txarrowhunter

Use the bolts and tAck weld the bumper to the frame about an inch on side and bottom, were you can grind off the welds to remove the bumper if neccessary.

DIESELWRKS

thanks for the input. I will try it out dont have the wall anymore to test it though.

Load Hauler 04

Great job on the bumper!!! As for welding it to the frame, you will probably get mixed reactions to that. I have been a Mech./Welder for 25 years and have welded many different things on frames with no problems. But, I have also repaired many frames that broke because of bad welds...... Yes/No its up to you. Keep fabricating.......

kevellis32

Do NOT weld to the frame, there is absolutely no benefit from doing this. Spend the extra time to make frame mounts. Bolts can bend and flex a bit more than a weld, all you are going to do with a weld is either mess it up and need frame repair, or hit something so hard that the welds will further the bending of your frame than if you just had bolts.

I know that no one wants to hit anything with their truck, but the truth is that you don't put a ranch hand or HD bumper on your truck for no reason (unless you have money to blow for the fun of it)

Need95-00CTD

I would create a set of mounts that are in double shear, instead of single. Once you have that, a good set of grade 8 bolts will be more than strong enough to take whatever impact you could hit before the frame would bend.

Jammie Dodger

one of the best lookin front bumper i have seen to date!

DIESELWRKS

wow, thanks alot the best thing I think is it was cheap$. rear bumper to come soon.

Mark Hodowanec

Nice work! What is the diameter & thickness of the main pipe? Did you use DOM, how tough was it to bend? Can you show details of how it is mounted to the frame & how the mounts are welded to the rest of the bumper?

How much $$$ do you have in it?

bakdoor

I have to agree with this--if you do hit something (or something hits you!) you'd rather shear off a couple of dollar-something grade 5 or 8 bolts from the hardware store than bend/crack your frame from the impact. It's just like when guys replace the shear bolts on their snowblower augers--they get tired of replacing them when they hit something, so they replace them with grade 8 bolts, thinking that it'll make the assembly stronger, then they scratch their head and wonder why they bent an auger or driveshaft. Those shear bolts are like fuses. And so should your bumper mount bolts be!

Nice looking bumper, BTW. I love home-fabbed stuff!

DIESELWRKS

I didnt weld to frame just upgraded the bolts. I will take some pics of the truc when I can on next descent weather day. soon I will be putting on rock slider style steps. not for rock crawling just like the way the are and the flow of the bends.

DIESELWRKS

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SIXSLUG

Nice job!

My opinion on welding it to the frame would be "no". The factory bumpers are designed to fold on lite impacts to absorb and spread out energy. A rigid mount would send this energy directly to the frame and possibly cause more damage to the structure, also creating a problem with your insurance company, which may deny your claim.

Dracula

Nice bumper!!

I would like to have something like that, but then I would never be able to put the truck in my garage. Why do they build attached garages so small these days?

CTD12V

Hey Need95, can you elaborate on that "double shear" bit a little more? I have often wondered where the right balance is between strengthening the entire front frame area with a more solid mount versus transmitting too much force to the frame and bending the frame rather than sacrificing the mounts/bumper.

DieselWrks, you want to be able to still loosen/adjust the bumper if you ever have to replace the headlight assemblies.

CTD12V

DIESELWRKS

I recently did the sport conversion and have plenty of room with this bumper did not have to drop the bumper at all. I ended up just upgrading the oem 3 whimpy bolts with grade 8.