XJ Rear Bumper & Fuel Tank Skid Build
 

After hitting my fuel tank on a rock and having to replace it I decided it would be a good time to build a skid for it. I was building the nutstrips to mount the skid to when I figured what the heck, might as well build a bumper while i'm at it. Sorry there is'nt as many pics as I had hoped.
Started out by fabbing up some Frame tie ins. Made sure those fit nicely and began to cut for the bumper. Started out with a pc of 11ga brake formed in 4 spots to get my main profile for the bumper. Waterjet cut 1" steel shackle mts to weld to the frame inserts. Then cut rectangular holes in the bumper to allow the 1" plate to protrude through.

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Got everything tacked together, did some trimming, and moved on to the sides.

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Then put the receiver tube in

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Did a little welding and a little grinding

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Confirmed nothing got warped during cleanup

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And then began working on the bracing

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Some finishing touches and hit with 240 then 320

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READY FOR SOME PAINT!

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On to the skid! Used 11ga steel again brake formed and welded on the sides with integrated mounts.

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Test fit before paint

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You can have any color you want as long as it's black

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Finished product, I really like the way everything turned out! Fits great, nice and tight, sleek look. Works for me!

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Both came out awesome!!!

Thanks batman! I just picked up a winch so I plan on doing a similar style bumper for the front soon

looks good.
What welder you running?
Also, those bumper brackets,, do they slide into the OEM uni-frame? did you cut openings in the rear panel to open up the uni-frame?


Slack

wow... beautiful, clean welds and precise machinework.

Nice job man.

Also, was your planning free form and cardboard or CAD?
If CAD, what package?


Slack

Awesome. Complete awesome way to show off those fab skills. Wish I had access to some of your equipment lol.

So i'll send you $150 and my address if you build me a gas tank skid plate lol. Looks great man!

Im just running a hobart 190 for pretty much everything except the 1" shackle mts that welds to the In-Frame brackets, used a lincoln 256 for those

Yes the bracketry slides into the frame. The fuel tank skid and the brackets sandwich the frame, also utilized the stock bumper mounting point on the rear plate.

I used 2d cad to replicate the body line profile and cut bend templates. A lot of it was cardboard templates though, not the best at solidworks yet haha. I use a software that is integrated into my waterjet console (FlowPath). Very similar to mastercam

That is truly some impressive skills there. I am a retired welder and even in my day, that would have still impressed me. Now there will be those wanting you to build them one and expect it to be $300. lol Superb workmanship my friend.

Happy Jeepin'
Texas Taz

That is excellent work! Have you considered marketing that? Could you build and market those yourself now that you know what is involved in the whole process or would it be too time and cost prohibitive to be able to market them at a reasonable price, not to mention shipping? Definitely more than $300 worth of work. The question is could you sell make and sell them for under $1000?

Thanks Guys! I didn't really consider marketing it because the price range for these bumpers is just too hard to beat, and without having it powder coated it would be hard to sell when the competition's product can sell for less and have it coated.

You make it look so easy

My Son and I used Flowpath at Tech Shop before they closed.
Flowpath was funny about importing drawings,, they encouraged us to do our drawings natively in Flowpath,, problem was Flowpath was not available for home use,, And I do my best design in my slippers and robe.


Slack