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Rear Bumper w/Swingout Tire Carrier Follow Along

1M views 2K replies 530 participants last post by  boomvader 
#1 · (Edited)
I've been making bumpers for awhile and the biggest question I get is, "When are you going to make a Rear Swingout?!" Well, I finally got most of the parts together and figured I would start today. I thought I'd post along the way with updates as the project progresses. I hope to be done by this weekend. I will post a list of the tools I used (and hopefully substitutions you can use). I will also post a list of materials I used and any useful links that might help to locate parts. Hope this thread helps someone else as Tire Carriers seem to be a pretty popular fabrication topic.

First, a word about shop safety... ya only got one pair of eyes so use the safety glasses/face shield (especially when grinding, drilling.. etc)! Also, when using loud machines (like the grinder) where ear muffs or ear plugs. Lastly, use gloves to save your hands (drilling/grinding).

Tools used:
Plasma Cutter (suppose a chop saw and jig saw could substitute but you'll be cutting for a long time).
Welder (220v wire feed nice but a stick will do)
Grinder (I use both a 7" and a 4 1/2")
Band Saw (chop saw can be used)
Drill Press (hand drill can be used)
2 1/4" bi-metal hole saw
long 1/4" drill bit
1/2" drill bit
11/16" drill bit
1" drill bit (big sucker for the clevis mount holes.. it's a PITA to do!)
Scribe
Center Punch
Tape Measure
Machinist Square
Hammer
Slag Hammer
Phosphoric Acid to clean/etch the steel (Lowe's)

Materials Used: for basic bumper...
2"x4"x1/4" wall rectangular stock 55" long (can sub thinner material if you like but I like it beefy!)
approx 7" length of 2 1/2"x2 1/2"x1/4" wall stock for receiver (can sub a store bought receiver tube.. Northern has one for like $10)
approx 7" of 2 1/2"x1/4" thick flat stock for chain plate
approx 6" length of 3"x1/4" wall square stock (for mounting legs and receiver lip)
approx 18" of 3"x3/8" thick flat stock cut in half for the bumper mounting flanges
approx 18" of 2"x1/4" thick flat stock for bumper end caps
approx one foot of 2"x3/4" thick flat stock for clevis mounts

Materials for the Swingout
2 1/2"x1/4" wall DOM Tubing (from here.. DOM Tubing)
2"OD pipe for the inner sleeve/bearing spacer(Lowe's)
1" trailer spindle rated for 1000lbs (Spindle)
Spindle Bearing Kit (Spindle Bearing )
De Sta Co 2000lb Latch (Latch
2"x3/16" wall square stock for carrier frame

That's as far as I got today with the materials list. I got most of the cutting and drilling done... here are the pics..

First, I cut the pivot tube from the 2 1/2" DOM tube.. 4 1/4" long. Then I cut an inner bearing separator from 2" OD pipe and rosette welded it in 4 places to hole it in place..

You can see the tube in the center with the sleeve in it. The rest of the stuff is the bearing kit and of course.. the 1" spindle.

Rosette welded sleeve

Sleeve with races in it

Assembled Swingout Pivot

Bumper Blank with 1 1/4" hole cut (top and bottom) for spindle... I'm tippy toeing to take the picture.. :D

Pivot test fitted to bumper.. I did this before making any other cuts on the bumper so that if I ruined it, it would be before I went through the trouble of making all the other cuts.

Drilling the 7" long 2 1/2"x1/4" wall square receiver tube for the pin.. I use a long 1/4" bit to go all the way thru both sides of the tube. That way the holes line up...

I then follow up with a 11/16" bit.

EDIT: Instead of making your own receiver tube, it's probably just as cheap and definately easier to buy one from a trailer supply store... Northern sells 6" long weld-in receiver tubes for about $11
 
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#361 ·
Awesome write up and pics. Thank you for taking the time to document everything and share it with us. Judging by how popular this thread is, I'd say you've helped tons of people! :cheers2:

The YJ bumper in the above pic is pretty much exactly what I'd like to get on mine eventually.
 
#362 ·
Thanks for the kind words. I hope this thread has helped folks out with similar bumper builds. What good is knowing something if you can't share it? Won't be too long and the info will start to fade from my memory. I figured I better get it down on paper before that starts!! :D
 
#366 ·
Eddie built both of my bumpers and the tire carrier. The basket is from rockhard4x4. I'm lucky enough to live near Eddie, I took him my basket when I ordered the tire carrier/bumper, and he was nice enough to modify and reinforce the mounting points on the basket to work with his carrier.
 
#367 ·
HOLY! uhh crap! I just stumbled on this thread and realized I started reading it at 7pm :eek: Your welding is awsome and I've noticed since the post's in 2005 till now your still as friendly and helpfull! The only real change is your skills and product has drastically improved!

I dabble in welding wishing I could just get a decend bead going but using 10 yr old sticks don't help much. (only got a stick welder)
I made my own tirecarrier last weekend but not swingout, it mounts on the tailgate tabs with bolts and 1 bolt at bumber (upside down version of yours )

I was wondering what a basic tube bumper with reciever would run for a 65' cj5?
 
#368 ·
HOLY! uhh crap! I just stumbled on this thread and realized I started reading it at 7pm :eek: Your welding is awsome and I've noticed since the post's in 2005 till now your still as friendly and helpfull! The only real change is your skills and product has drastically improved!
LOL Don't be fooled!!! His kids do all this for extra credit at school and he's just showing off.

True artwork though.
 
#369 ·
Thanks! :D

My wife works in the shop with me.. she does the majority of all the metal cutting, drilling and grinding. She is a machine! She really pays attention and learns quickly.. I think it's because there's no Testosterone interference :D.

Excecutioner, I don't have a template for doing a rear bumper for a 65 CJ5. Earliest Jeep I've done a rear bumper for was a '74. To be honest, I haven't even taken a close look at the rear of a mid 60s CJ so I'm not familiar at all with the layout.
 
#372 ·
I no longer use a spacer.. I bore out my own tube on my lathe. I cut the tube to 4.5" and bore one end to a depth of 1" at 2.365" diameter (for the larger bottom bearing race). I then bore that same end to .500" deep at 3.563" diameter for the seal.

I then flip the tube over and do the top to 1.375" deep at 1.985" diameter for the smaller bearing race.
 
#375 ·
I use 2.75"x.500" DOM tube ($30ft :eek:). When you bore for the seal.. you'll only have about 1/8" wall thickness left (only where the seal sits).

Schedule 80 wouldn't work.. it's 2.323" ID.. that would be too big for the small bearing race (1.985" OD).
 
#377 ·
Hey BESRK, I have a question and I know it might be somewhere in the 26 pages of this thread but...well, it's 26 pages. Anyway, I love this design, simple, clean and looks bombproof. My question is, what are the lengths for the tubing used on the swingout? Basically I would just need a rough estimate of the length of the horizontal and vertical 2" tubing. Any help would be great, and thank you!Jon
 
#378 ·
hope everything is going good. just curios on the tj bumpers how far do you come from passenger side to center of spindle? want to make sure i can still open the tailgate alll the way. and how long is the bottom piece for the tire carrier? does an 18" center post allow room to hook up a trailer with ease with say a 33" tire. thank you very much
 
#379 ·
I come in about 7" from the end of the bumper (on a 58" long bumper). That's an approximation. I have a template that I use to mark the bumper blanks so I don't measure them anymore. Remember, my swing arms will stop before the spare tire hits the rig (or swings into the car parked next to you at the market). Therefore, the stock tailgate doesn't open all the way either. I try to reach a good compromise so that everything will open up and you can comfortably load/unload whatever you need to in the Jeep. As long as you can get the tailgate to 90 degrees (maybe slightly more), you should be good. You may even want to mock up the bumper, swing open the gate and mark the bumper with chalk. Then, you can be sure your swing arm pivot is going to clear.

I use a 41" arm length for the swing arm. A 42" length is a little easier to work with but 41" allows me to get 7 arms out of one stick of steel with no waste. If I cut them to 42", I only get 6 arms and a 30"+ of waste. If you're gonna just pick up a length from the steel supplier, I'd get 42"-43".. it'll give you some extra space.

An 18" post is plenty high. I've been making my bumpers with a 16" center post (sitting on a 2"x3" arm) and that's still plenty high if you rotate the tire mount to the higher position.
 
#380 ·
Hey Besrk,
I just stumbled upon this thread and I have been contemplating building a set of bumpers for my '06 TJ. I sent an email to your email from your ebay page about a spindle setup. Im still throwing around ideas about the final designs. I'll keep ya posted on what I finally decide upon. Thanks for the inspiration.
 
#381 ·
Bob,
Funny.. I just read your email and linked you to this thread for info :D

I kind of explained the current situation with the spindles. Since I make them manually on my lathe (at night), I'm just keeping up with bumper orders at the moment. Nates's is selling (last I looked) the big spindle setup on his website.
 
#382 ·
i just wanted to say thank you for all the wonderful info and inspiration to build it myself. best part was my employer donated all the steel and the trigger lock latch. all together with paint it cost me about 60$ and about 10 hours labor plus the satisfaction of doing it myself thanks again theres pics in my gallery.:cheers2:
 
#384 ·
Well I finally got my rear setup painted and mounted on the Jeep! As follows: Rear bumper, tire carrier, Hi-Lift mount, and frame tie ins. I'm pretty much gonna say what everyone has said and knows already. Eddie is a fantastic guy to deal with and makes one of the best set ups out there! I will always recommend his fabrication :cheers2: Everything fit perfectly as well. This is one solid bumper.

















 
#391 ·
Big props to Besrk for this killer thread! It took me a while to read the entire thing, and inspired me to build a bumper as well (with a slight twist).
Dkillam, where did you get those clevis mounts?
 
#392 ·
I made 'em using 2 pieces of 3 x 3 x 3/8" angle and 1 piece of 1/2" x 3" flat strap.

Cutting the angle:





Cutting the plate:



Jig I made to grind a bevel for welding: You can see in the background how the three pieces go together.



I'll have to look a little more to see if I can find pics of the completed clevis bracket.

BESRK - if this is getting too off topic, please move or I can start a new thread. Thanks,
 
#395 ·
Yeah, a lot of extra work - if I didn't already have them on hand, I'd have done it the way you did. One thing you can't see - in addition to being welded to the surface on the back side of the bumper, I cut two 3/4" stubs for each bracket to go from front to back and plug welded them in place and ground off smooth.
 
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