[footinmouth47]

the entire thing is made of 1/4 plate all cut from 6" wide stock. it is welde like this

_
/

if i did it again i would put a vertical piece in to make it lower just as you pointed out more like this
_
|
/

see how that would lower it to cover more. by the way that would be a crossecetion at the center. it takes alot of cutting and fitting to do this style as aposed to just using rectangular tubing like trouble maker did. but you could do that and angle the ends up instead of leaving the hole 6" all the way around
good luck
Greg

[Trouble Maker]

The center section of mine is a piece of 3/16 with slots on the bottom side, it is bent at about a 20 degree angle and extends back to just under the rad cradle to act as a skid plate. There is a piece of 3/8 on either side of the center that the 1/8 x 2 x 6 is welded to. The top is just filled in with 14 ga plate. Light tabs are 1/4 x 2 flat bar.

Design on mine is subject to change without notice as I get bored and change stuff on it. Helps working in a fab shop with plasma/laser/ironworker/brake/welder access.

[That Guy]

Originally Posted by Trouble Maker

The center section of mine is a piece of 3/16 with slots on the bottom side, it is bent at about a 20 degree angle and extends back to just under the rad cradle to act as a skid plate. There is a piece of 3/8 on either side of the center that the 1/8 x 2 x 6 is welded to. The top is just filled in with 14 ga plate. Light tabs are 1/4 x 2 flat bar.

Design on mine is subject to change without notice as I get bored and change stuff on it. Helps working in a fab shop with plasma/laser/ironworker/brake/welder access.

dude, that bumper is awesome!

[tirus89]

Originally Posted by Trouble Maker

You can see them towards the bottom of the page in the link. They bolt on with 4 bolts on the frame rails and 2 bolts on the core support on each side. The factory ones come with a plate with the nuts welded on that slips into the frame rail.

Where could I come across brackets like theses or would it be better to just make my own like you did?

I think my interpretation of people explaining designs to me is useless. Maybe a cheep drawing if anyone is willing?

[Trouble Maker]

Originally Posted by tirus89

Where could I come across brackets like theses or would it be better to just make my own like you did?

My ZJ came with the factory tow hooks so I used the brackets as the starting point of my design. Do a Google search for ZJ tow hooks and you will find lots of companies that sell them or check Ebay or the local junkyards.

One of the best ways to build your bumper is get out the cardboard and duct tape and mock it up to see what it will look like. Or use a scale ruler and draw it out to scale. If you are building a winch bumper the manufacturers usually have drawings of their winches and mounting points with dimensions you can use to rough out your design. Or check out the after market bumpers and use them to get ideas for your own.

[footinmouth47]

the braket i made to go into the frame rail looke something like this

________
|:_:___::/

the for in the back line up with the holes on the outside of the unibody fraimerails. the holes in the front match up with a braket i wellded onto the bumper. the on each side there are 4 bolts to the unibody frame and 4 on the bumper tis is so you can take the bumper off. i had to remove my horns to bult it into the unibody rails. hope that helped.

Greg

[tirus89]

soo Greg, you put them outside of your framerails? Or you put them inside of the framerails? Also, did you mention what you made your bracket out of? Do you think 1/4 will do? Or should I go and use 1/2 for the mounting plate and 1/4 for the bumper? Or will that be too heavy and beefy? Thanks for all the help guys!

[footinmouth47]

i put them on the inside of the framerails, and used 1/4 and i think it is plenty strong.

greg

[Trouble Maker]

Originally Posted by footinmouth47

i put them on the inside of the framerails, and used 1/4 and i think it is plenty strong.

greg

Ditto.

Plenty strong considering how light the frame rails are.

[tirus89]

So 1/4 would suffice for mounting plates? Now for the bumper itself. From your experience, what would be my best bet for the rest of it? Thanks!

[footinmouth47]

if i were you id use 1/4 in the center where the winch mounts and then a little thiner for under the lights and around the corner, mainaly to save weight. i used 1/4 for the whole thing and its a very heavy bumper.

Greg

[tirus89]

Quick question, I have secured the location of a Ford F-150 bumper/bullbar setup that I could get for free. Any idea if that will mount to the grand cherokee? If not, im going to cut and modify.

[footinmouth47]

you can deff use it but it will have to be modified. were you going to incorperate it into a bumper? that might be nice and work well.

Greg