WIY bumpers assembly started.

[gearjammer]

Instead of waiting for feedback on a wiy kit I decided to go at it myself. Ordered the front and rear for my 05 3500 this past monday. The bumpers shipped same day and arrived friday. The shipping packaging was more than ample to take some abuse from fedex. Could see visible signs of some rough handling but no damage done to the parts. A+++ here on speed of delivery and care taken for shipping. Started the process today. I am not a welder and recruited the help of 2 friends that are certified welders and have experience in metal fabrication. Opened the packaging and sorted through all the parts, and theres a bunch of them....lol. Elijah had emailed me pics and a very limited instruction sheet to go on. None were included in the package so very thankful I asked for this in advance. The front went together fairly painlessly. I was pretty impressed with the amount of bends and cuts as to how well the parts matched up. Based on my 2 friends opinion it was fairly easy but would not recommend it for an inexperienced metal fabricator/welder. Some parts needed minor trimming and multiple c-clamps and vice grips were in use keeping seems lined up and drawing them together while being tacked. They elected to tack the center section of the bumper to a braced piece of angle to eliminate any twisting and flexing from its on weight. We proceeded slow and took our time lining pieces up and using minimal tack welds incase the need arised to correct somethings. After approx 4 hrs we had it ready for a test fit on the truck. This was a smart move because we realized we had got one of the mounting brackets approx 1/2" off and had to move it over to get the side to side adjust correct. We then moved to the rear bumper and got it it tacked up and called it a day. Plan on finishing them up tomorrow fully welding all the seems and Im sure followed by several hours of grinding to get it ready for powder coating. My only complaint at this point is the vagueness of the instructions and without the pics supplied via email, would have been lost on installation of a few pieces. I also did not get any pics of the rear bumper on the back side and have sent elijah an email requesting some photos. Some pieces are not very self explanatory if you have never seen an assembled bumper. So hopefully I will be finishing this up tomorrow and giving you guys some more ins and outs of this whole procedure. Heres a few pics of todays work. Will try to get some more up tomorrow.

 

[gearjammer]

more pics...also the pic mounted to the truck, did not bother with getting it postioned correctly, just checked that we had enough up and down adjustment as well as side to side so its not sitting nice and tight to the truck. The brackets allow for a large range of adjustment and we determined it was dialed in enough to get it lined up when complete.

 

[AF_Hemi]

sweet!

 

[ramhunter9]

Nice info. Great pics. In my opinion the WIY kits are for someone that knows about these things. I opted for the pre made ones but looks like you have some real good help. My bumpers also came with know instructions but it's not rocket science to bolt them up. Now what your doing requires instructions for sure. I'm glad to here Elijha is helping ya out. You can always count on him making it right. Unlike other componys that leave ya hi and dry

 

[Ms.MagnumSLT]

Cool!

 

[gearjammer]

Nice info. Great pics. In my opinion the WIY kits are for someone that knows about these things. I opted for the pre made ones but looks like you have some real good help. My bumpers also came with know instructions but it's not rocket science to bolt them up. Now what your doing requires instructions for sure. I'm glad to here Elijha is helping ya out. You can always count on him making it right. Unlike other componys that leave ya hi and dry

You dont happen to have any pics of the backside of your rear bumper do you? Theres a few small pieces that we are totally up in the air on right now as to where they go. The small parts all came in one package and not sure if they go on the front or rear. They look to be winch mount related but its just a guess at this time.

 

[KGBIGCOUNTRY]

Good write up bud, keep us in the loop on this.

 

[ramhunter9]

This one might help . And the to bags have the same things in them . I used what i needed and had extras left over .

 

[BMRbrnSNRbrd]

Bumper looks great! Man I wish I knew how to weld or had the time/money to take some classes. I have no real use for it but I'm sure I would find something.

 

[gearjammer]

This one might help . And the to bags have the same things in them . I used what i needed and had extras left over .

That pic came in handy yesterday..thanks You dont happen to have any pics of the mounting of the rear do you? Or could possibly take a few and text them to me? If you do I would appreciate it. 704-four zero zero 32 eight eight ...Is the factory hitch still in use?

Lack of instructions and a detailed pics of placement are my only real gripes with this project so far. Should be fairly simple for Elijah to correct that for future WIY kits.

 

[ramhunter9]

Give me a sec and I will go snap some for ya . And yes the hitch is still in use BRB

 

[ramhunter9]

sorry for the bad shots ..cell phone

 

[Trupiano]

That looks abosulutely amazing Jason! Nice job!!!

 

[gearjammer]

sorry for the bad shots ..cell phone

You are the man! Thats what I needed. Thankyou

Its rolling good now. Taking lots of pics. Should be done welding today and get a good start on the grinding..Assembly of the rear bumper is alot easier than the front..way less issues with alignment. All the free wrenching Ive done on my friends turned up Cummins is getting payed back on this project!

 

[ramhunter9]

Glad I could help .. looking forward to more pics . Let me know if you need anything eles buddy

 

[RubberFrog]

This is fantastic! I've been looking forward to somebody doing this. Perhaps when you have it all finished you could do a step by step how to?

 

[Sharp Charge]

Looks good. This is the reason I was asking if they come with a set of blue prints. What's the thickness of the metal, 1/8" or is it thinner?

 

[RubberFrog]

3/16"

 

[BMRbrnSNRbrd]

I really like that they allow you to utilize the factory hitch. That's got to be a selling point for people.

 

[HUNTSMAN]

more pics...also the pic mounted to the truck, did not bother with getting it postioned correctly, just checked that we had enough up and down adjustment as well as side to side so its not sitting nice and tight to the truck. The brackets allow for a large range of adjustment and we determined it was dialed in enough to get it lined up when complete.

From one fabricator to another, Why did you opt to assemble in mid air? I read what you stated about the weight of the pieces possibly flexing, but, I still think a "true" fab table would have been easier. Just a little constructive/friendly criticism, hope you don't mind!

Obviously, I wasn't there. I just thought a fab table would have helped to keep everything straight,square,plumb, and level with the world... a reference point to build off of. If the first piece is "right" with the world, then the next piece can be fit accordingly...and so on from there.

Again, just some friendly observations. Eitherway, you did a great job with the fit up. Good luck with the rest of the process!!