David - getting close to final mounting. Just need to coordinate time with my friend. I've seen pics of the LC 100 series ARB bumper put on a Tundra before, and I really liked the look. I didn't want to mess with making custom brackets and such to make it fit. I'm loving my Brute Force Fab bumper....it fit perfect....everything lined up exactly how it was supposed to with no adjustments needed. It is very well built.
An update on the sliders now. Brute Force ships them with the main body welded up, and then ships the frame brackets, gussets, and mounting tubes separately. After talking to Billy at Brute Force I learned a few tips on how these things are supposed to be put together....hopefully they will be helpful to anyone else going down this road.
1.) For an access cab Tundra you should plan for a 3/4" gap between the body pinch weld and the tops of the mounting tubes coming off the frame.
2.) For a DC Tundra you should plan for a 1/2" gap between the body pinch weld and the tops of the mounting tubes.
3.) On a Double Cab, you will need to 'cheat" the mounting tube down past the lower edge of the frame bracket in order to achieve the necessary 1/2" gap (see pics below)
4.) Begin by tacking the front and rear mounts in place, then do the middle ones last. Not every frame is perfectly straight....
5.) It helps to tack the mounting plates onto the frame, then tack up the mounting tubes. Once all of them have been tacked in place, cut off the tacks to the frame, then full weld the rest of the assembly and gussets on the bench top.
Here are the pieces that need to be welded by the user. I think my friend did a fine job with the welding here.
Here are both sides all welded up and ready to paint.
The frame mounting brackets:
Billy mentioned that it's easier to mount the gussets along the edge of the mounting tube, because it can be difficult to weld all the way around it. My friend was able to get around them without too much trouble so he mounted them in the middle.
Here is what I mean by "cheating" the lower edge of the mounting tubes past the lower edge of the bracket. You'll have to do this on DC cabs in order to get enough space between the cab and the tubes. Don't think you need to on AC cabs.
I used a Scotchbrite pad to clean and scuff up the metal, then cleaned it with soapy water.
I then primed them using Duplicolor self-etching primer, 3 coats of it. Why Duplicolor? That's all the local NAPA had, so that's what I bought.
Then came two coats of Krylon automotive semi-gloss black. Pretty close to the finish on the front bumper and easy to touch up. I wanted a mostly smooth surface so I can attach strips of grip tape to the upper edge, to prevent slipping if someone decides to use these as steps.
-Kevin
