Finished Stealth Rear Bumper with Tire Carrier

[murdock]

This spring I’ve been slowly working on a rear bumper and tire carrier and finally finished it! Well, almost finished it. I still plan on adding a gas can and cooler rack to it but that can wait till this winter. I’ve been driving around with the setup for a few days and it works great, no rattles! I prefer having the tire on the driver’s side for visibility. I’ll have to figure out a new mounting location for the license plate before I get pulled over!

The stealth design has always been my favorite and I like the look of the rear bumpers that watfab and dusty built. The “wing” part is 2x6x3/16” steel, the angled plate is 3/16”, and the tubing that slides into the frame is 2x4x1/4” thick (and I sleeved the bolt holes with pipe to prevent the bolts from crushing the 2x4 tubing, probably overkill). The shackle mounts are out of ¾” steel and the circle that the tire mounts to is ¼” plate. I also bobbed the rear corners and cut the exhaust back since it was hanging out, exposed.

The spindle assembly is from Slee Offroad. I spoke to them a month or so ago and it sounds like they are unable to get this spindle from their manufacturer any longer. The latch is a De-Sta-Co 344SS, stainless steel 90* pull rated at 2000#. I also used a weld on spring loaded pin from McMaster Carr that holds the carrier open (this is extremely handy).

Things I’d do differently: Tuck the bumper another inch closer to the bronco & weld slower/allow more time for cooling (welding on the bottom plate caused the wing to be pulled down a bit so it isn’t perfectly flat across).

I also just installed BCs 24 gallon tank (very slick mounting system) and plan on building a skid plate the matches up to the rear bumper.

 

[murdock]

More photos

 

[DonsBolt]

Awesome job

 

[brewdude]

Very nice, great job.

 

[Dusty]

Very nice! Oh and thanks for the props

Dusty

 

[pblackb592]

Looks good murdock, Now get some front disks

 

[74BroncoCO]

Very nice! I have the slee hinge as well. Been working great for a year now. I guess that means it's time to pull it and re-grease. I also did the spring pin on the hinge and I love that! I can't see where the hinged arm rests when closed, but I mounted a small peice of delrin plastic to the bottom of my arm and that rests on the main bumper to take the stress off the hinge when closed. Post more when you get everything else on there.

J.D.

 

[BroncoinAlaska]

Very nice!!!!

 

[NYLES]

A+ Damn fine job!

 

[Rob1962]

That is Awesome.... now get back to work and make one for me!

 

[6daze]

Looks really good, I always liked the Stealth bumpers, what happened to them? I was planning on using the rockstomper.com hinge and cam lock from protofab. I can't really understand why the vendors are all making bumpers with tire carriers in the passenger side still. We all put huge tires on our rigs and cannot see a thing over them. I am sure quality vendors like Baile and Protofab could custom make it for you..Anyway strong work, you have reinspired me to make my own. Lets see how the skid plate and cargo rack turn out!

 

[murdock]

Thanks for the input guys. This is the first larger fabrication project I've done on the bronco, and it was a good learning experience. One thing I learned is that there is a lot of work that goes into these bumpers, and I understand why the vendors charge so much.

I mounted a small peice of delrin plastic to the bottom of my arm and that rests on the main bumper to take the stress off the hinge when closed.
J.D.

That is an excellent idea that I think I'll copy. I also need to put a little piece of plastic under where the locking pin rubs on the bumper. Otherwise the paint will be gone there in no time.

 

[cbearly]

Great job murdock! Nice looking bumper.

Now I need to make some time in the shop and get mine finished.

 

[67u13]

BEAUTIFUL!! Bronco and Bumper!

 

[mp]

Sweet.....