Well, I thought I could get it done in one weekend but murphy prevailed yet again. The hardest part was getting the mounts to mate up with the factory hitch mounting points and getting the tailgate to clear the mounts. After that everything went smoothly until the grinder died and spit up metal chunks. Here's a couple pics:





The next step is to build the tire/toolbox carrier and then paint it. In the first picture you can see the toolbox I got from home depot for $50. Instead of putting the spare tire on the carrier, I plan to mount that box there. In addition I'll have a place for the hi lift jack and a gas tank.

We're guessing the bumper weighs about 100lbs, but we'll get a scale under it before we mount it. And we estimate the stock bumper weighs about 40lbs and the hitch weighs another 40lbs.

I'm working on this at my old roommate's place 3 hours away and the next time I'll get to work on it is in 3 weeks. So in 3 weeks, I should have some pictures of the finished product.

Total material costs:
Steel: $50
Tool box: $50
Misc parts: $30

Steve

 

lookin good, good luck in 3!

 

Looks like one tough bumper. I am sure that in the end, it will look really sweet and be well worth the effort. Let us know when you are done, so we can see it! :fireman:

 

Lots of clean up. :confused:

That should take you some time with a wire brush.

Glad to see some round corners.

 

Cool, looks good Steve!

You coming to South Carolina in a few weeks to build me one??

Can't wait to see the finished product.

 

Yup, lots of clean up. Hopefully my old room mate will have the grinder fixed so I can use the wire brush attachment. The steel was surplus so it was sitting outside for a while, that's why it's so rusty, but cheap.

Steve