Homemade bumper guards?
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Elder User
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 883
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From: La Crosse, Kansas
Homemade bumper guards?
I'm working on making a buck-killer bumper replacement grille guard for my '98 Scab and was wondering if any of you guys have made your own bumpers? What did you use? Living in central kansas our deer out here get pretty large. In the past couple years between my previous '99 SD and my daily driver '98 F150, i've hit 5 deer. I've finally decided that i've had it with dropping $500 deductibles everytime i hit a deer. So after nabbing me a 8 point buck with my '98, I've decided to put my fabbing skills to work making my own bumper. It will be ranch hand style, but i couldn't talk the wife into dropping another grand on what she thinks is a p.o.s. truck (yes i married a princess lol). So, my only alternative is building my own. I've built the bumper out of 3" black pipe (3.5" OD heavy wall tubing). I used 3/8"X7" strap for the uprights and the grille guard tubing is 2"OD x.120 wall thickness. I used 1/8 tread plate for the bumper skirts. I will be posting pics of the deer damage; pretty minimal, broke the top pad, tweaked the bumper, broke out my fog lights, and broke the grille shell in half but no sheetmetal or radiator/coolers damage. I will also post pics of my handmade bumper after it gets back from the powder-coating. So, i'd like anyone who has a homemade bumper to post your pics!
Post Fiend
Joined: Feb 2000
Posts: 11,496
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From: Kansas
Hitting a deer at 60/70 mph and never lifting the throttle is possible. The only penalty is the heavy weight you have on the nose of your truck. Don't get me wrong, I believe in grille guards and think they are worth every penny. They work very well for guys like you (and me) but the frame they are attached to has be be able to handle the loads and that's why the heavy ones are attached to heavy duty trucks. Be sure to check and see how much your guard makes the front end sag and that the attachment points are solid.
Looking forward to seeing your pictures!
Looking forward to seeing your pictures!
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Elder User
Joined: Jun 2004
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From: La Crosse, Kansas
a guy that works for me has a '03 Scab 2wd with a ranch hand brand bumper replacement on his and they run a 3/8" by 3" strap for reinforcement on both sides of the frame to effectively eliminate the crush zone so it holds during any reasonable impact like that of a deer or large animal. I've see the ranch hand after a wreck and it doesn't fair all that well but does prevent alot of sheetmetal damage. I built a crush zone of sorts into my bumper guard using 1/4 plate for the brackets, if something gives it will be these brackets which i can replace if need be.
Elder User
Joined: May 2003
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From: Garland Tx
If I can find the cash I'm going to make a back bumper for my '00 F150. Its going to be a basic ranch hand style like you described, somewhere around 3-3 1/2" pipe dropped reciever hitch etc. A friend of mine gave me a good idea, If you're a good welder and can weld airtight seams, attach an air hose connection to the pipe and fill it up and you have a mobile air tank with you wherever you go in case you have a low tire while your out.
Postmaster
Joined: May 2002
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From: Broken Arrow, OK
Originally Posted by Ford51
A friend of mine gave me a good idea, If you're a good welder and can weld airtight seams, attach an air hose connection to the pipe and fill it up and you have a mobile air tank with you wherever you go in case you have a low tire while your out.
FWIW, in building things over the years I have discovered that it usually costs me the same to build something as it would cost just to buy it, especially if you have to buy raw materials. I've never attempted a truck bumper, but building something like a snow blade for a tractor is cheaper just to buy.
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Elder User
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 883
Likes: 2
From: La Crosse, Kansas
sorry y'all to take so long to reply, i've been busy with holiday b.s. now that things have somewhat settled down, the wife lets me sit around on the computer and watch tv again lol. i would have to agree with silver streak, though my welding has been proven to be air-tight, i will not be attaching a bomb to the front of my truck lol! And scottspoerry, i know where you're coming from having to buy raw materials and whatnot, but i work at an oilfield machine shop, so i have the privilige of having dibs on anything metal or welding related that i need. Plus the workmanship that goes into building something is worth so much more than shelling over a bunch of money to just have one bolted to my truck!
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Elder User
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 609
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From: Garland Tx
I pondered that thought too, I guess I'll have to look into it. I also work at a machine shop and do a lot of welding at school (where I would be building it anyways) so cheap material isn't impossible to come by.
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