Winch and Bumper Project

[gimpyrobb]

Styrofoam.

 

[someoldmoose]

Thank you Rustystud. I don't even have my "big girl" yet but thanks to this thread another project has been added to the punch list. Your Craftsmanship appears to be Outstanding and I NEVER use either of those words lightly. Very few are willing to take the time to "do it right" anymore. I wish you well and hope you continue to inspire others, as well as myself, to make their rigs special.

 

[rustystud]

Well I spent a good amount of time making up these two brackets today. For the first cut I was able to use my bandsaw, but the second cut I had to use the cut-off wheel on my angle grinder. Now I need to tack weld it in place then remove it and really get down to business with some 7018 ! Hopefully it won't rain tomorrow. I really don't like to weld when it's raining !!! Last time I did that I about fried myself !

 

[Another Ahab]

Styrofoam.

Missed that entirely.

I looked right past the give-away color, and couldn't figure how a board would have those kinds of nicks and dings, but it all just didn't register. DUH!

 

[gimpyrobb]

I told Rusty to hot glue the styro in place and tell folks that is his crumple zone, so that their car didn't turn into his crumple zone.


He failed to see the humor...

 

[rustystud]

I got the chance to weld the braces on today, but in my rush I knocked off the tacked on left side "L" bracket ! Now I have to bolt it up again and tack weld it and then go to town with the 7018. That also means I have to drag the welder down the hill to do it ! I hate to have to "repeat" work already done. I also need to cut the 1/4" plate for the side brace to box the bracket in. I'm debating on just doing one side. That will allow me to get in there with an Impact gun to tighten the bolts. Of course that would mean it would not be as strong as it could be.
Decisions, decisions !!!

 

[Another Ahab]

You are a craftsman of your art, those are nice looking welds.

 

[rustystud]

Got the brackets all welded up, cleaned and painted (primer) . Before anyone asks, the clamp in picture two is a "Wilton" welding clamp. The screw is made from "Bronze" (that's why its gold colored) so that the welding splatter does not stick to it and damage the threads. I need to find some longer bolts and put a finish coat of paint on the brackets, and then mount them to the truck.

 

[tommys2patrick]

Looking great. Another item knocked off the list. Must be getting anxious for a trip?

 

[rustystud]

Looking great. Another item knocked off the list. Must be getting anxious for a trip?

Now the wife has me doing some of her "must get done" items. Like fix the travel trailers brakes. So today I was doing that, with a little of my own projects thrown in.
Since we are experiencing some great weather for the next several days mowing the lawn has been added. It takes 10 hours to mow our 4 acres of grass ! If it was just a large field it would get done quickly, but since there are trees and bushes and streams and out buildings the time just ratchets up and up !

 

[tommys2patrick]

"Boy Howdy Roy" can I relate. We just got hit with a blizzard and got 3 feet of heavy damp snow. Drive way is about half a mile from the county road. Been digging out the last two days and have one to go. What would life be without interruptions to your plans. Gotta chuckle.

 

[AZK9]

... View attachment 681060

Got the brackets all welded up, cleaned and painted (primer) ...

Nice work!

I really enjoy making specialized components for my deuce. Can't wait to get back (for a time) to South Jersey
so I can drag the tools out and get to it again!

 

[rustystud]

Nice work!

I really enjoy making specialized components for my deuce. Can't wait to get back (for a time) to South Jersey
so I can drag the tools out and get to it again!

That's right. You need to get that rig up and running good if we are to make it to Alaska next summer !

 

[rustystud]

Mowed some of the yard today and then the mowers transmission went "tits up" on me !!! Now I have to fix that stupid thing !!! Beautiful weather and I have to fix the lawn mower !!!! They say it is going to rain again next week now too. Well we had our week of summer here in the great Northwest. Now it's time for fall again !!!

 

[rustystud]

Well I went with just one side braced, and I'm glad I did !!! It was a pain to get in there. I could only imagine what it would have been like with both sides enclosed !!! I just need to clean-up the bolts a bit and then paint everything OD green and it's done ! Now I can push anything off the road Mad Max style !!!
Not that I plan on ever doing that ! I just wanted a vehicle that I could use around here to help move my old trucks, and if I hit a Moose in Alaska it will not kill my front-end. Again, not that I plan on hitting any Moose !!!

 

[AZK9]

That's right. You need to get that rig up and running good if we are to make it to Alaska next summer !

I fully hope to be able to make two trips back east between now and November. I've got a lot to accomplish, but motivation like the Alaska adventure
is giving me even greater focus to get my deuce X-Country capable... sooner rather than later.

I hate to have to leave the 'near perfect' weather (for me) that is so often the norm here in the Central Highlands of Arizona, but the only way I'll be able
to join your convoy is to suffer the nasty summer humidity and mosquitoes of the northeast and work like crazy to get my machine in top working order.

Time constraints and crazy 'life curveballs' have scrambled my plans up to this point, but with help from my wife and family... we hope to be able to
drive the deuce west sometime this fall... when the temperatures are a bit cooler. We'll do our best to make it happen!

 

[rustystud]

A couple of people have asked about my "approach" angle. So I measured it today. It is 33 degrees. Not bad for a winch truck considering the stock configuration with mechanical winch is 40 degrees. So even with a "double" front bumper I'm only 7 degrees lower then a regular winch truck. The reason is my frame does not extend out as far as a regular "winch" truck. So even though I added an "extra" bumper to the original bumper lowering the height, my angle is not as bad as it could be.

 

[Buffalobwana]

What happened with the Alaska Trip? Did it get postponed to ‘18? Is it a private group or was it open to SS members? Sorry, I never quite caught that.

BTW, I just finished reading the entire thread (in two sittings) after I finished building my own winch bumper. We both went about it differently, but had some similar thought processes. We wound up with very different looking final products, but, both will get the job done!

I liked your approach to the build. Lots of bolts, quality fab parts, do it once, do it right, unless you messed up, then do it again, and do it right.

Well done. Thanks for the write up.

 

[rustystud]

What happened with the Alaska Trip? Did it get postponed to ‘18? Is it a private group or was it open to SS members? Sorry, I never quite caught that.

BTW, I just finished reading the entire thread (in two sittings) after I finished building my own winch bumper. We both went about it differently, but had some similar thought processes. We wound up with very different looking final products, but, both will get the job done!

I liked your approach to the build. Lots of bolts, quality fab parts, do it once, do it right, unless you messed up, then do it again, and do it right.

Well done. Thanks for the write up.

Thank you.
As far as the "Great Alaskan Adventure" goes. I was planning on having my power steering project finished this year. My wife had different priority's though. So this last spring and summer I've been working on the house and property getting it ready for a major rebuild. We are gutting the whole west end of the house and remodeling the kitchen and dining room. So that meant I was hauling stuff to the dump and finding places for the rest of the stuff until the project is finished. The outside property had to be cleaned up and my old shop demolished along with my storage container moved. I hauled away 7 tons of metal parts to the scrapper. So many transmissions (16) along with other gears. Just no place to keep them. I still have parts out under tarps. I just hope they will be OK until the new shop is built. One problem with keeping stuff out is thieves. I had 5 five gallon NATO wide mouth fuel cans that were stolen just this week ! That's basically $250.00 dollars gone ! Makes me sick and extremely angry ! So to get back to the original question. I'm still planning the trip, it just will have to wait a little bit longer.

I forgot to mention, the trip is open to anyone who wants to come. The more the merrier ! In fact I believe it is safer to travel as a convoy anyway. That way if someone has a problem the whole group can help. Just like in the Marines. No man is left behind.

 

[Buffalobwana]

I was thinking of a trip like this recently. Specifically the AK highway. I don’t know if it’s reasonable to believe that I could pull it off or not. Who is “in” and who is thinking it over, and what are the dates and details? How long will you spend from the Canadian border to the end?

Just so so we are on the same page, I don’t have any intention of goin wheelin in the AK outback! Stuff breaks, I don’t need to expedite it’s death, and I don’t want to be forced into fixing things if I don’t have to!

Winches are for emergencies not for extracting your every day driver ... especially when you are thousands of miles from home. If I was Uber wealthy I’d just drive a peterbilt with a couple 931’s for wheelin fun ... no, I’d pay someone to drive that, I’d drive a new defender.

The truth is, as much as I know my truck, I have to be prepared to ride shotgun in a $2k-$3k tow job home if I embark on such a mission.

Nonetheless, I’m interested. I get one shot at life, my useful portion is at minimum 70% used up, I’d like to fill the last part with more beautiful and enjoyable experiences.