Bullnose at the grocer, i like the bumper

[Gary Lewis]

The first one looks like a homemade copy of the Warn. It looks professionally-chromed, but its contours don't look as smooth as they should be.

That "Road Warrior" bumper looks tough, but without SUBSTANTIAL gussetting back to the frame (which it doesn't have), it's actually weaker than a smaller bumper would be, because it puts more weight & leverage on its mounting points. That's a problem I've noticed with many large bumpers, and especially bulky grill guards - they wobble going down the road, so they CAN'T actually protect the truck. Many would actually do MORE damage to the truck than the typical off-road impact would if the guard wasn't there.

I've said it before, but I'll say it again: using metal more than 2x the thickness of the frame is a waste of money & metal. 1" is horrible overkill (at ~7x frame thickness). Lay an 8" C-channel against the outer face of each front frame horn, and attach it by the factory frame holes with big bolts. Then build onto the channels.

https://supermotors.net/getfile/292105/thumbnail/bumperfisorr.jpg

I don't know if Ben has the ability to replicate the smooth curve on the outer end of the bumper...

For my rear bumper, I cut the top & bottom curves carefully, then had a welder use a torch with a fan tip to bend the face around the end, and weld the seams up. For the new front bumper, I had a fabrication shop roll a scrap of 1/4" plate into the diameter I needed, and then I cut out the sections I needed for the bumper ends.

https://supermotors.net/getfile/991298/thumbnail/9315cnrs1.jpg

...to secure a hook pointing out of the bow.

I hope you're kidding... That's a really-bad design because it can attach your truck to things it bumps into (including people just walking by). Shackles are much-safer (in every way), and more useful. They can be removed without tools for use elsewhere, and there are more safe ways to attach things to them with more strength than a comparably-sized hook has. And things won't drop off of shackles like they can (& often DO) from hooks.

These shackles are overkill, but I had them, and they're relatively smooth if I need to push a car, or if a pedestrian bumps into them, and they fit over a common 2" square tube.

https://supermotors.net/getfile/956163/thumbnail/drawbars.jpg

Steve - I fully agree on the probable body damage that many grille guards would inflict. My daughter, SiL, and grandkids normally live in Nicaragua, although they are living with us at the moment due to the political unrest down there. Anyway, we've been down several times and I noticed that many/most of the pickups down there have grille guards, as did my SiL's truck. But as we drove over the rough roads you could see that thing wobble all over the place and I told him that if it was that flexible or poorly mounted it wouldn't help and might even hurt things in the case of an accident. Next trip down the guard was gone on his truck. He'd looked at the flimsy way it was mounted and had realized I was right.

It would take a massive amount of bracing to make guards that go well above bumper height stable. There's just nothing up there to brace to that is substantial enough to do the job. And the two close-together bolts they typically use at the bumper mounting points can't do the job against the amount of leverage that the guards have if something hits them towards the top

On contouring a bumper, I might use the idea of rolling the plate and then using sections if they can't neatly bend it otherwise. I'm seriously considering doing in the front something similar to what I'm doing in the rear, meaning using 1" thick tow eyes as the bumper mounts. But I may want them to make a whole new bumper and not cut up the Warn. We shall see.