replacement bumpers?

[LT1BRD]

anyone care to post some detailed pictures of their replacement bumpers? i have a ranch hand grill guard, and i'm thinking about turning it into a full front replacement...either a ranch hand or frontier gear style. i have most of the metal available already (sch 40 pipe and 1/8 diamond plate), so the only real cost to me is rods and powdercoating.
if you have any pics of the corners, braces, bends...please post them up. i'm pretty sure i could wing it, but pics would help.

thanks,
Jimmy

 

[ShopSpecialties]

I am using a TDK which I think is one of the best on the market.

 

[Mike]

I like the one Larry has on his truck. I've got one, it's a frontier but I think Larry's ranch hand is a bit stronger in the right places

 

[LT1BRD]

Larry's isn't a pipe-style bumper, which isn't a problem. it looks similar to the frontier gear, which i think is the summit series ranch hand. i thought it was a frontier though.

a friend of mine has all kinds of welders and cutters and wants to help me build something custom...like a winch bumper, but i still want protection around the headlights. we could start fresh and do custom loops on top of the bumper, but the one thing i don't think he has is a pipe bender. it would be easier to do a ranch hand, but if he wants to do all that cutting and welding on a winch bumper, i might let him .

 

[LT1BRD]

I am using a TDK which I think is one of the best on the market.

those are pretty sweet. we can probably make something similar, but that's a lot of hours.

 

[Redbowties88]

mini derail here but anyone know of anyone running a silverado SS bumper? ive been thinking of getting one

 

[Duramax_JP]

Larry has the Ranch Hand. I have a frontier. Larrys is a bit stronger but I prefer the looks of mine. Honestly though Ive run over all sorts of crap( deer mostly) and my front one doesnt even have a dent. The back one on the other hand has a few marks where ive bumped poles,ran over poles, and backed into stuff lol. And thats why I have a backup camera now
If I were you Jimmy I would try and do a custom one that resembles a road armor or Iron bull. Ive seen quite a few guys make some nice lookin custom ones that look alot like the iron bulls. I wish these things werent so damn heavy though, my front end is falling apart on me.

 

[LT1BRD]

aren't you supposed to be in class?

i like the frontier too. i may attempt a custom winch-style bumper. anyone have a pipe/weld sander i can borrow . it would be easier to piece one together, rather then bend it...since we don't have a bender. looking @ the TDK's, i may be able to do a bumper, cut the grill guard i have, and attach it to the top of the bumper...like this one:

or another option is to not cut the grill guard and attach it to the bumper...retaining the bottom bar. the grill guard i have is this one:

 

[maxaholic]

Jimmy, on our old work truck I am going to take the grill gaurd off of it and cut it up to make the top part of a full replacement. That seems like the easiest and cheapest way to get to the final product. And also I wasn't going to make any crazy bends or any thing. I was going to use some pipe(not sure which size yet, thinking 4") and some steel plate for the bottom and sides.

 

[Mike]

I'm with Jp, my frontier has been a deer magnet with great results. Oh ya fences at 100 have been tagged as well. Oh ya and mesquite trees at 99.5 ... and I never got a flat ..... oh ya, back to bumpers. I like the one in that top picture :cool2:

 

[LT1BRD]

Jimmy, on our old work truck I am going to take the grill gaurd off of it and cut it up to make the top part of a full replacement. That seems like the easiest and cheapest way to get to the final product. And also I wasn't going to make any crazy bends or any thing. I was going to use some pipe(not sure which size yet, thinking 4") and some steel plate for the bottom and sides.

yeah, if it was just me, i would do just pipe and diamond plate...but my buddy Ryan seems to want to build something custom.

I'm with Jp, my frontier has been a deer magnet with great results. Oh ya fences at 100 have been tagged as well. Oh ya and mesquite trees at 99.5 ... and I never got a flat ..... oh ya, back to bumpers. I like the one in that top picture :cool2:

deer are definitely a concern around here and where i go. i think we may try to build something like the TDK or a buckstop and attach all or part of my existing grill guard to it. if it doesn't work out to well on the bumper, we will probably just do a ranch hand style pipe and diamond plate. we may do that wayway once we start designing it and seeing how involved it would be.

flats? what are those :rofl:
when i worked at the Goodyear Proving Grounds, we had a truck with a ranch hand and MTR's. i would literally flatten mesquites to make a road with that truck...never had a flat. that's with running over the trees along the entire length.

 

[Mike]

Are you bragging now Jimmy? No flats :rofl: Goodyear would have never let that happen

 

[LT1BRD]

:spit:
no bragging...just saying....
this wasn't a test vehicle, so the tires on it were off-the-shelf MTR's. i've seen them drive 200 miles around one of the tracks in a vette with 4 flat tires. they held together nicely (run-flats of coarse). ahh...i had good times out there, lol. wrecked a blazer too