2011XTERROR's Rear Bumper Build

2011XTERROR

2011XTERROR

Wheeling
Location
Texas
so i spent two saturdays helping to build my rear bumper. this is the first thing i've really done besides "trimming the fat" around the xterra (mud flaps, step rails, sway, etc.).

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^that is stock

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^with the stock one removed

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^this is overall where it started. we already welded a hole for the hitch receiver and sanded it all down (it was a rusted piece of metal)

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^with the hitch receiver welded in

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^that is with the angle irons welded on for the shackles. the drill press wasn't working properly with that size bit so we just welded a hole. that's why it's kinda sloppy but idc really

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^how it looks bare metal

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^this was just to see how the LED license plate light strip would work. looks decent.

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^so it's all primed up and we have it hanging there getting the angle to figure out how we were going to make the bracket mounts. we used the existing holes the stock bumper was on, just made new brackets.

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^these are the bracket mounts

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^another look

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^project: DONE

all that's left is painting the shackles blue. then it's 100% done until i do the tire mount. ...one day.


sent from...hmm. where was this sent?
 
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yellowx16

yellowx16

Need Bigger Tires
Founding Member
Location
Rochester, NY
The bumper looks nice, but x2 on the shackle mounts. I would redo them and get some solid d ring mounts and weld them through the bumper as well.
 
Intender

Intender

Wheeling
Location
Lewisville NC
Another thing about the shackles is when and if you decide you add a tire carrier to it, they are going to be in the way. You will have to cut them off and move them lower in order to add the carrier.

Most people use a piece of 2x3 for the tire carrier swing arm, So unless you cut off your hitch as well your going to have to either go with DOM for your swing arm, which is something I have never seen before, or try a piece of 2x2 and hope it will hold the weight. if you can find some 1/4 wall 2x2 it might be strong enough to hold a tire without bending too much or breaking your welds.

If there are no gussets or any other kind of bracing on the backside of that hitch mount, I wouldnt trust it for much other than maybe recovery.
 
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TN4x4Xterra

TN4x4Xterra

Suspension Lift
Location
Knoxville, TN
Looks good but I would never lend you my recovery rope to pull you out if you got stuck because I wouldn't want the D-shackle flying at me.

As others said, redo it.
 
05x4x4

05x4x4

First Fill-Up (of many)
Location
Centerville, Texas
Intender said:
Another thing about the shackles is when and if you decide you add a tire carrier to it, they are going to be in the way. You will have to cut them off and move them lower in order to add the carrier.

Most people use a piece of 2x3 for the tire carrier swing arm, So unless you cut off your hitch as well your going to have to either go with DOM for your swing arm, which is something I have never seen before, or try a piece of 2x2 and hope it will hold the weight. if you can find some 1/4 wall 2x2 it might be strong enough to hold a tire without bending too much or breaking your welds.

If there are no gussets or any other kind of bracing on the backside of that hitch mount, I wouldnt trust it for much other than maybe recovery.
Click to expand...

My tire carrier is 2x2 3/16 and it's plenty stout enough.


Sent from my iPhone4 using Tapatalk
 
2011XTERROR

2011XTERROR

Wheeling
Location
Texas
well just so everyone knows i tied it to a tree in 4 low and did a solid tug and nothing happened. good to go. just because it's different doesn't mean it's a fail.
 
Xado89

Xado89

Skid Plates
Location
Ocala, FL
Clean looking bumper, man. The design is simple and to the point.

Sent through an exorcism and salt flavored shotgun shells.
 
M

metzican

Suspension Lift
Location
Lafaytte, la
I think everyone forgets no matter how strong or weak something looks. When recovering safety precaution should be taken. Definitely the first time or the most difficult time yet. You never know what grade bolts or how much penetration the welds got. Its always down the person doing the recovery and the person being recovered to survey the situation and only do it if its safe. Just remember it is your life at risk.

On that note me personally I would overbuild it as much as I can. Typically recovery gear has a 5-7 times safety factor when commercially built. So this is probably strong enough. But everything has its limitations.

On a positive note the bump looks very clean. Congrats on building it. What type of License plate light did you use?
 
M

metzican

Suspension Lift
Location
Lafaytte, la
TheFauxFox said:
Not to call you out, but considering that pressure vessels (submarines, scuba tanks) only have a safety factor of about 4, I don't think 5-7 is accurate.
Click to expand...

Not to call you out but you have to keep in mind with everything you just mentioned weight is a big factor this is why air planes don't have a huge safety factor and nether do helicopters. But when its comes to Recovery equipment/Lifting equipment weight is not a big factor. Figure in what is the difference between a few ounces or pounds when your talking about a whole vehicle, crane, tow truck....

Also keep in mind this stuff degrades over time and is usually not highly cared for or looked at unless its in a specific industry.

http://www.certex.co.uk/products/liftinghardware/shackles/crosby-schackle-g-2130__13051

 
2011XTERROR

2011XTERROR

Wheeling
Location
Texas
metzican said:
On a positive note the bump looks very clean. Congrats on building it. What type of License plate light did you use?
Click to expand...
it's just a $17 LED strip i got at autozone. kinda too bright really ha. it lights up the ground behind my vehicle.

and this week when i find my strap or buy a new one i am doing some hard pulls on a tree and stuff. real-world type stuff. bump pulls and just doing anything in my truck's power to see what will break off. today i just wrapped a chain around a tree and my shackles and just got it tight, then pulled it in 4LO up to 2500 RPM just to see what would happen. with the strap i will do a harder pull at a higher bit of speed.

i will let you all know the outcome. you never know how other people may tow you out of a ditch or hole, so i will just "try" to break it and see what happens.

if it holds, then it's obviously fine. if it breaks like 8 of you think will happen, i will build it the "proper" way and take photos of my broken bumper so we can all laugh at my mistake ha.
 
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