kelly4

Haha yeah I know most of them are like that, just another reason to build it for my own needs. I think this system works best for what I want

94XjSport94

As long as you are happy with it that is what counts. Keep it up. I bought the tire lug plate thing from A to Z fab when i built my carrier.

s14unimog

Hold the phone - NO WAY?!?! It must be the only way then!

94XjSport94

No, it just makes sense. Call me crazy.

kennethboyd

At first I thought the same thing but if you read earlier he explains the reason and it makes sense. Let's say you're on the side of the interstate and need to open the hatch. If he hinge is on the right you have no worries, if it's on the left you've got to be careful not to swing your tire into the road else you could die.

kelly4

My bumper, my way. Nuff said 😬

kennethboyd

Haha wasn't trying to say you were wrong. Just saying 94xj makes a good point. As long as you are careful about where you open it I think it's perfectly fine. And I do agree I would rather have the tire on the left to avoid the blind spot.

Cherokeerunner

Great job on the bumper one question how are you going to attach the d ring points I like the tire on the left and the hing idea is great think I'll make mine that way also

kelly4

Yeah, I totally see the benefits to each way. I guess the best way would probably be a longer arm that puts the tire on the left but swings from the right. Oh well, I'm happy with how mine is and don't have enough motivation to make changes lol

Thanks! Right now I'm planning on welding the d-rings onto the the lower face of the bumper, and they will also tie into the tubes from the unibody mounts. Kind of hard to explain, but I'm hoping to get those on this week now that I'm back home.

Marks2000XJ

Alright, your crazy !

kelly4

I finished up everything on the bumper over the weekend and got it back from powder coat this morning. I'm really happy with how everything turned out.







I decided to only add one D ring, because there wasn't much room on the tire carrier side and I didn't like the idea of mounting it on the backside of the bumper.


I bought a Destaco 2000lb latch to secure everything down. It also has a safety catch so that it can't come undone accidentally. That being said, I still added a quick release pin for extra security. I may decide to only use the pin on long trips or when off roading, but for now I like it.


Here's the heim joint assembly. It was a little tricky to get everything lined up in there, but it works well.


I also had to relocate the license plate, so I picked up a lighted license plate frame and plastidipped it black.



Overall, I'm really happy with how it turned out. This was my third major fabrication project and I definitely get better every time. It was, however, I much bigger job than I had anticipated. That being said, it still beats buying an expensive pre fabbed bumper when this one is exactly how I want it to be

JerrytheJeep

You're going to catch that handle on everything.

kelly4

It actually sits only an inch lower than the stock bumper so it will be fine.

TigerXJ

My old bumper was hinged on the driver and I never had an issue with it on the road or trail. I have a rigid now, and really wish it hinged the other way. Let's you have a shorter swing arm with less stress on the hinge because the tire gets to be close to the hinge. Honestly a better setup, but their all built with that concern for traffic that is pretty much a non-issue

kelly4

I totally agree.
I had my jeep up on the sand dunes this weekend and it performed great. Never once worried about the bumper being unstable and I had some pretty hard landings too.