Been building a bumper for the trooper this weekend. Last thing I've been working on is a hoop for it. Can't decide if I like the hoop. What do you guys think?
Can't help you with your hoop question, not a big fan of hoops. But the bumper is NICE! May have to copy it, if you don't mind. Were you planning on making drawings or plans available?
I could see about drawing up plans. I just bought a piece of 3"x6" box tube and marked it up and started cutting, welding, and grinding. I was really happy with it until I put the hoop on it. I don't have a pipe bender so I miter cut the square tube with a portable band saw the best I could. I'm not sure if I'd like the hoop with round tube either though. Thanks for the opinions, and the compliments! That was a ton of work. First thing I've ever fabbed up other than an occasional bracket! Think I'll end up chopping the hoop off. It just has a few tack welds holding it in place now.
OK, I see know. Did you relief cut it on the backside just outboard of the frame rails and pulled the ends back a little, then tapered them up to the outside? Pretty simple, if that's how you did it. At first glance I thought you'd welded together a bunch flat plates. Again, nice!
Yeah just a bunch of relief cuts to bend it to the shape I wanted and keep the original rounded edges. I should have taken more pictures but I'm not one for stopping before/after each step. Here's what I got for pictures of the process.
I also trimmed the front fenders a bit. They hung down below the bumper.
Sorry the pictures are out of order. Still trying to get that figured out.
Here's some more pictures of the bumper build. Think I'm going to throw a harbor freight winch on it this weekend. I'll probably finish it up with black raptor liner.
Picked up a Badlands 9000lb winch from Harbor Freight today. I thought I was going to mount it on top of the bumper but decided it wouldn't look so great that way. Anyways, I pulled the bumper and took some measurements and went after it again with the angle grinder and welder. Here's what I came up with.
It was a whole bunch more work, but I think it turned out good! Still need to mount the controller on the winch and get it fitted up and fully assembled.
Instead of saying "I" , I should be saying we. Myself and a friend of mine have been dreaming this up and working our butts off on it. It has been a good time though!
I purchased a kit off of Amazon that came with a "free" gun to spray it with. It can be applied with a roller too. I think you'd get a much smoother texture with a roller but I decided to spray to cover up some imperfections. It really did a great job at that.
I don't have a side shot of the rear bumper right now. I'm out of town for Thanksgiving. I'll put up side shots of both bumpers. I had to move the front bumper out a bit more to make room for the winch.
It was a fun project! I will be using Raptor Liner on the whole exterior and the floor.
Roller texture smoother than sprayed? I'd think it would be the other way 'round. Just went back and looked at your close-up pic. I guess the material sorta dries before it hits the surface and doesn't flow? Got a link to the kit you purchased?
Awesome job there, it looks beautiful! I wish I had a shop. I am looking for a winch bumper with the headlight guards (don't like the hoops) and can't find them for less than $1000.00
While I can appreciate the larger, more prominent-style bumpers, I've always been really drawn to the more minimalist-style like this. They look absolutely incredible, I hope you're proud of your work!
Are you ditching the Zuzu logo from the grill? I just ask because I am looking for one Lol
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
Isuzu SUV Forum
895.9K posts
38.2K members
Since 2003
A forum community dedicated to Isuzu SUV owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about performance, modifications, classifieds, troubleshooting, maintenance, and more!