"MRA" Offroad bumper build
Great job man. Exactly what I want for mine. Did you use just a regular "arc" welder or a 220v wire welder? With the money saved making it yourself (or myself), you could spend it on powder coating it to match the body color. Kinda like Boostworks.com's build over on another forum. Looking REALLY good bro.
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Joined: Feb 2011
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From: Georgia
Year: 2004
Model: Grand Cherokee (WJ)
Engine: 4.0 Inline 6
Thanks for all the compliments. To answer the questions above, I think by the time it was all said and done, I maybe had $150 total in the bumper. That was the steel, welding wire, 4.5" cut off wheels (used about 15), primer, paint, and bolts to install bumper with.
I used a 240 volt, 170 amp flux core wire welder with .35 wire. The steel is a 1/4" thick and my welder had no problem welding it.
I used a 240 volt, 170 amp flux core wire welder with .35 wire. The steel is a 1/4" thick and my welder had no problem welding it.
That is a very nice job. You see them for any where between 3 to 8 hundred dollars. That's why I had to do mine too. I did mine several years ago when my XJ was a 92. Now I have a 98 and it fits nicely. Just made the back bumper on Father's Day with my dad. Not quite done yet. Here's the pics.
Total cost for all materials was around 100 bucks. All steel was a quarter inch or better. Had enough material for two bumpers.
Sorry for the double post.
Total cost for all materials was around 100 bucks. All steel was a quarter inch or better. Had enough material for two bumpers.
Sorry for the double post.
Last edited by Wavapps; Jun 19, 2013 at 11:16 AM.
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Joined: Dec 2012
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From: San Diego
Year: 1990
Model: Cherokee
Engine: 4.0l
Nice job with your bumper! I hate paying for labor so I do whatever I can myself, for those of you reading h through this and planning your own build, you can get .045" thick cutoff wheels for your 4" and 4.5" grinders. They don't last as long as the thicker ones but cut way faster. If you are worried about crooked cut line with the torch, pick up a 3' ish long piece of 1 1/2" angle. Use it as a straight edge, stand the leg closest to the cut line up, the lip where the torch tip meets the nut that holds it on should rest on the top of the angle iron, which keeps your standoff good and your cut straight!! Good luck, now go burn something and post your pics!!
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CF Veteran
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 1,048
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From: Georgia
Year: 2004
Model: Grand Cherokee (WJ)
Engine: 4.0 Inline 6
Dredging up an old thread here. Looking for ideas on how to mount a winch plate on the front of my bumper. Not sure if I want to permanently weld something on or weld together a bolt on winch plate.
Trying to keep it as light weight as possible. Ideas please.
Trying to keep it as light weight as possible. Ideas please.
CF Veteran
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 1,994
Likes: 8
From: San Jose
Year: 89
Model: Cherokee
Engine: 4.0 I6
Onto a stock bumper? You'll need to heavily reinforce the winch plate to the frame rails. You should be able to find such plates online, I think JCR and Detour's sell em but I cant recall. Cut some slits in the bumper so those go through, then weld your plate to those so its secure, please make sure it is extremely secure to those plates, it would be very unfortunate for that plate to come off in a pull.
Thread Starter
CF Veteran
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 1,048
Likes: 0
From: Georgia
Year: 2004
Model: Grand Cherokee (WJ)
Engine: 4.0 Inline 6
Onto a stock bumper? You'll need to heavily reinforce the winch plate to the frame rails. You should be able to find such plates online, I think JCR and Detour's sell em but I cant recall. Cut some slits in the bumper so those go through, then weld your plate to those so its secure, please make sure it is extremely secure to those plates, it would be very unfortunate for that plate to come off in a pull.
Looking to modify it for a winch plate, so I was wanting some ideas how to go about modifying an already custom built bumper...
CF Veteran
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 1,994
Likes: 8
From: San Jose
Year: 89
Model: Cherokee
Engine: 4.0 I6
I am not trying to be smart with you or anything but you do realize this is a thread I made when building the bumper shown in this thread...
Looking to modify it for a winch plate, so I was wanting some ideas how to go about modifying an already custom built bumper...
If you're in the gutting mood, you could recess it into the front crossmember. You'll have to do something about your gussets though.
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CF Veteran
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 1,048
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From: Georgia
Year: 2004
Model: Grand Cherokee (WJ)
Engine: 4.0 Inline 6
Whoops, didnt realize you were the op. Id say your best bet would be a hitch reciever mounted in the bumper, then a carriage to hold the winch. Anything else and you'll have to gut the whole thing to get enough space for it.
If you're in the gutting mood, you could recess it into the front crossmember. You'll have to do something about your gussets though.
If you're in the gutting mood, you could recess it into the front crossmember. You'll have to do something about your gussets though.
Plus it would not take long to cut out a square hole and weld in a piece of square steel.
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Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 1,994
Likes: 8
From: San Jose
Year: 89
Model: Cherokee
Engine: 4.0 I6
You can go out and buy reciever tube specifically made for hitches. Just make sure you can put the pin in it


