Minimal Bumper

by Chuque Henry

After taking my bumper off, I knew that I didn't want to put something back on that would take away from the awesome approach angle I had without one. It was time to make my own bumper. I also didn't want another flimsy bumper like the stock one, so it had to be stout. I wanted to a 2" receiver that could handle the strain of a multi-mount winch. I got all of those things with this design.

The heart of the bumper is 2"x4" box tube with 1/4" wall thickness. All of the white dust you see along the bottom is powdered rock. The bumper looks dainty, but believe me, we put it to the test. We actually hung the entire D-90 on the front right corner, pushing forward on the rock ledge till the tires made contact. I had a couple Jeep owners taking notes, and wishing they could get one for there rigs!

The bumper sticks out just far enough to cover the turn signals. This would make it difficult to add a brush guard, but for the time being I kind of like the simple look.

Yes, it's got a damn good approach angle. I can't remember what the number was, but it was over 70 at it's lowest point.

I had to make a notch in the front trim panel for the receiver mount. The end of the receiver is right up next to the frame's cross member, so it will offer additional support if pushed in on impact or twisted sideways during recovery.

I cut two holes to allow the frame to stick into the bumper and rest flush against the front of the bumper. This keeps my clearances to a minimum, adding only 1/4" to the front of the D-90. I also cut the old 'horns' that ran under the old bumper off at an angle.