From the start, we knew we needed a large, heavy duty front bumper. The problem was that we also knew that there were no manufactures out there that offered anything that would fit our needs. A few were close, but in the end, we decided to build our own. It had to be large enough to house a Federal Signal Q Siren, four off road lights, 6″ round fog lights, CPI siren speakers, Grover air horns and Tomar strobe lights.

#images#

We started with a piece of 10″ C-channel. This was bent and formed to the basic shape as seen in the first photo. The bends in front were set at 15° to accommodate the CPI brand intersection strobe light mounts. The bottom was cut from the center out to give the bumper an upswept look and to eliminate some weight. Once the basic shape was attained, the mounting hardware was conceived. It was decided to weld two pieces of heavy gauge C-channel to the ends of the frame rails since the ORU reverse shackle kit precluded us from bolting to the frame as a normal bumper would mount. Then two opposite facing lengths of C-channel were welded to the inside of the bumper ‘skin’. Next the wheel well opening were shaped to continue the body curves. Using masking tape to mark off the desired shape, the ends were cut and a 1″ piece of strap was welded along the end to give it a finished appearance as well as to add some strength. Now a piece of diamond plate steel was welded to the top of the skin and using a cardboard template of the front of the truck, the shape of the truck’s sheet metal was cut away. Lastly, the bottom of the bumper was cut and welded into place.

Before getting sand blasted and powder coated, using a plasma cutter, we cut out the holes we were sure of for the siren speakers, strobes and LED’s. The holes for the air horns had to be done once the bumper was completely installed to ensure perfect fit and alignment. As you can see in the second photo, the bumper fits perfectly and the Q siren is tested for fitment. From here, we removed the bumper and sent it out to be sandblasted and then powder coated. While it was out, we took the opportunity to sandblast the mounting hardware and the ends of the frame rails so we could prime and paint the exposed surfaces.

Once the bumper arrived back from the powder coater, we noticed that the painting process exposed some minor surface imperfections. We decided it wasn’t worth the effort to sand and re-coat the bumper so we filled in a few openings with silicone to prevent rust and bolted the monster creation to the front of the truck. It came out a bit wider than we anticipated, but overall, it’s a great fit and looks sharp with the lights, sirens and other accessories in place. It was a lot of work, but it was worth it. Now, if any bumper manufacturer out there wants to talk, give us a call.