S.o.b fabrication “High clearance rear bumper”

The rear bumper is ~150 lbs and the swingouts are ~45 lbs each. I can't remember what the high clearance fronts weigh off the top of my head, but I think it's around 170 lbs with the full grill guard.

 

150 lbs for the rear! You sure? My wife held that shit on her own while I bolted it out. Either you’re lying or she’s strong

She squats 300 lbs

 

Yes sir, verified it the other day! I'd watch it if you decide to get an attitude with her

 

Hahahahaha

She’s half my size and squats more cause my knees are shot. Yes I watch what I say

 

Seemed like OEM and the SOB with no swingouts were about the same weight.

 

The factory bumper off of my 17 weighed right around 115 lbs.

 

Godamnit, I thought I could argue in my head that it weights too much.

 

To make it harder for you that doesn't even include the bedsides that get removed. They have to account for a few pounds too. Even closer to balancing out.

 

Is there a thread for your front bumpers?

 

His truck build thread has all the info on the front.

 

Not yet. I need to find some time and make a dedicated thread for my business and get all the info for our bumpers in one place. Even now, we're piggybacking off of @Mrf1987 's thread.

 

You're not wrong! A website would be even better than a dedicated thread on the forum. It's a lot of work, but if you can get your product in front of more people and make it easier for them to spec, communicate, and order, I'm sure you'd have more clients pretty quick. A decent website will create instant credibility with potential buyers, and make it much easier for them to gain knowledge about your product. Not sure if this is a full time gig for you or not, but your bumpers are clearly a good solution for the high-clearance off roading crowd.

I've had my eye on one your rear bumpers (and this thread) for a while. I'm still unsure if my truck is going to get the full "war wagon" treatment, but if it does I'll definitely be rolling with an SOB rear bumper!

 

Or he's got just enough business to keep him busy, happy, and lead times reasonable, and that a website would flood him and he'd be a slave to the workshop...
It's a very careful line to walk.

 

@RainMan_PNW nailed it. This is a full time gig for me, but I am also trying to scale my business accordingly and get through any growing pains as a small business and then move up. We all know of several companies in the recent years that have screwed a ton of people and forum members and that will never be me, but the first step is to not get myself into that situation.

That being said, I have a lead on a great employee that wants to come on and be a part of the business in a very positive and productive way and I do have plans in the very near future to build a website and expand operations.

 

You do also have a great point about the website building credibility. Who knows how many sales I've lost due to having to message me directly via email, ig, FB or even call me on the phone.

 

Final install:

Overall, I’m super happy with the bumper and how it turned out. Travis was super personable and answered all of my questions with a quick response and no hesitation. I broke this install up in two sections - Once I received the shipping notification for the bumper and the instructions, I got to work cutting the bed sides. This gave me a few days to touch up the bedsides with paint and get everything else squared away so all I needed to do was throw the bumper on. I ended up using steel-it and it was my first time with the product. I ended up using 4.5 cans on the bumper and 1-ish cans for the swing out.. Right now, the only thing I would have done differently is maybe waited for the sand blasting and powder coat , but I’m impatient.. so I’ll wait and see how the steel-it holds up. My friend and I were able to install this ourselves with the use of a low profile motorcycle jack and also an off-road style jack. Again, super happy with it and cutting the bedsides was a breeze. Shout out to Travis for his time and great work!

 

Love the license plate. I’ve had my front bumper painted for a year and it still looks good to me. I’d think the rear will take less wear…


and it does get used.

 

I’m skeptical.. but can be turned into a believer haha. I about shit when I started flying through cans while painting. I don’t know how you got away with using 2.5 cans. I put it on super thick and was probably overthinking it. High pressure with a ton of coverage. Glad I bought 6 cans but I was hoping to send 2 back.

 

Great use of these mild temps we are having. Keep an eye on it if you drive in the salt. I had my front bumper sent straight to the Line-X dealer. Then again, my truck is allergic to the salt.

 

Do you have a suggested max weight on the swing outs? Or run in to any issues w reports of sagging? Being over in Northern AZ, and having some good fishing spots in NM, your bumper is looking sweet!

Also, what year is that FJ40 in the background? Got a 76 myself.

 

I am not too concerned with weight on the swingouts, it would be hard to overload them. I run a 39" spare and a spare tire trash bag with no issues at all. I also have a customer running a triple wide Jerry can box with no issues.

The 40 is a 69 factory soft top.

 

Thanks for the info and the pic of the 40. I'm looking at jerry cans and a propane tank; should weigh in far less than the 39" tire or triple jerry can.

 

Was this sitting out in front of your shop, covered in snow? I was gonna ask you about it but I was cold as hell and just wanted to get home, haha

 

We sold that one a few months back actually. We have a couple other 40's beside the shop but they are inoperable. We do have a 60 though and it was there under the snow.

 

There we go. That looks more familiar. Badass.

 

Love seeing someone chop up a truck this pretty. Looks great!! I like the Steel-It finish a lot. I used Rustoleum bedliner which has a great finish but I like the smoothness of the Steel-It.

 

Just an update:
This bumper has been nothing short of awesome. Super happy with it!

 

ANF?

 

I wish there were trails like this in ANF. This is Canaan Loop and Flagpole Knob in Virginia / West Virginia.

 

I saw that last night. I joined WNY overland 2 months ago. LOL

Enjoy, love WV.