Neilage Fab: Bumper relocation

[The Roadie]

After getting my custom bumper fabbed a few years ago by somebody no longer in the business, and vowing I would NEVER get a body lift due to center of gravity worries, I changed my mind. Had to, after the state of the art being a moving target, and the lack of ground clearance ONLY being fixable (in part) with larger than my former 32" tires. So I put on a Zone Offroad (formerly sourced by BDS) 2" body lift. And tires, and so forth.

But the 2" gap above my front bumper was a horrible annoyance I was reluctant to fix while still out of work. But Neil worked with me and got an affordable mod project done yesterday. Thanks, Neil!!!!!!

Original bumper with mounting sleeves that go over frame rails



Frame:





Cutting starting





Laying out new sheet stock for cutting





New lower box tacked on



Finishing up welds



New boxes on



DONE! Now have to go measure approach angle improvement.

[Philberto]

[Trail X]

Dang it, Bill. You're always staying a step ahead, aren't you. Well done!

While you're measuring the increased attack angle... can you compare the fuel economy and roll-over incline from before and after the body lift?

And... uhh... where's your original bumper design/build thread? Shouldn't you migrate that data over here?

[bartonmd]

Cool!

[janesy86]

Sweet! Neil certainly does some nice work...

Also Roadie.. a bit off topic but do you know if Teebes' bumper is done or not? I've been talkin with Neil bout a rear tube bumper but he needs a TB to work with/measurements... Man I wish I lived in SoCal, been wanting to for quite some time now.

[wswensonjr]

Great job.. Was wondering how far down does the radiator stick now? We don't want to hit the ground with that first..

Can't wait for my custom bumper..

[Philberto]

Sweet! Neil certainly does some nice work...

Also Roadie.. a bit off topic but do you know if Teebes' bumper is done or not? I've been talkin with Neil bout a rear tube bumper but he needs a TB to work with/measurements... Man I wish I lived in SoCal, been wanting to for quite some time now.

If you'll front the cash, I'll rent a car for a few weeks. Have to deliver a new car to San Diego sometime this week probably anyways.


But seriously, if you want one that bad, I'm more than willing to let him work on mine. Just broke at the moment.

[janesy86]

Haha.. Thanks for the offer but I'll have to decline. For the $$ that'd cost me I might as well find someone around me to do it, but Neil's offer is to good to pass up, plus all the work I've seen of his on here is amazing. So for now I'll wait til Neil can find a TB or if Teebes has to go back for more fab work, I'm not needing the bumper, just want it.

Plus there aren't too many offroad shops in my area. Man do I need to move out of the city and back home to the sticks...

Now back to the regularly scheduled programing..

[bgwolfpack]

Very nice Roadie. Neil does some nice work, he's a real asset even for the rest of us. Well done.

So I conclude you won't be trading up to that 3 inch body lift?

[The Roadie]

You're always staying a step ahead, aren't you.

Nah, I'm far from state of the art in ground clearance, but I don't care as much now I've got the gas tank armor.

And... uhh... where's your original bumper design/build thread? Shouldn't you migrate that data over here?

Yeah. Recent events have we worried more than ever about the OS. But if you take a look at the thread that has a roll call of the lifted ones, I believe it's longer than the ones who have gone lower. Not that the lowered crowd is at all as organized as the offroaders. Har.

...you won't be trading up to that 3 inch body lift?...

Oh, my goodness, I see no point in that last inch, but that's a real lightning rod for heated discussions. No thanks.

Great job.. Was wondering how far down does the radiator stick now? We don't want to hit the ground with that first..

The radiator is pretty exposed, and I'll take some measurements. But I had to get the bumper moved up first to make it the proper height for additional skid plate and tube work, like Neil was doing for Teebes.

Also Roadie.. a bit off topic but do you know if Teebes' bumper is done or not?

Far as I know, it's only partially done. Gotta get a report from him. Mine needs skinning as well, but I think I'm going to mock that up with foam-core first.

[CHIEF BIG RIDGE]

Wow that looks mean. Great job Neil and Bill.

[Zero]

I wish someone made a 1" body lift so I could have just enough room to fit rock sliders. I still need to fit into most under grounds. But then again, now I have my motorcycle.

[NeilageInc]

Thank you guys again for all the appreciation. It all helps Rick and I keep coming up with ideas and producing the parts you guys need. Till the next episode. You guys can also go to Our website for more pictures or products. The link is listed below. Thank you, Neil.

[vagator]

Bill,
Everytime I see that bumper I get excited. As a fellow Envoy drive would you be willing to share the cad drawing with Neil to cut and weld up a second one of those Roadie approved bumpers? Shipping would be a grip to the east coast, but until KMA makes one for the Voy, I'm a bit out of luck.

Of course I'd have to talk to Neil as well to get an idea of the cost, but his work is impressive.

Cheers,
Chuck

[The Roadie]

I don't own the final CAD, and the designer is willing to sell it for $200. But Neil could also reverse engineer mine, and he could give you a price for sure. He certainly knows it inside and out by now.

And he could simplify it a LOT if you didn't want it reinforced internally like mine for 20,000 pounds of winching force (9000 pound winch but the force is doubled if you use a snatch block pulley and reconnect back to a shackle ON the bumper.

[vagator]

I filled out the contact form on Neilage with my request. I'll be looking for quote for a bumper similar to the king of trailvoy offroad, Roadie. We will see... In this last snowstorm my Curt front hitch really worked like a plow in the deep snow, its always been an approach hindrance, I ready for a new bumper.

[Zero]

Im sure Neil will be very happy to get your request. he does great work. Makes stuff just how you want it.

[HARDTRAILZ]

When moving it up, did you change the reciever mount at all since it looked like it was made to go around the stock frame tube?

[The Roadie]

Didn't touch it, since the curved cut was on the top side of the frame tube. Now there's an unnecessary gap. An unintended side effect was a way too narrow gap now to get my hand in there from underneath to install the PIN to hold the Warn Multimount in the receiver. I had to do it with tongs. Gotta get a better access somehow.

[Trail X]

Didn't touch it, since the curved cut was on the top side of the frame tube. Now there's an unnecessary gap. An unintended side effect was a way too narrow gap now to get my hand in there from underneath to install the PIN to hold the Warn Multimount in the receiver. I had to do it with tongs. Gotta get a better access somehow.

Tongs? You must have Jedi-steady hands.