the answer is 41" but if you want some more tips from one who has built and lived with his own creation let me know via private e-mail and I will advise you with out boring others.
sln

 

Good info is never boring. Im intrested too.

84CJ7

 

No kidding.... I want to hear too!

Larry 85CJ7, 350TBI ,T19 4spd

 

tell tell- i am thinking about making my own also. i need one that wont be so heavy though- but heavy enough to even out the weight up fron by the ARB bumper and winch

 

Agreed. I want to hear about bumpers & tire carriers as well......

So please start "the milenium bumper experience"...<smile>
Regards,
PerJ (From Norway)

<per.jenssen@sensonor.no>
Using self-discipline, see http://www.eiffel.com/discipline

 

OK here goes the 'millennium bumper experience'.
a) departure clearance is something we need a lot of in off-roading
b) excess weight is something we don't need a lot of in off-roading
c) rattles bug me bad
d) functionality is paramount
e) self-destruction of a component is a bad thing
f) destruction of something else by something we 'improved' on our vehicles is a bad thing
g) there are some other things but you get the point and besides, I can't remember everything
The bumper should be wide enough to stop damage to the body. I made mine wide enough to go to the start of the curvature of the quarter panels and it should have been wider. See the article in 4WD&SU magazine about the 'Snake Pit' in Clayton, Oklahoma. That trail did a job on my right quarter panel just because I tried to save some ounces in the wrong place. My bumper is 4"X2"X1/4"TS. That maybe too heavy a wall thickness. The next size down is 3/16" and may well be adequate for the task. My next one will be this. That TS is spaced 3" from the frame plate which is 3/16" and is a match drilled component with the frame crossmember and another 3/16" backup plate on the inside of the frame crossmember. You need to know how to drop your tank anyway. MATCH drill all three items for 7/16" bolts. No over size here. This is very important. Total of 12 bolts through all three plates using the original 8 that held on the bumperettes. (After all these years I think that still sounds like a vaudeville female dance act.) Use more of your TS to space the bumper out from the frame plate. I used 3" as I said and will not do that next time. Two inches is plenty and will get you a better departure angle. Place the spacer TS directly in line with the frame rails. While I'm at it here, I would next time make mine out of 3'X2"X3/16"TS and get better departure angle yet. But, cut a square hole 2-1/2"X2-1/2" in the center of the bumper and get some TS of that size and weld it in there and you will have a receiver hitch without any below the bumper hang down. Remember a) above? Drill the 5/8" hole first, of course. On the bottom of the frame at the ends are (one each side) a pair of 7/16" tapped holes. Make a set of brackets to fit over these holes and drill them exactly 7/16" and form and shape them to be bolted to the frame and welded to your new bumper assemblies. Do not weld this up at this time.
I will end this right now in case I'm going over some limit. I will take this up later in another post.
sln

 

The continuation of the millennium bumper exerience.
For your hi-lift jack, weld some 5/16" or 3/8" barstock pieces on the bottom of the bumper so that the tongue doesn't slip off. Put them so that the bumper can be used from the sides and from the back. (While you are at it, do the same for whatever you have for a front bumper.) That pretty well sums up the bumper itself. Oh yeah, end cap it of course. Now I will turn my attention to the tire carrier. For a pivot shaft I used 1'' steel shaft material from a local bearing supply house along with a pair of bronze bushings. My unit seems to sag a little now and I would use 1-1/4" or even 1-1/2" if I was doing it again. For the bottom arm of the swingout I used 2"X2"X1/4"TS and would use 3"x2"X3/16"TS LLV for my next one. It is just a little stiffer vertically and is needed here, I think. The uprights on the swing arm are forming a triangle with the swing arm as the bottom. Going up from the apex is another piece of the same TS taller than any anticipated tire and this holds a plexiglass sleeve for my GPS antenna. It must be above any tire as the steel belts will attenuate the signal and hurt the performance of the receiver. I used the original tire/wheel mounting plates and modified all of that to fit my TS triangle and upright. There are several ways to mount the wheel and all ways have merit, I suppose, I just used something that fit into my scheme of modifications. The next important thing is this: there are four rubber pads between the spare tire and the tail door on my YJ. Use all four of these. Three of mine went between the tire and the triangle and the fourth one went between the upright and the tail door. Coordinate your latch assembly of choice and the location and spacing of this bumper so that when the swing arm is latched the bumper is snug against the door. This and the match drilled 12 bolts and the final thing:BOLT the tabs on the bottom to your Jeep and THEN weld to the new bumper ONLY when you have a large spare in place and all other things are done and in place and loaded; these three will get you an assembly that will not rattle when you go down the washboard roads. The final tip is to make sure that the swinging end of the swing arm is resting on a pad when the latch is engaged. This will be the fourth item to keep the rattles away. More later.
sln

 

A few final notes: put some tabs on the swing arm for some real backup lights. I used some no rust plastic housing halogen bulb units from Stewart Warner. Get them at a farm implement dealership. They have waterproofed switches on them and are great. Put a switch on the dash board completely independent of reverse and you will have a set of positionable, switchable, whateverable work, backup, trouble or you name it lights. And tailgaters will learn new things if you remember that you have them. (Sorry, I digress.) I originally finished my entire assembly in Line-X but found out that it is not a good thing for bumpers. The rocks will tear the urethane and leave a path for moisture and then hold that moisture against the steel and the rust will move like you won't believe. Right now I think the best thing is rattle can because it is the easiest to touch up.
If you do like I did and change the sizing of the TS like I think it should be, (or even if you don't) you will have one of the most solid rear bumpers it is possible to have on the back of your Jeep.
Let me know how yours' come out everybody.
sln

 

/wwwthreads_images/icons/smile.gif Great post, SLN; I learned a lot. Our project is not too different in that the bumper is a combo bumper, spring hangar, trailer hitch(receiver), wheel rack, and gas can rack. Our spring hangars were shot, so we are using two 2" X 2" X 1/4" wall Sq Tubes to go forward.....under the frame...and become the new spring hangars, and at the same time a frame attachment for the bumper. The bumper is 3 X 4 X 3/16 Rect. tube with a 3/8" X 5" HR plate flat against the back of the jeep frame all the way across. The 3 X 4 welds to that, with the 4" horizontal which gives us 2" of flat showing and a place to bolt up. We are using every bolt hole that there is. Our goal was to help tie everything on our somewhat rusty CJ together, and transfer the weight directly to the springs rather than hang a hvy bumper on the frame. We needed the extra weight in the rear for snow driving. With a heavy spare and two jeep cans of gas, we are fifty-fifty front to back, which is good for steep, slippery, snow-covered mtn roads...which is about all we have up here....AND with (modified) Ouadra-Trac drive, we get a superior SNOJEEP./wwwthreads_images/icons/smile.gif

CJDave