**NEW 3rd Gen 4R "OEM+" Front Bumper Prototype**
- Thread starter rickashay
- Start date
rickashay
New member
I don't think I've met Caleb. F1/COTA was incredible.... I'll be at Montreal if there's a race next season.
Wow, the legends! That's super rad. Jelly of your time at Laguna Seca too - when I build a racing sim, I'm sure I'll log a ton of time there too
Wonder if they will get another West Coast track on the calendar soon.
Thanks for your interest!
**UPDATE**
Working with the prototype. Lots of changes and updates to be made, but I am actually enjoying this part of the revision process. Some photos for proof:
Winch (ComeUp 9500 RSI) in place with the basic crossmember and winch cradle (Ignore my hanging winch solenoid)
IMG_5926.jpg by Tamarack, on Flickr
- I will highlight above ^^^ tons of clearance for winch servicing. You can slide your hand in/out of the crossmember to EASILY access the winch bolts that hold it in place. (can't say thats true with many bumpers on the market)
- Also notice the square for the front hitch: thanks for that feedback everyone!
Clearance behind the winch (can't push it back anymore)
IMG_5930.jpg by Tamarack, on Flickr
Approach angle will still turn out to be pretty decent!
IMG_5931.jpg by Tamarack, on Flickr
OEM Upper Bumper in place, a couple notes:
- chrome bumper is at a non-BL position in the photo; it needs to move up for my 1" bodylift
- recovery hooks/uprights still not in place
IMG_5936.jpg by Tamarack, on Flickr
Endlessblockades
Senior Member
Yeah! Cool to see the progress
rickashay
New member
Thanks!
Thanks Keith. Still excited to see what you have in the works as well. No side view yet... we actually need to shorten the mounts to pull the factory bumper backwards. As of now, we messed up somewhere, and it's sitting a little too far foreward. But I will get these upon revision.
Thanks! Totally agree. Going to look WAY different once fully assembled. I might even change the corners a little to allow a space to mount the winch solenoid.
MarkamisPrime
New member
I don't think I've met Caleb. F1/COTA was incredible.... I'll be at Montreal if there's a race next season.
Wow, the legends! That's super rad. Jelly of your time at Laguna Seca too - when I build a racing sim, I'm sure I'll log a ton of time there too
Wonder if they will get another West Coast track on the calendar soon.
Thanks for your interest!
**UPDATE**
Working with the prototype. Lots of changes and updates to be made, but I am actually enjoying this part of the revision process. Some photos for proof:
Winch (ComeUp 9500 RSI) in place with the basic crossmember and winch cradle (Ignore my hanging winch solenoid)
IMG_5926.jpg by Tamarack, on Flickr
- I will highlight above ^^^ tons of clearance for winch servicing. You can slide your hand in/out of the crossmember to EASILY access the winch bolts that hold it in place. (can't say thats true with many bumpers on the market)
- Also notice the square for the front hitch: thanks for that feedback everyone!
Clearance behind the winch (can't push it back anymore)
IMG_5930.jpg by Tamarack, on Flickr
Approach angle will still turn out to be pretty decent!
IMG_5931.jpg by Tamarack, on Flickr
OEM Upper Bumper in place, a couple notes:
- chrome bumper is at a non-BL position in the photo; it needs to move up for my 1" bodylift
- recovery hooks/uprights still not in place
IMG_5936.jpg by Tamarack, on Flickr
MarkamisPrime
New member
Bump.
Chris_Overland
New member
Looks much better than I anticipated!
This may have been covered, but what are you looking at price-wise?
The main thing holding me back from buying a winch bumper are the ridiculous $1k+ prices.
This may have been covered, but what are you looking at price-wise?
The main thing holding me back from buying a winch bumper are the ridiculous $1k+ prices.
Endlessblockades
Senior Member
I don't recall seeing pricing but it might be a good time to issue some guidance while buyers are seeing BF 'sales' this month.
If I'm not mistaken, these are DIY as far as welding goes, so that needs to be factored in.
rickashay
New member
Sorry for being slow moving. We have some family health stuff going on that has definitely not helped to expedite this. I appreciate everyone's patience as we slowly but surely move foreward.
Yes this will be WIY and that does need to be considered for someones "overall cost". However we are definitely trying to make this thing go together with WAY less fab time than is typical with WIY bumpers. I'm betting (don't quote me on this! lol) once I get all these tweaks done, you'll be able to weld this thing together in a couple of hours.
No BF deals as this will not be on the market until next year.
Thanks!
No pricing yet. We are just getting our raw materials cost down and still need to factor in a few things like bolts/hardware. But of course, with this being a prototype, I've already got a list of about 25 things that I'm working on changing right now to improve the next version - which will in turn change our costs. Things I'm working through:
- better plate fitment and the ability for the bumper to have some wiggle room knowing that each truck will be slightly different
- more "keying" so the WIY build process is as absolutely simple and intuitive as possible
- working on the aesthetics of those tapered corners: I'm not liking the "bulky" flat plate surface that extends over to the front factory bodymount location. I might even open this up significantly to allow the winch solenoid to be mounted there (or even a set of lights)
- reworking our factory bumper mounts: need to get the factory bumper closer to the body and allow for some adjustability. People should be able to set the gap between body and factory bumper
- Working on a few tweaks to help decrease production costs (re-working and moving some bends)
Yes this will be WIY and that does need to be considered for someones "overall cost". However we are definitely trying to make this thing go together with WAY less fab time than is typical with WIY bumpers. I'm betting (don't quote me on this! lol) once I get all these tweaks done, you'll be able to weld this thing together in a couple of hours.
No BF deals as this will not be on the market until next year.
Thanks!
No pricing yet. We are just getting our raw materials cost down and still need to factor in a few things like bolts/hardware. But of course, with this being a prototype, I've already got a list of about 25 things that I'm working on changing right now to improve the next version - which will in turn change our costs. Things I'm working through:
- better plate fitment and the ability for the bumper to have some wiggle room knowing that each truck will be slightly different
- more "keying" so the WIY build process is as absolutely simple and intuitive as possible
- working on the aesthetics of those tapered corners: I'm not liking the "bulky" flat plate surface that extends over to the front factory bodymount location. I might even open this up significantly to allow the winch solenoid to be mounted there (or even a set of lights)
- reworking our factory bumper mounts: need to get the factory bumper closer to the body and allow for some adjustability. People should be able to set the gap between body and factory bumper
- Working on a few tweaks to help decrease production costs (re-working and moving some bends)
Last edited:
MarkamisPrime
New member
Bump
Just found this thread and wanted to chime in that I’d be very interested. Something that is more robust than stock and improves clearance without adding a ton of weight sounds perfect. If possible, I also like the idea of adding an option for a receiver mount for a removable winch.
rickashay
New member
Awesome! Thanks for commenting here in the thread. Please see our next revision photos below.
rickashay
New member
**UPDATE**
Sorry again for the delay. Like I said earlier, lot's going on but making progress nonetheless.
Just renders below before I prep the files for the fab shop. This is more complete than any previous version so a couple details to point out:
- Side rail gussets added to fully box in the bumper for strength; voids cut for weight savings
- Hitch receiver tube added with rear gussets
- Front skid plate redesigned to have multiple bends; an aesthetic choice from a design perspective to give more soft edges to help improve the real-world looks
- Most weldable areas are notched and puzzle together; this makes it easier than IKEA to build the plates on the truck and gives dedicated areas to lay welds (hopefully reducing average weld times and to help with product consistency in the real world - hard as a WIY product)
- Raised center section to be more even with recovery points
- Slotted various holes to help with fitment issues on trucks that are not straight on the frame ends or bodymount bushings
A couple notes:
- I found a way to cut production costs with less bends needed in key components, however I would have had to loose the tie-in to the front bodymounts. I feel that keeping this tie-in point will ensure there is less foreward flex of the bumper chassis during hard winching (and an impact) and therefore decided to go the way of more strength vs. cost reduction. Just something I wanted to point out as I spent a considerable amount of time working through this and even redesigned the whole bumper without the bodymount tie-ins - but in the end I think this is the right direction for the product.
Some current revision renders:
Untitled by Addison Rickaby, on Flickr
Untitled by Addison Rickaby, on Flickr
Front skid removed for hitch receiver and winch bolt access:
Untitled by Addison Rickaby, on Flickr
Rear side with gussets:
Untitled by Addison Rickaby, on Flickr
Sorry again for the delay. Like I said earlier, lot's going on but making progress nonetheless.
Just renders below before I prep the files for the fab shop. This is more complete than any previous version so a couple details to point out:
- Side rail gussets added to fully box in the bumper for strength; voids cut for weight savings
- Hitch receiver tube added with rear gussets
- Front skid plate redesigned to have multiple bends; an aesthetic choice from a design perspective to give more soft edges to help improve the real-world looks
- Most weldable areas are notched and puzzle together; this makes it easier than IKEA to build the plates on the truck and gives dedicated areas to lay welds (hopefully reducing average weld times and to help with product consistency in the real world - hard as a WIY product)
- Raised center section to be more even with recovery points
- Slotted various holes to help with fitment issues on trucks that are not straight on the frame ends or bodymount bushings
A couple notes:
- I found a way to cut production costs with less bends needed in key components, however I would have had to loose the tie-in to the front bodymounts. I feel that keeping this tie-in point will ensure there is less foreward flex of the bumper chassis during hard winching (and an impact) and therefore decided to go the way of more strength vs. cost reduction. Just something I wanted to point out as I spent a considerable amount of time working through this and even redesigned the whole bumper without the bodymount tie-ins - but in the end I think this is the right direction for the product.
Some current revision renders:
Untitled by Addison Rickaby, on Flickr
Untitled by Addison Rickaby, on FlickrFront skid removed for hitch receiver and winch bolt access:
Untitled by Addison Rickaby, on Flickr
Rear side with gussets:
Untitled by Addison Rickaby, on Flickr
rickashay
New member
Thanks for the feedback. It’s a tough call to make knowing I haven’t posted a price yet. And I know a LOT (not all, but a lot) of other bumper manufacturers do not tie into the body mounts here. I actually was watching a slow motion clip of another companies bumper that was literally flexing like 2” foreword under winch load. That may have been what pushed me over the edge to make it stronger at the cost of production cost. (We are trying to keep costs as low as we can for the end consumer as well)
AnotherDude
New member
Just stumbled across this and read through all 10 pages. I am absolutely onboard for this! The design is beautiful and simple. Looking forward to the progress and hopefully get in on the potential group buy when it's ready. Appreciate all the work and research you've done to bring these older trucks some new options
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