Bumper design 101

[Ataraxia]

I have a few ideas in my mind of how I want to fabricate my front bumper. I don't plan on getting a winch any time soon, so this bumper does not need to have a massive cavity built into it. Unlike most off the shelf bumpers, this one won't stick out as far as the winch bumpers I have seen, and it will have a more "tucked in" factory look to it, at the same time, it won't look to thin. I'd like to hear your criticisms, positive or negative. Anything I should add or consider? Most likely all pieces will be boxed for higher strength, and braced to the chassis from as many points as possible. There will be receiver on the front but will be covered by a flip down license plate holder. Also there will be a skid plate that is integrated into the bumper, and it will be removable. One of my OCD's when fabricating is to over build everything, so don't worry about structural integrity or the materials used unless you have ideas your willing to throw down on the table.


I have included a picture of bumpers (there were ALOT more but...) that inspired me to come up with a few ideas. Btw, the drawings I've made are not to scale yet.

Thanks in advance!

Dan

[John C]

Sweet!!

Whatever you do make sure the bumper will not rotate upward, I just saw a RTE bumper rotate upward and damage the front corner on a DII. I hit the same tree with my bumper and it didn't budge (this was on a trials course)

We use a L bracket under our bumpers to prevent them from rotating.

I believe JC 01010101 might have some pics of his install.

Good luck and I like your design.

[Disco Mike]

Dan,
Send me your e-mail address and I will send you some pictures of what I did. Now mine sticks out too far becaus of the winch but can easily be pulled back to be more fluah. I added a sub frame for more support, removed the crash cans for more strength and it works well.
Mike

[01001010]

Originally Posted by John C

Sweet!!

Whatever you do make sure the bumper will not rotate upward, I just saw a RTE bumper rotate upward and damage the front corner on a DII. I hit the same tree with my bumper and it didn't budge (this was on a trials course)

We use a L bracket under our bumpers to prevent them from rotating.

I believe JC 01010101 might have some pics of his install.

Good luck and I like your design.

I sure do.

Bumper / Winch Install

John, remember that night I called you freaking out about my trans cooler...LMAO...funny stuff...good times!

Ata, I like your designs! Good Job!

[John C]

JC,

I'm gonna submit your write-up to LRM, you want to make any changes or add anything? Let me know soon.

Thanks,

John

[01001010]

Yowzas!..lol..I'm not even done!

If you go tot hte link, there's a .doc file in there..thats the supposed write up! Ive seen the writeups on LRM and know that they are short, but I could never be so general...give me a due date...that way I can finally get it done.

[MuddyRangeRover]

I like the 3rd picture of your rover with a chopped bumper.

[keptin]

Cool, very good start. I second what John has said about building a mounting system that wont allow it to rotate, also make sure that the system is strong enough to support impacts from multiple directions (so it doesn't collapse like the ARB/TJM...though, they are designed to do that to be air-bag compatible).

I like your idea about having a slim bumper that doesn't protrude much, but I still really believe that a future winch mounting location should be created. Ive noticed the hitch receiver in the center, but personally I would go with something "cleaner"-- On trails you don't want to get a long receiver-based hitch & tray caught on everything. I would be concerned with it protruding enough to cause issues. Ive seen many bumpers mounted closer by cutting the shape of them into the grill, the grill is always replaceable and it does give you an extra few inches. When it comes down to it, the decision is yours.

I like the idea of the fog lamp holes....the issue I could see is that you would be stuck to only a few types of fogs.....I'd say the best to fit there would be the Hella Micro DEs. On the other hand, I personally wouldn't have them because of the chances that they would be bashed out. I consider anything lower then the grill a vulnerable spot for lights. You may say I'm being too cautious and how the hack could lights in those little holes be smashed....though they are bigger, it was my stock fogs that were bashed out while going through a pond filled with thick ice.

About the bumper itself, I've noticed you lowered the middle section a bit to act as a steering guard. I've heard that steering guards are a great way to get you stuck in mud....since I would never have this problem where I live and rock is more abundant then mud, I would incorporate that into my bumper design. Just making you aware. What I change though is shorten the bumper and then creating a mounting system for a separate steering guard plate. I've seen them get bashed to hell and it would be nice if you decided you wanted to replace a small plate and brackets instead of having to repair the bumper itself. To throw out a point, the more modular you make it, the more options you keep open for adding and subtracting to it. Also, as far as my personal opinion goes, I like the less angular 2nd to last one because it better follows the curves on the front of the vehicle....though I'm sure if you chose an angular design it would be equally aesthetically pleasing if you used an angle grinder to round all of the edges. I would dig it either way, I ended up going with a more angular design myself.

Lastly, you may want to either stick with rounded D-ring shackle points or add a flat-facing angle to them. As they are now, they look like death-spikes.....hehe, reminds me of a movie....

[Choqiees]

make a room for winch, even if you don't plan on having one soon.

[Ataraxia]

Thanks for the responses guys. The drawings I made are not to scale at all, just freehand vectors. When you guys say "rolling up" are you talking about the ends bending up? Like, if I did a nose dive into a rock on the drivers side coming down from a descent?

Yeah, twisting is what I don't want, and looking at some of the major brand bumpers, I'm just not impressed. Last weekend I had a chance to see a ARB bumper up close, even though it was pretty (I guess) it was kinda hollow and didn't seem too strong. I grabbed it and gave it a violent twist and I seen it twist in my hands a bit. Twisting force will be reduced quite a bit if it's boxed in and braced. I plan on bracing it as far out as I can also. The receiver won't be in the way at all. All you will see is a square ring. The receiver will be hidden under my license plate (mandatory in Ontario to have one on the front) and used very rarely when moving around trailers in tight areas or launching my boats. I think having a long lower skid plate is beneficial for the terrain we have here, and it will allow my front to slide over things, usually muddy obstacles. The way it will be designed on the bottom will have an upturned end so it can't dig in, or catch on anything while going in reverse. This will also have it's own heavy bracing on the bottom as well.

I know incorporating a spot for a winch would be a good idea, but I really don't intend on getting one soon. I can always build another bumper and sell this one if need be. I'm going for a clean factory look, yet rugged and esthetically pleasing. My specialty is metal finishing, detail and precision is very important to me, so I may even finished it in the same color as the body without having to "flat black" it.

Keptin... and what's wrong with Death Spikes? Everybody loves death spikes. Or, at least we all wish we had them at times. I was too lazy to make a rounded edge so it came out like that, lol. You can see one pic does have rounded eyelets. In actuality, when I make the main support braces for the bumper it will incorporate eyelets for a 7/8" D-ring. These main plates will be made from no less than .5", and also partially boxed.

Here's a rough Idea of just some of the parts in an exploded view to help better visualize what I'm talking about. Thanks again for the input guys. Great info.

Dan

[Choqiees]

when I was looking for a front bumper, I was also looking for a clean stock look. many favored the RTE but I ended up with TJM T-17.

it's the airbag compliant so it sticks out further then the stock one, but the finishing touch compliments the bumper really...

here's some comparison.

with the trimmed stock bumper




with TJM bumper only



another view, here you can see how far it sticks out...I didn't really like it at that time



here's my finishing touch (there's also gonna be a winch)....now those aux. lights compliment the bumper




where are you going to put the recovery points? I don't see any.

[disco12]

I like the drawings I like number 3 sweet.




Chucky

Your Disco looking bad ass with the TJM

[Capt. Ron]

I like #3 2. But I'm not sure about the holes.

[Duncan]

Mine is a very basic design with the feet of the winch mounted to the front of the bumper ( So as to allow the bumper to be as narrow as possible without cutting the front grill) you can see the top mounting bolts above the fairlead. The control switch for the winch has been mounted in the front and a throttle lever has been added to allow for increasing the RPMs.
The problem with something Like this is i have recently purchased a larger winch with the Solenoid pack attached to it.
This means I have to re-design my bumper or make a new one to allow it to fit. In retrospect I should have designed a cradle type winch bumper to overcome this problem.

[Funrover]

Originally Posted by Duncan

Mine is a very basic design with the feet of the winch mounted to the front of the bumper ( So as to allow the bumper to be as narrow as possible without cutting the front grill) you can see the top mounting bolts above the fairlead. The control switch for the winch has been mounted in the front and a throttle lever has been added to allow for increasing the RPMs.
The problem with something Like this is i have recently purchased a larger winch with the Solenoid pack attached to it.
This means I have to re-design my bumper or make a new one to allow it to fit. In retrospect I should have designed a cradle type winch bumper to overcome this problem.

That is sweet man!! I like it!!!