After getting rear ended by a loser with a suspended license and no insurance I decided it was time for a real rear bumper. I really didn't want to spend $700-1500 for a bumper so I started building my own. It's all 1/4" plate with 1/2" brackets. I got all the metal from Metal Supermarket from their cut table for 0.75 per pound. I still have to cut holes for the back-up lights,  weld the bumper to the mounts, and either paint or powder coat it. When this one is finished I will be moving on to the front bumper. I plan to build it in the same style and have a winch mount. If anyone has done something similar i welcome any input, criticism, or advice. This is my first bumper build but I'm pretty happy with the way it is going. Ill post more  photos after its comple.

Nice thumb lol, do you cover license when driving around too 

Thanks Dieselfuture. No. Sometimes i just remove the tag or put on a bogus one.

Once again i forgot to take better pictures. I did get the Mopar1973man breather tube done today. No more oily nasty mess up front for me.

I love it looks amazing. I'd of only done one thing different I'd of used 1" thick shackle points cut through the bumper and welded inside to frame mounts. So the cant be pulled off.

 

I love the looks and amazing build quality you put into it to. I really dig the added weight too.

Edited April 10, 20195 yr by Evan

Thank you Evan.

The D-ring mounts are cut through the bumper. 1/2" plate, 3.5" tall. They are the mounting brackets. Bolt to frame with 4 grade 8 bolts per side. The d-rings have a 1" bolt. Added DOM spacers to mount to take up slop. Inside of rings was almost 1.5"  I might be able to bend something but i doubt I'll ever pull them off.

Edited April 10, 20195 yr by Gregturley

Sweet

Finally got some better pics but no measurements yet.

Few more

Few more

I keep want to put clevises on my bumpers to make it complete, just keep thinking someone is going to steal them, and they're not cheap ether.

I'm worried about that too. I think I'm going to put a little tack weld on the end of the bolt so the nut wont screw off. Few more

With all that rust I would assume it would self lock in a few weeks.

Ouch. That hurts. This truck was a fleet truck for my work. Its had a hard life being driven and repaired by idiots. I got it cheap enough from our auction to put some money and time into it. Trans was rebuilt 15000 miles ago and vp44 replaced at dealer 8000 miles ago before i bought it. No rust on bumper or d-rings. I know the hitch looks bad but the ball mount slides right out.

I was being honest. I don't use any thread locker or anything on frame stuff... I'm in the rust world too and I typically put anti-seize on everything. Other than that you'll be cutting it off with a torch in the future. Again being serious... 

 

My last thing to do on the axles was doing wheel u-joints and 4 hours beating on a unit bearing to remove it. 

As much as i hate the stuff i use a lot of antiseize also. Here was my temporary rocker repair. White Gorilla Tape. I found a rust & dent free bed for $200 right after i got the truck. Found a driver rear door rust free for $50. Looking for a good driver front  door now. May do rockers this summer. Then I'll paint it but havent decided a color yet.

I cut rockers out and welded in a 2x8x3/16 tube on my jeep.

 

I dont think ive i seen this done on a 2nd gen but maybe

 

I've often thought about doing this on the truck. Mainly just for fun. If my truck was rusty I'd be all over it.

 

 

11 hours ago, Gregturley said:

Here was my temporary rocker repair. White Gorilla Tape.

Got you beat

It's temporary, but will be like that for a while 

7 hours ago, Evan said:

I've often thought about doing this on the truck. Mainly just for fun.

You may be on to something 

I put flush mount reverse lights in the bumper when i built it and quickly realized they suck. A quick trip to AutoZone and i picked up some 3M lens repair film. I put 2 layers on the inside of the led lens and hooked the wiring up to the trailer wiring for left & right turn/brake signals. Now instead of useless reverse lights I have very visible led turn/brake lights.  Mounted some extra cube leds under the bumper that work great for back up lamps.