metal for custom winch bumper

[roy]

what thickness of steel would be recomended for using on a winch bumper ?

now i have my winch i am going to build a bumper for it, i was thinking about using 8mm steel plate to mount winch to the frame, and thinking of 3mm for the rest of the bumper.

having never seen one up close or made a winch bumper i was looking for confirmation on the thickness of steel to use, i want to have frontal protection but do not want to make it overly heavy.

any advice


cheers roy

 

[SENSE OF ADVENTURE]

Hi Roy,
There are numerous factors that will affect the thickness you can use,
are you pressing the steel? if so how many fold are planning on put into 1 profile?
or are you just gonna weld lots of bits together?
on the bumbers i make there 12 folds out of 4.2mm mild profile, and the profiles for the mounting brackets are 12mm, with 8mm pressed reinforcing brackets where the mounting brackets meet the main bumber profile.
its the folds that add strength
hope this drivel makes sense.
if you need a hand give me a call
will

 

[Paul]

What i quite liked with mine was the fact it had the solid thick mounting that fixed to the chassis and the bumper fitted over it using the same mounts but was able to be thinner as was not taking the force of the winch.
If i go for one again it would definatly be the type where the winch can be removed without removing the bumper as it was a pain for servicing and repairs.

 

[AndrewT]

you might want to just buy one off the shelf?
these guys are great
http://www.freewayslattitude.com/
and even with shipping they are half price of and ARB in the uk.

 

[roy]

having found out the price of steel at the moment, that is exactly what i did,
should get the bumper from them in a couple of weeks.