my other 4runner. It was ugly and I hated it...until I ran head on into a jetta at 30mph and nothing happened to my truck. I wanted something strong and light that isn't ugly. The whole assembly only weighs 70lbs with all that steel on it.

You would easily mount a winch in the center section between the two mounting points by welding a plate on the bottom of the angle iron.

 

more to come

 

The .250 flat bar has nothing to do with the angle iron trying to flatten out when winching though.

And, I don't see how you will fit a winch in there. The mounts are way too narrow, and you don't have enough room between the front of the bumper and the back where it mounts. Plus its not tall enough.

Most winches measure around 23"x7"x7". So, the winch tray would have to be on top of the mounting bolts, which is pretty much where the middle of the bumper is.

Plain and simple, is that its not going to fly as a winch bumper. But, as just a bumper its fine. Just don't ever plan to winch with it because its just not going to work.

Oh, and please don't take this as me attacking you or your bumper. Its just constructive criticism for the future as you learn how to fabricate.

 

good job man!! 3 rd day ? Wow!! dont hit anything you dont want to destroy

 

ScottyC, I'm not upset at your comments at all. this was my first try at welding anything useful (besides a new shift lever in my GF's truck). I went wheeling yesterday and discovered that the bumper and the braces are not going to bend anytime soon. But I also discovered that I need some sort of under-truck armor since I bent the flimsy factory transfercase guard and trans support and had this wierd scraping sound from the double cardan joint grinding on the bent metal as it spun around. Next I will figure out how to make a strong removable skidplate for sliding over rocks.

 

what size were the bolts you used for the bumper mount?