Bumper
Bumper Mods
Nothing too spectacular to update you all on. I've been swamped with work, so not much time for the truck. I bought steel last spring to make swing-out arms on my bumper. They've been sitting in storage since then, but now the right arm has taken shape. I went with 2" square stock. It's really beefy; I wanted to make sure it would hold up under stress.
I bought a spindle package from A to Z Fabrication. I decided to go with the "mega" spindle which can mount up to a 35" tire. My tires are only 32", but I may go up in diameter in the future.
The two spindles were welded to the bumper then then sleeves for the bearings were welded to the swing-out arms. Packing the bearings was not easy...we had to use a 20-ton press to get them packed correctly. Then I took the spare tire mount arm back off and painted it. In order to secure the arm, I'm using a T-bolt kit I found. I really like it because it screws into a plate that was welded directly to the bumper. This makes the bumper feel really snug and secure--no rattling around which was my main concern. On to the pictures...
This truck is what it is...nothing too fancy. But I love it and it gets the job done. I'm more and more impressed with its four-wheel-drive capabilities. I had to drive down into a ravine to get the logs out after my last tree job. The soil was loose and sandy. I put the truck in granny gear, 4LO, and crawled up the hill. Never slipped once. Several modern vehicles tried the same thing and all of them had to be pulled out by a dozer. It's a working truck that is evolving to meet my needs.
Hope you enjoy looking at the pics.
