07 Silverado Lightweight Bumper/ skidplate & Rocksliders

[rube bonet]

A while back, an Expo member approached me about building some protection for his 07 CC. His main concern was the looooong rocker panels, flimsy front bumper and plastic "skidplate" that is a splash shield at best. He wanted strength, but didn't want the weight usually associated with heavy duty aftermarket bumpers. We had discussed some aluminum concepts, but most aluminum bumpers don't save as much weight as you would think due to their thicker plate sections, and often times, internal steel bracing.

I finally went back to my old racing principles and decided to build a skeleton-ised steel bumper and see how much weight I could shave off the assemblies, and see if we can find an acceptable strength to weight ratio.

I started by stripping off the factory bumper/ skidplate and brackets; they weighed approximately 75 lbs, and that was with the factory bumper already being trimmed half off for approach angle. I plated in the factory frame rails as they are one of the lowest points up front, and welded in some beefier frame mounts. The factory tow hook was modified and placed inside the frame rail before welding the cap on to serve as a sleeve for the lower bolt, and to capture the rear most frame mounting point.




I then broke the center section out of 3/16 plate, with many holes in it for weight savings. This customer did not want a winch, but there is plenty of room for one. The sheet metal wings are for mock up, to allow me to see exactly how I want the final product. You can also see where the center section bolts to the existing frame crossmember. The uprights also had any excess material removed.

 

[rube bonet]

After deciding on a final shape, I set about making it out of 3/16 steel. The approach angle is maximized, corners tuck in tight to the body, with smaller 1.25 dom tubing to protect the lights and echo the body lines. The d ring mounts still need to be reinforced, the uprights "i beamed", and the outer wing support tubes need to be welded in place.

Final mock up before finishing details




Outer bumper brace, the body mount still needs to be trimmed for approach.

 

[rkj__]

It's always interesting to see different approaches on these custom fabrication projects.

 

[chilliwak]

Rube I love the look of that bumper. The holes cut out for weight saving double as a natural drip holes for water and mud. Allways something that I dont think that gets addressed in many bumper applications. I do like the way your bumper tucks in tight to the existing bodywork but personally I like a step, or area that I can stand on top of the bumper for service on the engine. It helps when you have a lot of lift. Nice design! Cheers, Chilli.

 

[rube bonet]

Rube I love the look of that bumper. The holes cut out for weight saving double as a natural drip holes for water and mud. Allways something that I dont think that gets addressed in many bumper applications. I do like the way your bumper tucks in tight to the existing bodywork but personally I like a step, or area that I can stand on top of the bumper for service on the engine. It helps when you have a lot of lift. Nice design! Cheers, Chilli.

Thanks! Even living in AZ I try to take care to provide drain holes, and eliminate "crap traps". Every bumper I build is custom, so if you want more step, or a fold down step, or a receiver mounted platform step, or a complete aluminum stairwell...its up to you.:elkgrin:

Here is the bumper welded up and ready for powdercoat, I double plated the d ring mounts, and wrapped 3/16 steel around the uprights. You can also see the clearance gained around the body mount area.

The total weight for the front bumper and mounts came out to 118lbs, for a total weight gain on the front end of 43 lbs. No to bad for an extremely stout bumper (13 mounting bolts) that could definitely take a serious hit, and strengthens the front frame rails considerably.

 

[rube bonet]

With the bumper done, it was time to fab up the front skidplate and rocksliders. The sliders were designed to be as unobtrusive as possible, and stout enough to support the weight of a fully loaded crew cab. I mocked up some 2" .250 SQ tubing, and started building the frame mounts.




Keeping with the "light as possible, strong as necessary" theme, frame mounts were constructed out of a combination of 1/4 and 1/8 plate steel.

 

[dddonkey]

Wow that looks really nice, you have some very good skills. I would love to be able to weld like that.

 

[tmentzelo]

I really like both the bumper and the rock sliders.
I've been thinking of some kind of low profile sliders for my chevy, but I still need to use them as steps to reach up to the rooftop tent and rack.
I know you've heard it 10,000 times before, but your metal fab and layout skills are awesome!

 

[rube bonet]

Thanks guys, it is still always nice to hear. One thing that might not be so obvious from the pics (from the layout point of view), but all of the mounts are situated where the factory cross members of the frame are, helping stop unwanted frame flex from the leverage of the outriggers. In addition to the box section mounts, I also added a few tube supports tied into the rear spring hangers.




Ebrake cable routing on the drivers side was a little tricky, but worked out nicely.



And a pic of the front skidplate, after powdercoat.

 

[rube bonet]

And a pic of the skidplate installed. The option is there later to do a full length belly pan from this point, if for some reason it was ever deemed necessary. The chevy frame rail/ suspension design actually keeps the drivetrain fairly well protected.

 

[dddonkey]

WOW, want to make me a set of those sliders, but with a full lenghth step. Your truck is comming along really nice, great work!

 

[gmcpimpin]

That bumper is awsome. Sorry if I missed it but what does something like that go for?

 

[LOW50S]

Ya how much for a set of those rock sliders! those things look great! along with the bumper! any way you could mount lights in the openings?

 

[rube bonet]

Ya how much for a set of those rock sliders! those things look great! along with the bumper! any way you could mount lights in the openings?

That bumper is awsome. Sorry if I missed it but what does something like that go for?

WOW, want to make me a set of those sliders, but with a full lenghth step. Your truck is comming along really nice, great work!

Thanks guys, and the answer is yes, I can generally build you whatever you want. Everything I do is custom built to your needs, just PM/ email/ call me to get the ball rolling.:sombrero:


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[rube bonet]

And the finished product, in case you missed it, this vehicle is not mine, it belongs to a fellow portal member. Bumper was finished with a satin black powder coat (soon to be az pinstriped and a matte finish of dust).





edit: This pic really demonstrates the drastic improvement in approach angle, even compared to other aftermarket bumpers.