What thickness for a plate bumper

[T4Rscott]

Hi all,
I'm finally thinking of building a bumper. This is the 3rd time the paint has peeled off, and it would look cool too!
So, what thickness of plate should I use and where should it be used? Also if anyone has a set of plans they would like to share, I would greatly appreciate it!
Thanks in advance!
Scott

 

[BrandonF]

I've never built a bumper personally but I would go with 1/4" for the central supports and 3/16" for the rest of it. That's what my 4xinnovations rear bumper uses and its stout. My ARB front bumper is thinner (I think 1/8") and I'm not nearly as confident in it. It flexes a lot more than I'd like it to and I may even add some additional support to. it

 

[JayRolla]

3/16 just like he said, good and strong and also keeps some weight down.

 

[Myrunr2010]

Hi all,
I'm finally thinking of building a bumper. This is the 3rd time the paint has peeled off, and it would look cool too!
So, what thickness of plate should I use and where should it be used? Also if anyone has a set of plans they would like to share, I would greatly appreciate it!
Thanks in advance!
Scott

I would love to see some plans too if anyone has them. I've considered building some. My bumpers are starting to get a fair amount of rust on them and I can't justify the cost of buying an aftermarket one.

 

[MojaveMadMan]

I have very strong feelings about this subject, which I am sure seems trivial to some. The old school way of thinking is build it heavy so you can ram everything. But I really think that is a bad approach. You need to ask yourself what you expectation is of the bumper. Will you be deep in mud and snow and winching all the time. Going places where you will be taking rock and tree branch hits a lot? If so than thicker is better.

But if you want it for protection just in case. If you hit a deer at night on a mountain road. If you are in open places where you may only hit something if things are going wrong. Then you really should consider not going so thick.

The reason I say this is a front bumper will very quickly robe your 4runner of power, MPG, road manors and will require more expensive suspension. The 3/16" and 1/4" thick bumpers get extremely heavy. You can read on here from many threads people will put them on and notice a 3-4 mpg loss. You will lose power and see your truck down shifting a lot more. You will also see if you have any weaknesses in the cooling system because your 4runner will be working harder more ofter. I noticed a difference in how my 4runner handles on the road, it sways a lot more because of the weight. And you will need stiffer springs and higher performance shocks to take the weight, especially if you go thicker or add a winch.

This is just not a decision to take lightly. I armored my truck up pritty good and I tend to have a little remorse about it at times and I am working to lighten the load. There are some compromises you have to consider and they are important. Because of my front and rear bumpers with skids, I am having to re-install and modify my sway bar, lower my lift to gain some road manors and mpgs back. I decided to drop a tire size so that that I got power back too as I don't have a super charger. I also have a full setup of King shocks that will be going on to bring the suspension back up to par with all the additional weight.

Personally I love the ARB stuff and think 1/8" plate is more than enough for the desert and little bit of mountain stuff I do. I made my bumper in a way that I can hit stuff and it can take it without bending. I will never run or install a winch because I just doing go in the sloppy stuff and I am ok with having to rely on other methods of extraction.

Good luck with your build!

 

[MojaveMadMan]

Oh ya and forgot to mention. You should really think twice about DIY unless you are super picky and capable. I already owned a welder, plasma cutter, grinders, tube bender, all the tools to do the job. I probably spent $700 on material, sanding disks, hardware, paint, and 100's of hours of time on my bumpers. I should have purchased from a shop but I am stubborn and fabrication is my passion. Do not do it to save money! You won't and you will spend more time than you think if you want to do it right. I know [MENTION=44220]BigFishAllDay[/MENTION] and I have talked about this many time and I have seen this discussed with others. Not trying to discourage you, just want you to know what you are in for!

 

[T4Rscott]

How about doing a hybrid bumper? I have a tubing bender.

 

[MojaveMadMan]

How about doing a hybrid bumper? I have a tubing bender.

If you are good with tubing you will save a ton of time! No grinding or anything like that to do. Plus they are much lighter! If I did it again I would 100% go hybrid.

 

[D Farms]

geez 700, spent less than 300 and i have half of my steel plate left.

@majovemadman did you weigh yours yet? ive been trimming mine down and stuff

the main thing is to make it low profile so you dont have to hit stuff.

make the center strong and wings thin and add support to them with tubes.

 

[absalom]

A lot of words

I like the way you think.

geez 700, spent less than 300 and i have half of my steel plate left.

@majovemadman did you weigh yours yet? ive been trimming mine down and stuff

the main thing is to make it low profile so you dont have to hit stuff.

make the center strong and wings thin and add support to them with tubes.

Is my aluminum plate bumper in the mail yet? I just went outside and didn't see it waiting for me ... terrible customer service.

 

[IBallEngineer]

Oh ya and forgot to mention. You should really think twice about DIY unless you are super picky and capable. I already owned a welder, plasma cutter, grinders, tube bender, all the tools to do the job. I probably spent $700 on material, sanding disks, hardware, paint, and 100's of hours of time on my bumpers. I should have purchased from a shop but I am stubborn and fabrication is my passion. Do not do it to save money! You won't and you will spend more time than you think if you want to do it right. I know [MENTION=44220]BigFishAllDay[/MENTION] and I have talked about this many time and I have seen this discussed with others. Not trying to discourage you, just want you to know what you are in for!

Well I get knocked down all the time here by people claiming to only have 0.35 Cents in their material and the $2 spray can holds up to salt water and sand as good as anything. The truth is, and I've built bumpers for other people too, it's way cheaper to buy a production bumper.

That being said, I'd build one in a heart beat, just because I can and I enjoy it. But I have to draw the line on the .120 wall, it can make a quality bumper, but it is just not strong enough to hold up to anything more than light duty wheeling. Of course, .180 wall is 50% heavier, and that does add up. Although I don't think it requires an engine swap. If you do rocks, recovery, or foresee a winch in your future, go big. If not, you might be OK with the tissue paper, er I mean thinner stuff.

Design makes a big difference on how you can use the thinner plate, all those angles create strenght, formed though not welded. Like most things, everyone has an opinion and mine is just one more.

Good luck!

:lalala:

 

[snivilous]

If you include time, sure building it yourself is way more expensive. Not sure on how you guys are getting the $700 price mark, as D Farms said I have a few hundred into mine but nowhere near $700. The bumpers were one of the first things I ever made, and definitely not up to par or strength of off the shelf bumpers but I still can't imagine spending $700 in materials and residual costs...

 

[Bandit Runner]

I'm just going to leave this here:

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/sale-t4r-items/184735-build-your-own-bandit-bumper.html

Note that I have a backlog of bumpers to design for customers, so it would be at least a month before I can start any new designs.

 

[7echo]

I'm just going to leave this here:

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/sale-t4r-items/184735-build-your-own-bandit-bumper.html

Note that I have a backlog of bumpers to design for customers, so it would be at least a month before I can start any new designs.

But you have the standard plans available, correct?

What file do you provide?

 

[Myrunr2010]

I'm just going to leave this here:

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/sale-t4r-items/184735-build-your-own-bandit-bumper.html

Note that I have a backlog of bumpers to design for customers, so it would be at least a month before I can start any new designs.

Sheesh! You're charging almost half of what d farms spent on his whole bumper just for plans!

 

[SlickmisterN]

This is just my experience as a certified welder, but I'd definately say it's easier to just "wing it" as a first timer and do your own fab. versus haveing to follow an exact blue print and worry about precise cuts and fit-up of an engineered bumper.

 

[IBallEngineer]

If you include time, sure building it yourself is way more expensive. Not sure on how you guys are getting the $700 price mark, as D Farms said I have a few hundred into mine but nowhere near $700. The bumpers were one of the first things I ever made, and definitely not up to par or strength of off the shelf bumpers but I still can't imagine spending $700 in materials and residual costs...

I've had this conversation before, and I'll use an admittedly overkill example of my LandCrusher. On the front bumper, not including hardware.

One piece of 1/4" plate 26" by 70" bent over for the top at 90, bent at 6" down the face at 45, then 4" off that at another 45 to form the bottom.

$275

Two vertical bar supports, 3/8" by 8 by 20"

$60

1-5/8" Tubing, 10' section about $25

3/8" flat plate for winch mount $35 or so.

(2) 3/4" by 3" flat bar, $50

3/16" 8" x 8" plate, $20

(10) 3" 1/32" cutoff wheels 3M Brand $70

4" angle grinder flap disc and stones $25

Drill bit for 7/8" shackles $47

Powder coat (10 Years ago) $150

That puts me over $550 before any hardware. Tire carriers tend to be worse on hardware, and buying one won't get you shackles either. But I really didn't include all the little shop items that get used up either. And I wanted a one piece bumper so I paid a premium for the main section. I wouldn't do the same thing on a 3rd gen... but then again.

:whipping2

 

[snivilous]

I've had this conversation before, and I'll use an admittedly overkill example of my LandCrusher. On the front bumper, not including hardware.

Yea I can understand that, hell the majority of your bumper is 1/4" thick which is huge and likewise is the cost. I still question the $700 mark, even with mounting hardware I don't see that costing that much unless you are using literally dozens of 1" diameter grade 8 bolts that are like 6" long.

 

[IBallEngineer]

Yea I can understand that, hell the majority of your bumper is 1/4" thick which is huge and likewise is the cost. I still question the $700 mark, even with mounting hardware I don't see that costing that much unless you are using literally dozens of 1" diameter grade 8 bolts that are like 6" long.

4 7/16" Grade 8 Bolts about 1-1/2" Long with crimp locks
8 12MM 8.8 bolts and nuts by 30MM

I have no idea what that cost me, but that stuff adds up too. Much of what I used to build I'd mock up with grade 5 non locking stuff while I'm welding, then just throw that away and use all new good stuff, washers and everything for the final build.

I never charged less than $1500 for a bumper I built. That was mostly jeep stuff. But I built an awesome set up for a 1st gen, probably 8 years ago. Fun stuff!

:ballchain:

 

[T4Rscott]

I think, since it's a daily driver and I travel 75 miles to work and back, so 150 miles a week, I'm going to replace it with an OEM. This way I don't end with regret.
Anyone know where I can get a black front OEM without the flare holes reasonably priced?