May as well document my build here. The purpose for this bumper besides my own personal enjoyment, will be for off-road recoveries around my local area. Long story short, word of mouth has gotten out that I will go recover people (within safety and sensibility) that are stuck beyond the reach of where the tow companies are willing to go. It's gonna be a slow build due to having a busy work and kid schedule, but I plan to be as detailed as possible for you guys. Maybe some things I do will give ideas to others.


First off I am using my old 88 bumper as the ground design basis for this build since it was bullet proof itself. This new one will have a better look from the pictures in my head.



This is what I'm working with (please excuse the trailer).



Starting with the simplicity of a new Trail Gear winch mount and a Harbour Freight (yeah, I know) 9000lbs winch that has been looming in my garage for a while.






Noticed this right away.



Looks like I'll be shaving this spot out of the grill.



Well that's it for now. Stock bumper back on till I get back to this in a few days.

 

Wonder if you can clock that end of the winch forward..

Edit- nevermind..it is only your grill..long shift ladt night

 

Well s.o.b.! That never crossed my mind. I will definatly look into that. Really don't want to cut a clean grill if I don't have to. Thanks drop.

 

I just got the 12,000 lb yesterday. I've actually heard mostly good things about them and I went ahead and sprang for the extended warranty, because it's probably going to get destroyed. Starting on mounting it today. I'm using a stock bumper with a brushguard/winch plate.

 

I went with the 9000 since anymore or even that, will just drag the truck towards anyone I try to pull. Toyota trucks just aren't heavy enough. And dropzone, checked it out and cannot clock the lever side.

 

Your old design is cool, nice to see something different!

Plan on bracing your frame? Was the 88s bumper bases off the TG plate too?

 

I was worried about that lever hitting after i saw this post,but my mount sits far enough out that I won't have to do that. I did have to move a bar on the brush bar up to clear the winch though.

 

I agree with you, not much point of putting anything bigger on a Mini truck, too powerful and you could end up damaging your truck.
I wasn't sure if it was possible, just a random thought.

What are you plans for mounting your license plate?
I based my bumper (hopefully get my winch mounted soon) off the T-G winch plate too and with the roller fairlead it sucks losing the reciever mount. It makes a great place to add a reciever mounted shackle.

 

I'm gonna french the license plate into the bumper like the the lowrider mini trucks do on their tailgate.















JOKING!!!!! I'll probably end up doing the same as the 88.

 

Nice start and plan. Look forward to seeing what someone else does with the TG platform. I couldn't quite tell, but do you have a frame brace installed on the front? Seems like one of those might space the bumper further out and the winch handle might clear the grille. Just a thought. Or trim the handle slightly...

 

No bracing as of yet. That will come as the build progresses.
Looking at a possibility of around 16 bolts.

 

No. The 88's was press bent 1/4" at a local steel shop.

 

OK, so I worked my ass off today, have a sore back, and made one hell of a mess. What you are about to see will make you wonder why I'm crying like a school girl, but I swear I made some progress!
To start off, the core support/factory bumper mount needed to be cut back to get flush with the front crossmember/new bumper mount.




And then there's the issue of my era not having the upper mounts. So here's the fix I provided.





Now on to the rear plating. Posterboard template.

 

Skipping ahead, I temp mounted the rear plating and cut out the intermediate supports for fitment.






That is all for today folks.

 

Got some more done today with some help from a friend. Tacked the supports, then cut, fit, and tacked on the first of some front panels.





Then a couple bottom pieces.



And a few more front pieces.




Some odd angle shots for ya.





Top plates being fitted for tacking in.




Overall view shot at that point.



How it sits till probably next weekend.

 

Should finish it this weekend.

 

And finished minus a couple mounting points that I will add later.

 

How thick is the plate? Very nice work!!

 

3/16"? that's the thickness most people use for best strength and weight (vs 1/8" or 1/4" plate)

 

Outside of the winch, how much did the winch plate and steel end up running you?