Tube Bumpers

Anyone ever make a tube bumper here? Has to be someone. I'm brainstorming for the rear of a 2nd gen Ranger, then a 9th gen F150.

Pictures? Tips? Tricks? Suggestions?

Built from the original bumper.... the 2 mounting points, just outside of the fog lights, were retained... the builder used 1" DOM tubing, and built it......

Dunno what there is to say about them, it's just a basic fab job, you might want to check legality where you are though and don't expect them to be lighter than stock. They're available on the aftermarket for most popular vehicles modded for offroad (and mall-crawling ) use.

Edit: If you're looking for design tips, then what's the intended use?

More like plate than tube - although the mounts are 2x4 tube that slide into the frame rails. The bronco is not familiar with the concept of adding lightness - more like crush things into submission. Front bumper weighs in around 100# - 180# with winch attached. A corolla backed into it - scuffed the bumper paint. $3500 to fix the toyota. To build, I made a cardboard mock up for dimensions and mounting points.

I made a tube bumper using fence posts for my old Samurai, but I imagine you're looking for a little better fit and finish. ;-)

You just want to make a plate bumper? There are dozens of how tos online... I think you have the gist of it. Most people seem to have the best luck building one out of carboard (pressboard is probably easier to work with) then tracing the pieces onto plate. unless it has large flat unreinforced pieces, 1/8 steel is probably plenty thick for everything except recovery points, which you should probably center behind the frame rails and double up 1/8 or use 1/4 for.

If you don't have a big brake you will probably be better off just cutting each piece out, instead of trying to bend the pieces, since its unlikely very many of them will end up being straight bends, and thick steel tends to mess up typical garage type brakes anyway. Yet another reason to be somewhat conservative on thickness. for straight lines I'd use a 7" steel cutting abrasive disc in a powerful skill saw. curves, a reciprocating saw or small cut off disc. a metal bandsaw would be nice but most of us don't have it, ditto plasma cutter. I use my torch to cut anything really thick thats not a perfectly straight cut (and I try to use my rigid chop saw for that). "pipe" bumpers are specifically illegal in some states, though I guess thats up to the person inspecting it to determine legality.

Do you mean something like this?

those are called prerunner style and if your goal is to overbuild and protect I can't imagine they would fill that role. I think their primary goal is giving bumperless desert trucks a place to mount lights, and giving mall crawlers something to bolt to the front of their factory bumpers so shopping carts can bounce off it.

In reply to andrave:

So what your saying is that later you don't want to come play parking lot pong with me?

my 78 f150 has a bumper made of thick wall pipe (1/4 or so) and 1/8 plate reinforcing it, with 1/4 thick frame brackets secured with 6 9/16 bolts to the frame. whatever parking lot pong is, sure, I'll play. since its lifted on 35's I forsee a lot of carts just getting run over though.

3/16- 1/4" plate bolted to old bumper mount frame holes (or drill your own if necessary). Hole saw the plate out to diameter of new bumper tube, trim excess as necessary, MIG weld.

Cardboard templates (pizza box) are handy for fitting up the mounting plates. 2-3" pipe or fence post from the scrap yard is cheap. If galvanized, strip w/ Muriatic acid before welding.

My Tetanuswagen at the Back 40 has one that I built (when it was still on the road) on the back of it. VERY basic...except it had a receiver in it.

I've made bumpers out of wood. I liked it, the stuff flexes without damage quite a bit.

ClemSparks wrote: My Tetanuswagen at the Back 40 has one that I built (when it was still on the road) on the back of it. VERY basic...except it had a receiver in it.

Here is is...you've probably rubbed some of that black paint off of it by now, Sperlo.

more here: http://s123.beta.photobucket.com/user/clemsparks/library/1982%20Corolla%20Station%20Wagon

I had an 8 inch tube bumper on the back of my old K2500, notched out for a plate holder with a light from underneath. 3/8ths endplates and 2inch receiver welded to the bottom and gusseted had a kid rear end me in a 96 teg, it was totaled. I rubbed off the paint transfer. I wanted to weld in a bung and put a female air hose end on it, so I could just carry a hose and air chuck for air when I had to air down, but the idea of that bumper with 90psi or so in it getting hit with any force just didn't seem smart.

^ A lot of offroaders seal up tube bumpers and use them as air reservoirs. If they get hit they're probably not going to go flying anywhere and 2-digit PSI isn't enough to worry about really meaningful explosions. They generally don't hold a lot though, enough to air up 2 large offroad tires if you're lucky.

oldeskewltoy wrote: Built from the original bumper.... the 2 mounting points, just outside of the fog lights, were retained... the builder used 1" DOM tubing, and built it......

that turned out nice.

Part of it was on the truck when we bought it. My dad added most of the upper stuff above the two ball hitches. There is a thick piece of rubber on the lower part. I love that truck, but it's gone.