Front Bumper build, Rock lights, Winch Mount & Pics

[Chief Gunner]

I gotta say, that looks nice. I remember seeing it mid construction and I knew you were on to something hot. Minus wench and lights, what is the ballpark cost to build a bumper like that? Curious minds wanna know. Great job, makes me proud to know you. Thoughs of you living in the SOCAL area should stop by and see MT's shop. He has some very cool projects lined up. I always enjoy seeing what he is up too.

[TINMAN93]

Bump Bump

Very nice.

Well designed, fabbed, finished and thought out.

And the lights are very cool!

Tinman

[billyrb]

that's a really nice bumper. Although I like them a bit taller, I think that is one heck of a nice design and a well executed build

[Metal Twister]

Wow, thanks guys... I was expecting to be taken to the wood shed because it was different.

Chief, to be honest it took alot longer to build than even I thought it would. Even though the first one or the proto type always takes longer to build. By the time all the slice and dice work was done, all the welding, all the grinding, cleaning, filling of pin holes, re welding and grinding. I had well over 3 days into it. Mind you, I never could just work on it straight for 3 days. My shop rate is $60.00 per hour x 3 days $1440.00. Before Powder coat and installation. I did do some mods to the front body to make it set up tight but was done quickly with the plasma cutter. Im sure if I was mass producing them I could get the cost down a bit. Guessing around $1100.00 or so. But as you know everything we build except our Suspension Seats, Hot Rod seats and Baja Clamps are one off customs. Time is Money... It has given me a new appreciation for the cost of the ARB bumpers.

[billyrb]

That is exactly why most folks don't understand bumper pricing. Unless you are dealing with a TJ / wrangler style that has several hundred thousand produced on a stamping machine, it's darn hard to get a good bumper for a low price. Custom bumpers take time & materials, both of which cost money. The better the builder, the more it costs.

[Metal Twister]

Very true... Labor cost is really a big deal... I could have this punched out in china for about $200.00 finished and delv'ed in a nice box, Turn around and charge $500.00. But then you have the same thing as everyone else. A cheap ARSS bumper built in some sweat shop with all the quality corners cut, and you still have to modify it to get it on your rig. I do understand the temptation to buy cheap specially for a toy, But the fact is, a well built, functonal USA bumper has to pay for the designing of it, materials in it, skilled labor to put it together, the gas electricity and wire to build it, Its share of the rent to build it in, the powder coating to make it apealing, the box and packaging to ship it in.

I couldnt, and wouldnt pay my guys $5.00 a day for all the work involved in building this thing. It bothered me to put the chinese knockoff winch on the rig... but it was a gift and I needed to use it. I digress here... The soap box has been removed. Thanks again guys for the props on the bumper. Feel free to build yours like it if you would like and appreciate what you have invested in it. Remember Change is Opportunity, EXCEPT IN POLITICS!. LOL

[billyrb]

ha....they all talked about change....they never said it would be NEGATIVE change

[Artisan]

ACAD Bumper Production

I think the above as Metal Twister has built is very cool as I stated, I am kinda w/ Ryan though I would like to see a lil more meat to mine. In hind sight I am sure changes would be made if it were done again. Any bumper
takes a good long time to design and build a one off. MT took 3 full days from scratch designing from scratch and raw metal tube.

I do believe this could be built from nothing but flat plate and not tube. I bet if a guy wanted to do production or sell in kit form it would prob be mandatory, shipping in a small box saves if it were shipped in kit form. If flat plate is feasable then each and every surface can be designated a dimentional value and cut w/ a water jet (or) very quickly, then all parts could welded up cutting "some" costs. Your still gonna have a $600 or so final selling price (lights, wiring etc NIC) , OR, sell the pieces and let the guys weld it up themselves...

I have not opened my AutoCAD program for 6 months. I plan on drawing my own bumpers eventually and having the pieces cut. I thought I would very quickly refresh myself (dims are guessed) my drawing skills w/ a similar design to this one. I am a CAD novice and I drew this in about 45 minutes.

Just draw up all "parts" and send it out to 30-40 water jet companies at mfg.com for bid to see who wants to loose the most money , give tolerances and specs to adhere to and viola! Start Weldin'!

[brubakes]

Looks amazing! I love it.

[Metal Twister]

Just that fast... It took me a few days just to decide if I liked the concept. Heck you guys have it drawn and at the water jet table in less than 24 hours. Im doing something wrong! Actually I dont want to be in the bumper business. Keep us posted on your progress. And just an FYI. The Winch plate is cut to the same angle as the back side of the bumper and welded to the back surface of the bumper as well. Lot more structural strength, at least that is what Solid works tells me?

[Artisan]

Too funny!

NOPE, I will not be taking ANY orders bro...that is your business. Just flappin' my jaws is all.......... I am GLAD I opened up AutoCAD though, I am getting rusty...

PS, I think the valance angle is 7 degrees . I checked it w/ a digital angle finder, one of those jobs that is like 30" long and pivots in the middle. I want to get 2 long pieces of "something" and check it again for a good overall measurement. 7 will be dam close though...

Just that fast... It took me a few days just to decide if I liked the concept. Heck you guys have it drawn and at the water jet table in less than 24 hours. Im doing something wrong! Actually I dont want to be in the bumper business. Keep us posted on your progress. And just an FYI. The Winch plate is cut to the same angle as the back side of the bumper and welded to the back surface of the bumper as well. Lot more structural strength, at least that is what Solid works tells me?

[billyrb]

that's basically our Cliffhanger bumper series with a few minor differences

[Metal Twister]

Thats the trick... try building it so its not like everone elses. Its hard to do, be different anyone can copy. Id buy a cliffhanger!

[Artisan]

MT did you draw that in Solidworks? ...and yes, the winch plate should go clear thru the tube and weld up to the rear. The lower part of my drawing was a top view. And a REAL QUICK drawing at that! I hope no one uses that drawing, I clearly wrote the dims were guessed....

[Metal Twister]

No problem at all. If it was something that I was going to produce in quantity it would be available in quantities to the public before I ever would post up a thread on how to build it. And I did give written permission to use it in any way you want here. Even though I think this is a good example of how quickly a idea can be replicated and reproduced by just about anyone these days. I have had a company go into the local offroad shop and buy my products off the shelf, With in a month they were approached with a Chinese knock off at 1/2 the price. Thats when I really realized the value of design. As Mentioned earlier everything I do is a one off Product and that is the reason why. I hate knock offs! And yes I use Solid works but those are my personal files and they stay in the puter. I also use the Bendtech Pro version which works very well for the tube work.