I am working on building a custom bumper for my truck. Here are a few drawings i did on my work computer in the CAD system (Autodesk Inventor). After i get the entire thing built, i will be more than willing to share technical drawings and or even modify it for anyone who would like something different.

This is the frame and mount for the front 2" reciever. (this can possibly be converted to have a winch instead of or included to the 2" reciever)

The orange parts are the truck frame.


I just need to find a better way to reinforce the frame. The impact tubes have a piece of 1/16 steel on the end that all of this will bolt to. I am not too interested in welding on the frame, but i dont think that i will have too much of an option here in a bit, but ill figure that out later.

Here is the pic with all of the plating on it, or as of earlier today. It will be made out of 1/8" diamond tread deck plating. Like i said, i have a little bit more tweaking to do to this, and probably most of that will be done when i offically build the thing. (the Blue construction plane wont be included)


I will probably end up using weld on trailer D-rings for tow hooks, but i got two of these: http://www.etrailer.com/Ball-Mounts/...n/EM59503.html I just cant figure out how to put them on there. The two 4" holes are for the factory fog lights, and i might have those holes covered with expanded metal to protect the lights.

I still have to figure out how to mount a brush guard to this thing, which should be easy. I aint sure what else i will need to do, but if yall have any suggestions or Ideas, please share.

 

Awesome!

Only thing I have to add at the moment is a link to dodgetrucker75's thread which includes pix of his hinged brush guard: https://dodgeforum.com/forum/3rd-gen...s-of-pics.html

 

I think it will look good. One question though, do you think 1/8" will be thick enough for protection?

 

Ok, you got me curious.

I started by googling: 1/8" diamond tread deck plating strength

That wasn't giving me anything useful, except finding out I can order it anodized in blue, so if I did this the plating would already match my truck.

So I my search evolved to: 1/8" plating ballistics

Where I found bulldogdirect.com/armor-panels (Click on the Steel Armor plate tab) who use 1/8" to stop 9mm,.357,& .44 magnum Handguns and lesser threats. So I suppose the question becomes, protection from what & then, is the deck plating nearly as tough as the stuff sold for armored car service? Or maybe there isn't much price difference? Though I'd expect the armored panels have a special "seasoning" process that makes them tougher while also raising the price.

Certainly adding the ability to stop a .357 round is a vast improvement over stock. However I don't know how to calculate & compare .357 impact ballistics v.s. a ~55MPH impact with a Deer/Coyote/Bigfoot//...

 

The difference between 1/8 inch and 3/16 is only about .0625 of an inch. it will how ever be much more significant than the .060 sheet metal and plastic that our current bumpers are made of.

LOL

I am only gonna be using mild steel. It was intended for decking on things like stairs, trailer beds and so forth. I aint intendin to go to war with this truck, but, if yall want to help me up-armor my truck, ill take donations.

I can show ya what a deer does to a dakota at 65 mph at 6:45 in the morning. I dont think that any ammount of metal under 3/8 will do much to keep your truck safe.

Btw, a .357 mag has arround 400 to 800 ft/lbs of energy at the muzzle, and between 60 and 200 grains (1 pound= 7000 grains). Our trucks weigh what, 4000 pounds or so? and a average live weight of a deer is arround 150 to 200 pounds. I hope that some engineer on here can hook us up with an equation for this. (now im gonna hunt that equation down)

 

Haha, as long as your not planning to purposely hit stuff then you should be fine

 

And the only reason im goin with 1/8 diamond tread plating is cause A co-worker of mine has a plate of it big enough for me to get what i need out of, and i wont have to order a 10'x5' sheet of it, and have a *** ton left over.

 

I say do it with the thinner metal also. Keeps the weight down and its still way stronger than our current very thin plastic bumpers. Even the rear chromed steel bumper on any truck these days crushes like a tin can.

 

looks good but do you only plan on mounting the bumper via the reciever weld? seems like some reinforcement is in order? would this be a 2piece system?


will you be releasing the cad files? can they be imported in google sketchup?

i wonder if we could just use the receiver part and have it poke through the stock dak bumper (obviously removing the factory sub-bumper)

 

Yes ill be releasing the cad files once i get everything figured out on how it will all work, and when it all works, and i will provide .dwg format files. IF you need it in a different format, please contact me, and ill see what i can do.

I am on my 5th or 6th revision of my bumper in cad drawings, cause i keep figuring out how to draw it better, and keep having better ideas every other day, or as i make each part, i test fit it, and might have to rework that perticular part. For example, the first drawing i have of the reciever mount plates I had to slot the bottom holes so that it could fit. (dam metrics (or more precisly dam inches)) As soon as i get the frame reinforcement brackets made, ill create drawings of the frame and post them. Hopefully that will be in the next couple of weeks, but as things are goin, it could be a bit after the 1st of january.

I dont know how you could use the stock bumper, but ill let you figure that one out. probably you could cut off the stock mount tabs and make your own mounting tabs, cut a hole through the steel and plastic and stick the reciever through that. IF you want the tow tabs, you might be SOL, but i havent thought that far ahead, cause im throwin that part away.

This project has taken a bit of a back burner to other things goin on in my life. This is the most busy season of the year. Its been crazy.