Rear Replacement Bumper

Shortly after I finished my headache rack, I wanted a rear replacement bumper. As I wanted the headache rack to be original, I wanted something original for the bumper as well. I also wanted it to match the turned square tubing style that I used previously. Also, in the event of a wreck, I want it to be the strongest thing on the road!

The entire bumper was made from reclaimed metal at my high school ag shop. Since it was so long ago, I only have this one picture. Hopefully my description will be accurate. I used a gasless mig welder and a plasma cutter for the welding and cutting. However I did have to use an acetylene torch for the quarter inch metal since the plasma cutter wasn't rated for such a heavy cut.

Some may think its crazy, but I actually built this bumper while it was on the truck! I decided to build it in this way because I wanted the bumper to fit tight and to be formed to the body design of my truck. To start the project, I first removed the stock bumper and fabricated some mounting brackets that matched the ones on the frame of my truck. Once the brackets were on, I welded two pieces of thick (1/4") plate to them so it would stick out behind the truck to support the bumper. At this point, I welded the large piece of square tubing onto that. This piece of square tubing is the bulk of the bumper (1/4"). This served as the frame to which I could build the rest of the bumper.

The next series of steps were around the license plate area. I cut the large square tubing in half so that I could weld a piece of sheet metal as a backing for the license plate. After I welded that in, then I cut the holes for the stock license plate lights and the bolts for the license plate. The lights and the license plate fit nicely. After that I welded the "U-shaped" area where the receiver hitch would go. This was pieced together at angles with thick metal plate (1/4"). Looking back I wish I would have used one solid piece and used the break-machine to bend the metal for a more professional look. Also, I feel like one solid piece is more stable while towing.

By now the bumper was actually starting to look like a bumper! The rest is basically "finishing" with diamond plate as all the structural things have been taken care of. On this part of the project, I was extra careful to protect the paint-job on the truck as most of the welding was just a few inches away from the body. For the wrap-around corners I cut diamond plate to fit (in several pieces of course) and bent it by heating. I welded on one piece at a time to make sure that each piece fit the area perfectly. When the corners were done I cut one solid piece of diamond plate for the top (where one would step). I bent the side that would go under the tailgate with a break-machine. When that was welded, I cut the bottom, triangle-shaped pieces and welded those on.

The bumper was finished with two coats of flat black primer, two coats of gloss black paint, and three coats of spray bed-liner. All in all, this project was relatively easy. If I ever do another bumper, I would only change the way the "structural" metal was designed. I feel like the one I made is not as strong as it could be (as far as towing goes).  Total cost of the bumper was about $100.  Again, mainly all scrap metal.

Just like the headache rack, the bumper was sold with the truck.