Student Project: Front Bumper & Recover R&D

rbutler

New member
Whats up overlanders and offroaders alike. Im a student at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena doing a project on off road vehicle recovery. For my project Im focusing on re-designing the front bumper, not just tweeking or adding more features necessarily but mostly trying to come up with new recovery concepts completely. Id love to get some insight from all of you on what experience you have with your aftermarket or custom front bumper, what works well, what doesn't work well, any ideas that you have had? Id also like to hear some of your craziest or most disastrous or just adventurous recovery operations.

Thank, hope to hear some interesting stories and insights from some experienced and even beginner drivers.

Reese
 

DaVikes

Adventurer
Well this isn't much to go on, but I have an ARB bullbar on a Tacoma. The winch mounted conventionally behind the bumper. ARB provides an oval hole on the top of the bumper. The idea is that you stick your hand through it to operate the clutch lever on the winch. The hole is too small.

This is bit off the wall, but here goes. Everyone uses a hi-lift style jack, and pretty much everyone realizes that using it is a risky endeavor. To create a more rigid jack, perhaps there is a way to integrate the ratchet mechanism in the bumper at each corner, and then carry the lifting pole and handle somewhere else. Or if you really want to get carried away, use the winch motor to power the jack.
 

tanglefoot

ExPoseur
It doesn't make much sense when bumpers and guards marketed towards "off-road" use reduce the vehicle's approach and departure angles to a degree that it can no longer cleanly traverse obstacles that were possible with the stock bumper.

Having places on bumpers that hold onto the claw of a farm/high-lift jack is a great idea!
 
Last edited:

AxleIke

Adventurer
Having a place to cleanly put the highlift on is a good idea. I don't like the idea of the ratchet being built in, because it would never work properly. Its bad enough when the jack is stored on the outside of the vehicle with a cover on, when it gets moist, the pins get sticky. Being in the bumper all the time would fill the mechanism with dirt, dust, and everything else, and being in the bumper would render the "********** it with a hammer" trick useless.

As suggested, points in the bumper to bolt the jack mechanism to (as ARB sells an attachment for, but it only works on a few of their bumpers), would be nice.

I also have an ARB. I like full plate bumpers, not tube bumpers, especially that house the winch, like the ARB does. However, I HATE the way the winch clutch access is, as DaVikes said. It is terrible. An aesthetically pleasing, large access port would be very nice.
 

rbutler

New member
Thanks for all the insight on this guys, starting to get a good idea of what to integrate, and how to do it. Keep it coming!!
 

SDDiver5

Expedition Leader
I'd like to see a good version of a tube and plate hybrid bumper. I like both designs and have never been able to stick with anything I like.
 

robert

Expedition Leader
It needs to not only mount a winch, it needs to have actual recovery points on it i.e. shackle mounts that will take a real world load and are inline with the frame. It needs to be compatible with a skid plate, have access to the winch clutch lever and be able to mount lights/antenna also. I agree about Hi-lift jack slots being nice.

Another point is that it needs to be able to effectively accommodate a Hawse fairlead for the increasingly popular synthetic lines; some of the bumpers mount the roller fairlead back where it protects the rollers but then Hawse style fairleads tend to be shallower which allows the rope to potentially rub on the bumper if doing a (far from ideal) tight angle pull.
 

millerfish

Adventurer
I like the idea of having receivers in the bumper. Left, right & center. These could hold different recovery points, farm jack lift point plus a host of other accessories like bike racks, work platforms or camp equipment. Also pretty handy getting a trailer in a tight spot.
 

Clutch

<---Pass
Grappling hook launcher for the winch line....so you don't have to get your shoes muddy...


0btail.jpg



I'd like to see a good version of a tube and plate hybrid bumper. I like both designs and have never been able to stick with anything I like.

I like this one by Addicted-Offroad...somewhat minimal and easy to get to the winch.

tacomaPlate_04.jpg
 
Last edited:

bkg

Explorer
Clutch; said:
I like this one by Addicted-Offroad...somewhat minimal and easy to get to the winch.

tacomaPlate_04.jpg

Really wish I had a need for a bumper. Scotty's design is on point!
 

AxleIke

Adventurer
Grappling hook launcher for the winch line....so you don't have to get your shoes muddy...


0btail.jpg





I like this one by Addicted-Offroad...somewhat minimal and easy to get to the winch.

tacomaPlate_04.jpg


Agreed that is a good looking bumper. Wish it didn't require the grill to be cut out, but its a very sleek look.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
189,901
Messages
2,922,000
Members
233,083
Latest member
Off Road Vagabond

Members online

Top