Thoughts on building a steel bumper

[Shdwdrgn]

I've been working out a pattern to do my own steel bumper, and in the process I'm comparing different techniques for the construction. The bumper with have a 2" receiver and two tow rings, so it has to be strong enough for that. I will be building a custom center-guard (push-bar) that will bolt onto the front edge. If I have a support across the center of the guard, the area from this support and the top of the new bumper would be large enough to mount a winch, so it would be nice to have the bumper strong enough for this kind of stress, but I have no idea how to determine what kind of reinforcement would be needed.

So there are two schools of thought on the design... I could just go all-out and build the whole thing with 7ga (3/16") steel. Or I could try and lighten it up a bit and use 10ga steel (which is in-stock at my local welding shop) for the outer 'wings' of the bumper, and only use the 7ga for the center where it mounts to the truck frame. However after making rough calculations of the square inches of all needed pieces and figuring out how much they weighed at various gauges, I've come to the conclusion that in the end, the most I can save is about 20 pounds. Not counting the 2" receiver, the frame mounts, or the weld joints, I've come up with about 68 pounds of steel for the absolute lightest I could make the bumper... which means that building it completely from 7ga steel only puts it at 88 pounds.

Considering the effectiveness of a bumper in the case of a front impact (rocks or other vehicles), it really seems like that extra 20 pounds of steel would be greatly welcomed when I actually need it. However since I don't do any 'serious' off-roading, the only likely impact would be from a collision on the road. This then raises the question of how safe it would be to drop down to 8ga or 9ga steel for the entire project? And would any of these gauges be strong enough to hold a 6000 or 9000 pound winch mounted as mentioned above?

Of course the final solution will also be including a radiator skid, which will add a fair amount of weight itself, but in the end I want to find a solution that provides decent protection for my truck without destroying my gas mileage completely.

I definitely welcome any comments on the matter!

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

I agree that the minimal weight savings likely is not worth it.

 

[Bartonmd]

Like we talked about before via PM, the design is at least or more important than the material. Flanges = strength. Or rather, bends or any way you put sheet at an angle to other sheet will multiply the strength of the first sheet. Nobody can say "yes it'll hold ___" or "no it won't hold ______" without looking at the design, regardless of material.

I do mine totally out of 7ga, because the strength is also needed on the unsupported parts under the headlights and out farther.

Honestly, about impact strength, anything stronger than the stock .060" reinforcement bar messes up the crash test results. This is why mine and any aftermarket bumper you see sold says it's "for off road use only." The bumper is supposed to crush and dissipate energy, but if you make it too strong, the energy will dissipate farther back, and throw off the way a vehicle crashes.

Mike

 

[deekster_caddy]

Exactly what I wanted on my '86 Burb. Here's how it turned out:

We used a piece of 8 (or 10) inch channel iron, made little notches in the middle edges, heated it up a little and bent it into the "V" shape. D rings and 2" receiver tube added after. The 2" receiver tube was bought from Valley towing and we welded it to the frame in a couple of spots about a foot behind the bumper.

I'm glad I never hit anybody with that truck. Crumple zone what??

We ordered the D-rings and rubber bumpers from AW Direct (tow truck supplier)

 

[Shdwdrgn]

The stock bumper bar is only .060? One third of what I'm looking at using??? That is horrifying! No, really, that scares me that a piece of tinfoil meets the industry safety standards.

On the other hand, it probably means I could use 9ga steel and still have a final piece that is much tougher than the factory bumper. This may be a better option for me, since as I said before, it will be more of a light-duty bumper.

I have a busy week ahead, but I'm going to try and get my cardboard cutouts done this week so I can get some pictures of how I envision it going together.

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

Exactly what I wanted on my '86 Burb. Here's how it turned out:

We used a piece of 8 (or 10) inch channel iron, made little notches in the middle edges, heated it up a little and bent it into the "V" shape. D rings and 2" receiver tube added after. The 2" receiver tube was bought from Valley towing and we welded it to the frame in a couple of spots about a foot behind the bumper.

I'm glad I never hit anybody with that truck. Crumple zone what??

We ordered the D-rings and rubber bumpers from AW Direct (tow truck supplier)

That had to weigh a ton!

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

The stock bumper bar is only .060? One third of what I'm looking at using??? That is horrifying! No, really, that scares me that a piece of tinfoil meets the industry safety standards.

On the other hand, it probably means I could use 9ga steel and still have a final piece that is much tougher than the factory bumper. This may be a better option for me, since as I said before, it will be more of a light-duty bumper.

I have a busy week ahead, but I'm going to try and get my cardboard cutouts done this week so I can get some pictures of how I envision it going together.

You need to keep strength in mind with having tow points on it. The factory bar is thin and definitely is not a tow or extraction point.

 

[deekster_caddy]

That had to weigh a ton!

It was heavier than the original bumper, but I remember lifting it into place and it really wasn't that bad. The 2" lift springs may have helped too. OEM springs and you might have seen it sag a bit. Honestly I never noticed any difference while driving it.

 

[Bartonmd]

The stock bumper bar is only .060? One third of what I'm looking at using??? That is horrifying! No, really, that scares me that a piece of tinfoil meets the industry safety standards.

On the other hand, it probably means I could use 9ga steel and still have a final piece that is much tougher than the factory bumper. This may be a better option for me, since as I said before, it will be more of a light-duty bumper.

I have a busy week ahead, but I'm going to try and get my cardboard cutouts done this week so I can get some pictures of how I envision it going together.

The bumper is MEANT to be weak! As I said, the bumper is meant to be a crush point to dissipate energy. If that energy isn't absorbed by the bumper crushing, it'll be absorbed by the frame buckling, or something else happening that's not supposed to happen... You should be more scared by putting a too-strong bumper on it, that doesn't absorb impact, and possibly having the passenger compartment crush, instead of the crumple zone in the front end.

Mike

 

[Bartonmd]

Exactly what I wanted on my '86 Burb. Here's how it turned out:

We used a piece of 8 (or 10) inch channel iron, made little notches in the middle edges, heated it up a little and bent it into the "V" shape. D rings and 2" receiver tube added after. The 2" receiver tube was bought from Valley towing and we welded it to the frame in a couple of spots about a foot behind the bumper.

I'm glad I never hit anybody with that truck. Crumple zone what??

We ordered the D-rings and rubber bumpers from AW Direct (tow truck supplier)

For the use of 3/4 shackles and loop end extraction straps, I make my shackle mounts out of 1"x3" bar stock, welded on both front and back of the bumper.

 

[Shdwdrgn]

I'm glad I never hit anybody with that truck. Crumple zone what??

Who needs a crumple zone when you have the mass of a railroad track to carry you through the other vehicle?

@Hardtrailz - yep that's all being kept in mind. The tow rings should be able to get their reinforcement directly off the frame. It's the center receiver that will be harder, since I have to carry the reinforcement across the span between the frame rails. However I think a honeycomb pattern going across, and to the top and bottom, should give the receiver a pretty solid framework to sit in, and keep the bumper from wanting to twist up from heavy hitch loads.

 

[deekster_caddy]

Who needs a crumple zone when you have the mass of a railroad track to carry you through the other vehicle?

You got that right. I can GUARANTEE you it was not impact-safe!!! But we did push a few broken down cars around in it's day. Very helpful for that!

I got the idea after driving tow trucks for a few years. I always liked the thought of having a push-bumper, and we used the trailer hitch as a winch point a few times, plus I put a ball in it for some creative trailer moving around the yard...

 

[Bartonmd]

Who needs a crumple zone when you have the mass of a railroad track to carry you through the other vehicle?

@Hardtrailz - yep that's all being kept in mind. The tow rings should be able to get their reinforcement directly off the frame. It's the center receiver that will be harder, since I have to carry the reinforcement across the span between the frame rails. However I think a honeycomb pattern going across, and to the top and bottom, should give the receiver a pretty solid framework to sit in, and keep the bumper from wanting to twist up from heavy hitch loads.

I thought we already talked about this via PM?

This is how I do my top mount (it's up side down in the picture)

 

[Shdwdrgn]

plus I put a ball in it for some creative trailer moving around the yard...

This is exactly the reason why I wanted the receiver in mine... I tow a 20' trailer to an event each year. Last year they set us up in a place where we sat on flat ground, but right next to a sharp incline. Plus there was not enough room between the setup location and the fence to get a clear shot, so I had to make a sharp turn on the incline. Getting the trailer IN was the easy part, but when we went to tear down, I had to back the trailer into this same location, which turned out to be impossible... We finally pushed the trailer into place by hand, but have no desire to repeat this. I'm hoping with a front-mounted ball, I can cozy the empty trailer right into position, then turn the truck around and re-hitch to the back when I go to pull the loaded trailer back out.

Creative trailer moving... for those times when event planners assume you can turn around your 20' trailer in a 10' circle!

 

[Shdwdrgn]

I thought we already talked about this via PM?

This is how I do my top mount (it's up side down in the picture)

Yep, we did! And your pictures gave me exactly the concept I needed to give it lots of good support. That is the idea I am going off of to make sure I don't rip the receiver right through the bumper. My front flat piece will be 8" tall, so I was actually thinking of doing a flat support across the top and bottom of the receiver, but have the flat pieces bent at angles so it creates a wide X shape across the back side of the 8" tall piece. (Then of course the extra supports to the top and bottom to help with twisting.) It may be overkill, but then again its only an extra couple pounds of steel that could make a big difference against twisting actions.