My First Bumper Build writeup - ongoing

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RamWagon

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Hey everyone. so this post is gonna be an ongoing project of mine. i have front and rear WIY kits and im gunning for they to be fabbed, coated and installed before july 1st.

Im a bit nervous, this is my first large scale project. and my 2014 ram being the first vehicle ive ever ordered just for me doesnt help either.

some backstory, Im 24. A 2nd year millwright apprentice. i work in automated production building weld gun Assembly systems. Chrysler, ford, gm... you name the company ive probably built something for them. worked on forestry, mining, tunnel boring, defense, aerospace projects as well. my company's fairly diverse in that aspect. im no fabricator. but i can throw beads down and burn rods pretty good. anywho onto the metal bits.

so my first impressions when i opened up my two 80lb + boxes were cool. this is actually gonna be fairly easy. (ithink??) upon further inspection today i noticed a couple of things. Now im not knockin the company MOVE when i say what im gonna say. i just have good attention to detail and have some self proclaimed OCD/perfectionist ******** whenever im building something. so, one thing i didnt like. **** needs to be deburred before you ship it. i assumed they used laser and not water and left some **** and stuff on some of the pieces edges, but thats been taken care of. another thing is whoever programed the CNC machine. some of the holes could have been a bit cleaner cut and some lines as well. epically in their own logo ( i only stickle for this because i used to run CNC machines and this kinda stuff is not acceptable from a professional standpoint). NBD since im filling that in though. as well as the 4 fog light holes. i was gonna run 2 spot and 2 floods upfront. but after seeing the output of my new retro shop lights. i wont need them.

to start, i took center to center measurements of the frame mounts. and transferred them to the large center piece of the bumper. from there i mocked up placement of the gussets and the mounting plate that will merry up with the mounting plates on the frame itself. then most ******** thing happened. it started to rain. out of friggin nowhere. straight up Dr grant running away from a t rex rain. my tools, my material and all 4 of my windows down. needless to say pissed me off a bit. waiting 3 weeks for this day and this happens. wet the whistle calmed down a bit and packed up. im just happy i didnt wheel the miller out and then it started to rain. for now, heres some pics, this is a little bit everday project. so stay tuned!
 

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RamWagon

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So. The weather yet again was another factor the past couple of days. Could only out in a couple hours here and there. As well as waiting for another person to give me a hand mounting it to check for fitment.

I started at first by tossing the 2 gussets that came with the kit. They where 3/16 plate. And i replaced it with two 1/4x6x6 per side. Since i actually wanna have to ability to use it for odd tugging jobs here and there. (Not vehicle recovery). My initial measurements were off by enough on each side that the mounting bolts didnt want to go in on a 2 of the slots. So i cut the tacs. Moved em out a bit and squared them again. Taced up and fitted. It was dead center to the grill. So i pulled it off and went to town laying down the final beads and then grinding the excess and finishing with a sanding pad. I was pleased with the final results, then bombed it with some flat black ao i could drive it around as is. The origional bumper is was warped from my incident. And gave me issues when installing one of my new headlights. I just opted to have it off since i figured light at night was more important as one of my old headlights was damaged as well. Now. At least i can drive safetly without getting ticketed for not having a bumper. And the rest of the pieces will be fitted while the bumper is on the truck. More to come.
 

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RamWagon

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Some more pics
 

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RamWagon

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Gotta bit more done tonight. The inital fit for the 3 pieces per side wasnt bad. Just some light material removal here and there with a sanding pad on the dewalt to make it line up just right. Until i went to fit the passenger side to the main porton of the bumper to find the large plate with the fog holes wasnt bent to its proper angle. Off by about and inch on the lower bend, cuttin tacs and its off to the torches tomorrow with some adjustables to see if i can get it to the right spot. Tonights progress.

And excuse them tacs. Welders started to run low on gas.
 

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DaKing

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Looking good. I'm getting ready to order some weld it your self bumpers too. Make sure to post completed pictures
 
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RamWagon

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Oh theres still alot of work to do. Have to patch the logo. Fill in the fogs. Then reinforce between the two beams inside, then cut holes on the front for my tow hooks i just got in from 4wheelparts.
I also have 2 goodies i had made. But those are only gonna be revealed when it comes back from linex
 

sbarron

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Nice work. Look forward to following this as it progresses.
 
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RamWagon

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Sorry. I havny been posting. So far it seems everything in my life doesnt want me to get this done. Dropped some steel on my ankle that required stitches. Got sprayed in the face with some industrial metal on metal sealer called mastic. And currently working with a throat infection of some sorts. So the past week and a half has been great. Anywho. Did some more work today more pics and descriptions to follow. You get 1 teaser
 

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RamWagon

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Stock bumper was mangled. Tossed it to the road.
 

RAMYOU

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coming along nicely!
 
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