So after looking at all of the available plate bumpers... arb, shrockworks, cbi...etc. I decided that I did not totally like any of them (imho). I just did not like them enough to drop 1000+dollars... that sounds better. There are many nice looking plate bumpers for 3rd gen 4runners, but I just wanted to build my own... well that was about 3 days ago


So....

1 -Started out with a few very rough pro-e cad renderings (pro engineer 4.0, its what we use for CAD at UNC Charlotte)... this was basically to get an idea of what style/give me a starting point.


2 - I then took the dimensions from my choice of the three cad drawings, and constructed the entire bumper out of cardboard.

3 -Picked up a 4'x8' sheet of 3/16'' steel....(I only had my 4runner the day I needed to pick up the steel, so therefore I had to cut it into 2 4'x4' sheets....)

4 -After 10 cut off disks, 3 monsters, and 10 hours... I had used the modified cardboard templates to trace and cut the various segments out of the plate steel...and it tacked up well(1" welds about every 6 inches).

The before...


card board...haha


tacked' up


I am going to remove it to finish the welds up, mount the factory fog lights in them, and then sandblast/prep/paint... it will be the silver metallic, the color as seen on the flares... I will post some more pictures when its fully completed.

 

 

 

where does the winch fit? for my money and time i would build the bumper to take one even if i didnt have it yet

 

looks a lot better than the junk it came with the from the factory...

 

looks good so far!
do you have some better pics of the new mounting brackets, and how they attach to the frame?

 

You guys use ProE ?! Good program but damn its so non-intuitive

Oh and the bumper is cool!

 

+1

I'm mulling over building my own bumpers and I'm wondering how you mounted yours? Did you come up with the mounts first, then make the cardboard template, and the fab it up? Just wondering where the starting point would be, I would assume mounts/brackets.

 

thats how i plan on doing it, start with mounts and work out from there
the only cad i have is in my sick head

 

Hey guys,

I did not take as many pictures as I wanted. I just got on a “roll” fabricating and didn't stop to take pictures until I literally “had” to take off my gloves and shake out my hands/forearms… cutting all of the pieces out of sheet steel with an angle grinder for a couple hours will wear you out, haha…When I remove it to finish the light mounts and winch mount I will take some pictures of the frame/bumper mount. Since I have a 2"body lift, the mount for the bumper was extremely low, and I was not going to simply bolt it to the factory mounts with a 100+ pound bumper hanging 8” above the frame … so I plated the entire frame from the ifs brackets forward, and made new mounts from 3/8" and 3/16" plate... again sorry for the lack of pictures but I have simply been busting ass after work. I’ve only had a few days to build, prep, and paint it due to school.

 

I've spent about $200 so far, I will get a total after paint... should be ~$350


Here is a quick picture I found off the internet and sketched in the bracets I added to the fron of the frame, hope this helps a little guys

 

I was on the fence about building my own bumper or buying a tube type (cheaper) until I saw your bumper thread. This is awesome. Definitely going to do something like this only mine will be winch friendly. Your bumper is definitely sick though.

 

Looks great! Are you gunna be adding any tubing on top kinda like the other bumpers you mentioned?

 

Like the method to your madness. Good looking bumper! What kind of paint are you going to using one it?

 

Great bumper buddy! I'm just gonna start on mine today, the cardboard mock-up is a great idea !

 

Nice bumper how much do you think it will weigh?

 

Doubt this guys even on here anymore, seeing as he only has 5 posts and this was made over a year ago. Might wanna try sending him a PM and see if he gets back.