The mount I made will be attached as you see with an additional cross bar tied into the bumper. The rec. will also be welded to the cross bar. My question is, how much stress would this set up put on the front of my frame? I did'nt mount the rec, directly to the bumper thinking it would'nt be strong enough and may pull the bumper out. I figured the frame would be stronger, however it is in the middle of the frame. It will also be bolted in four spots with a backing plate when finished. The reason I'm doing this is my father-in-law has a Warn 8000 in a multi-mount that I can use whenever. Anyone see rigs using something similar with damage to the frame? Thoughts? Also, should I gusset the upper rear of the rec. tube on each side. Did'nt think I would need one after the cross bar is welded in. Thanks,
Mike

 

That area of the frame is pretty weak and will very likely fail over time under the stress you'll be placing on it.

 

you should have made it wider going from frame rail to frame rail underneath the bumper brackets

that front crossmember is just thin sheetmetal and will tear from the stress of being pulled out by either a strap or a winch

 

Here's an example of strengthening the crossmember, I plated mine on all sides to give a stronger mounting surface for my bumper/spring mounts.
http://4-low.com/tech/sas/IMG_1330.jpg

 

the front crossmember is pretty solid, if you look at the stock bumpers, they are for looks, its that part of the frame that will be stopping damage.... however it doesnt seem to be properly suited for a job like that... especially with those angles and at least without more reinforcement...

 

Thanks all, I'm a little frustrated because I built the bumper first and don't want to redo it. Shane I like the extra support you made. I'd try that but I would have to re-do my bumper brackets, they fit perfect now sooooooooooo... I figure something out. Thanks again.
Mike

 

shane, are those two sleeved holes in factory locations or did you just make new ones?

4xjedi - what size tubing is your bumper made out of?

 

Which two? There's six. Two of them are where the factory welded nuts were on the front of that crossmember, the other two visible ones I added, and there's two more that you can't really see in that pic that go vertically through the crossmember where a couple more welded nuts were. Those factory welded nuts came off way too easily...

 

It's not tubing. I had a few sticks of 1 1/4" schd 40 pipe for free. Figured for bumpers, it's plenty strong. It's 1.66" O.D.