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John Davies
| | Posted on Thursday, December 19, 2002 - 07:28 pm: | 
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I really like the Safari Gard rear bumper with 2 inch receiver and skid plate:
http://www.safarigard.com/graphics/products/RBumperClose_med.jpg
but I don't want to have to take out a second mortgage! Other than a custom bumper, are there any other decent (cheaper) choices that help the departure angle and incorporate a high mounted receiver?
I tow a small trailer and need to get that ball mount up in the air for clearance. I don't have a Disco yet - I was thinking that if I buy an '03 I would NOT get the stock LR receiver and just go ahead and upgrade the bumper. Here's my trailer:
http://home.att.net/~johndavies/page2.htm
On my mildly lifted (2" OME with 30 inch BFGs) Cherokee I am using a 2 inch RISE ball, so I think a raised receiver on the Disco would work pretty well and avoid a lot of junk hanging down low.
Thanks for any info. |
RVR OVR (Tom)
| | Posted on Thursday, December 19, 2002 - 07:42 pm: |
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I think this fits the bill. Aedofab rear bumper removes the rear hitch and incorporates a new one. Bumper, skid, and hitch are $850 for a DI (I have one), and I think the same for a D2 but I am not sure. The Aedofab web site is http://www.aedofab.com but is under construction and has no pics. Here are some pics I took when I went to the shop...
http://tompearson.net/bumperslider/disco2_stuff.htm
Tom |
John Davies
| | Posted on Thursday, December 19, 2002 - 08:16 pm: |
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Tom, the Aedofab bumper looks as if it would do the job. That sharp edge along the back bothers me a bit - the Safari Gard bumper has a bit of a flat section there. The Aedofab bumper looks a little dangerous - I expect a rear end collision would result in the following vehicle getting cut in two.
Any idea what the tow rating and max tongue load rating for the receiver is? My trailer has a 3500 lb GVWR. Does the bumper attach at only the stock mounts or are there some additional braces?
Where are they located? Area code 815 seems to be in Illinois?
Thanks for any other info. |
Al Oliveira (Offroaddisco)
| | Posted on Thursday, December 19, 2002 - 08:37 pm: |
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Cool.... glad others are getting into it.
John, Greg Davis makes a nice rear bumper but I guess it might be called a custom bumper.
One note on a 2003 Disco with that aedofab bumper, you'll need to figure out how to get your reverse lights back into the bumper or elsewhere. And if the rear fogs are important you'll have to figure out a way to get those back in too. It would be nice see a bumper like Gregs with the light mods that are on the bumper Greg made posted on the Red Disco2 in the photo section on Rovertym's web site (can't get the name now since I can't get to the Rovertym site) |
Dave_Lucas (Dave_Lucas)
| | Posted on Thursday, December 19, 2002 - 10:51 pm: |
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Hmm,
Does anyone know where I could score some lights like the one's in this picture
http://www.rovertym.com/wheeling/mar2001/GDrearbump.jpg
I would like some with a clear lens for backup lights in my new rear bumper. But I would settle for amber and red |
Dave_Lucas (Dave_Lucas)
| | Posted on Thursday, December 19, 2002 - 11:01 pm: |
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John,
Here are a few options for the DII other than Safari Gard
Trek Outfitters makes one that is a bolt on, according to them they do not require any cutting to make it fit.
http://www.trekoutfitters.com/discovery/extra%20pics/ds2rear.JPG
Greg Davis makes one that give a better departure angle. (it requires some cutting)
http://www.discoweb.org/gregdavis/RearView.jpg
Rockware makes a bumper that also requires cutting. I think they need to have your disco to make it
http://www.wehenrys.com/rockware/shop/sep2.jpg
Or, you could just make one, thats what I did and I am happy with it so far
../2/12707.html"#333333"> |
Brian Dickens (Bri)
| | Posted on Friday, December 20, 2002 - 07:24 am: |
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You don't need the lights in the bumper do you?
They should all be handled by the lights in the body. If not, then double check your lights, there may be some open slots to plug a new bulb and holder into (there were on my 95 D1). |
Rans (Rans)
| | Posted on Friday, December 20, 2002 - 08:06 am: |
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If you are patient, John at Rovertym is expecting to come out with a rear bumper in the spring. |
Greg Davis (Gregdavis)
| | Posted on Friday, December 20, 2002 - 09:24 am: |
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If you go with an '03, you could wire in a worklamp to act as your reverse lights. If you doin't have a rack, someone on this board makes a mount that attaches to the rear door. If you're interested in mine, you can e-mail me for specifics. I have a batch being made now so delivery shouldn't be too far off.
And thanks to everyone that mentioned my name. I really appreciate that. |
Rans (Rans)
| | Posted on Friday, December 20, 2002 - 09:31 am: |
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You're still on my list Greg...waiting to see what John makes, and if you find a powder coater to compare..... |
Greg Davis (Gregdavis)
| | Posted on Friday, December 20, 2002 - 09:43 am: |
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Well, there's two reasons I don't powder coat mine. One is fear of it getting scratched during shipping. Two is cost and handling(hmm, I guess that's really three reasons . If you get it done locally, you know that there is no markup on the coating and you can get the exact color you like. I personally don't like my stuff coated because if it gets scratched or chipped, I can simply touch it up. Plus, I don't have to have it shipped to the coater, then worry about how well it's protected for shipping. By shipping in bare metal, my customer is not limited and can choose what he/she likes. |
Bill Ross (Billr)
| | Posted on Friday, December 20, 2002 - 10:52 am: |
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John:
Not to change the subject, but that is a really slick trailer. Do you know if the prices shown on the Express Trailers site are Canadian (site does not specify as far as I can tell) and can they build the trailer to take Rover wheels?
Bill
Callander, ON CDN |
Rans (Rans)
| | Posted on Friday, December 20, 2002 - 10:54 am: |
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Those are some damn good reasons Greg..... |
John Davies
| | Posted on Friday, December 20, 2002 - 11:24 am: |
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Two replies:
Dave:
Thanks for the links. I appreciate it when someone posts pics. The round rear lights you want appear to be standard small truck lights. They pop into rubber grommets. Any trailer shop can sell them to you, or you can order at a number of different places online like AW Direct:
http://www.awdirect.com/
AW Direct sells primarily to tow operators and the like, but will sell to the rest of the world, unless you order door jimmy tools ;) They sell Wedco Jerry cans for US$32.00. I have seen all sorts of LED lights, but not clears. I used the bigger LEDs on my trailer - did you see the pics? The LED lights are ideal for an off-road bumper because they are shock proof and have a 100,000 hr life expectancy, draw minimal current, are fully sealed and they are just plain cool. I strongly urge everyone to order a catalog - there is a lot of interesting stuff you normally don't see in most retail catalogs.
Bill:
The Express Trailers site lists Canadian dollars, which is the main reason I picked them to build my trailer. The cost was about US$400 less than having a US builder make it because of the exchange rate, and the fact that the shop is in the boonies and he has a low overhead. His shop rate is something like US$45.00 per hour. Tony is the main man. He has built thousands of aluminum trailers in the past several years. He gets a semi load of marne grade aluminum every week! His guys are very sharp at metal-working - the welds are very pretty. The rest of the work is typical utility trailer quality - meaning pretty borderline. I rewired the entire trailer, remounted the Bulldog coupling, and did a number of other mods (like gas struts on the lid and tailgate cables) that he was unwilling to do for various reasons. The trailers are tough - he had a guy haul one all over Alaska for 18,000 kms without damage - but aluminum is NOT the metal of choice for rock-bashing. It's too soft and has a finite fatigue life. My trailer was the fanciest 4x6 he had ever made. He took some pics and was going to post them on his website. There is only one US dealer for these BC trailers - Signal Trailers in Everett WA. I bought through Signal and travelled to Vancouver Island to oversee the construction and take delivery personally.
http://www.signaltrailer.com/
If you want to talk more about off-road trailers, ask away. I love the subject. Next Spring I will take a bunch more photos and post them. I carry four mountain bikes on the lid - it looks trick and works fabulously compared to hauling them way up on the roof. |
John Davies
| | Posted on Friday, December 20, 2002 - 11:33 am: |
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Bill;
Sorry, I forgot this part. As far as Rover wheel bolt pattern on the trailer, I don't know. I believe the Disco2 is 5 on 5 1/2? You would have to call a local trailer shop or go to the Dexter site to see if hubs are available. I don't know enough about LRs to know what shares this pattern. My trailer is 5 on 4 1/2, which matches the Cherokee and some Fords, and is quite common. I bought a third wheel and tire (mounted on the tongue) so that if I switched vehicles (such as to a Disco) I would still have a spare for the trailer.
http://www.dexteraxle.com/
IMHO, matching bolt patterns on the trailer and truck is very desirable, but it should not be a deciding factor unless you are into serious expedition driving out of the USA. |
John Davies
| | Posted on Friday, December 20, 2002 - 11:52 am: |
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Dave:
I really like your home-brewed bumper. I can't do more than repeat what everyone else said - awesome! I am pleased to see that someone else had the sense to mount the trailer wiring receptacle in the bumper - that is the first thing I did when I wired up my Cherokee. It really keeps the plug up and out of the way - I rerouted my trailer harness so that it comes across the _top_ of the trailer tongue rather than drooping out the bottom. It works slick.
Why didn't you integrate the receiver into the bumper when you built it? Was that a solid engineering decision or a brain fart?
What would a local custom metal fabricating shop charge for something like that - any idea? Would it be more than one from RoverTym or the other companies?
Again - nice job. You can weld stuff for me any day. |
Greg Davis (Gregdavis)
| | Posted on Friday, December 20, 2002 - 12:29 pm: |
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FWIW, the DII pattern is 5x120mm, which is less than 1mm off from the GM 5x4.75 pattern. It's the back spacing on the DII that limits the wheel choice, as 6.5" is the factory backspace. |
RVR OVR (Tom)
| | Posted on Friday, December 20, 2002 - 01:31 pm: |
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John,
Yes that is Illinois. As far as lights go, the DI ones have incorporated lights in the bumper. You could probably request the same. Aedofab leans towards custom work, they would probably make something for you. Mine is also less "sharp", maybe they could do something about that for the DII bumper as well.
You can see pics of my bumper here with lights and a more "flat" bumper.
http://www.discoweb.org/tompearson/index.htm
Tom |
Dave_Lucas (Dave_Lucas)
| | Posted on Friday, December 20, 2002 - 04:41 pm: |
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John,
I am adding a 2" receiver soon, originally I thought I would just use the stock one and remove it when I did not need to use it, but after trying it out a few times it is a PITA to take off and on.
I would think a local fab shop would be able to make one for less than Safari Gard, Trek outfitters and others, but that is just a guess. I am building a few for some people here in Colorado and the price is around half of what Trek wants for their DII bumpers, but that is because they are helping to build it. |
Mike
| | Posted on Friday, December 20, 2002 - 05:47 pm: |
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Go to EE and get the TJM rear bumper |
Dave_Lucas (Dave_Lucas)
| | Posted on Friday, December 20, 2002 - 06:25 pm: |
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Mike,
We are talking DII, TJM does not have a DII bumper yet.
At least that I know of |
theJekyll
| | Posted on Friday, December 20, 2002 - 07:50 pm: |
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Greg Davis,
Is that one of your rear bumpers on Greg Hren's rig ? I like what he did with the lights. Do you know were he got them.P.S. can't wait until I get my rear bumper
Thanks,
Brian |
Greg Davis (Gregdavis)
| | Posted on Monday, December 23, 2002 - 08:29 am: |
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Brian, I believe he got them from a local trailer parts supplier. I can't remember the name of the company though. E-mail me and I can give you his contact info. |
Alen Babayan (Alen)
| | Posted on Monday, December 23, 2002 - 09:29 am: |
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Did anybody change the factory bumper mounts to install the custom bumpers? |
Dave_Lucas (Dave_Lucas)
| | Posted on Monday, December 23, 2002 - 10:31 am: |
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Alen,
I am using the 4 stock bolt holes and the two stock trailer hitch mounting holes that are in the rear cross member, |
Greg Davis (Gregdavis)
| | Posted on Monday, December 23, 2002 - 10:32 am: |
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Mine uses the factory mounts, but goes from the factory two bolts to four, and then three places in each wheel well, giving a total of 12 mounting points. Mine also uses the two locations where the factory hitch attached to the rear crossmember.
The factory mount has holes for two bolts per side, but only one per side are used. |
Alen Babayan (Alen)
| | Posted on Monday, December 23, 2002 - 11:24 am: |
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I would advise highly to change them, they like to bend with aftermarket bumpers with little hit.
Caused my bumper to flex into the quarter panel with expensive bill twice. |
Greg Davis (Gregdavis)
| | Posted on Monday, December 23, 2002 - 12:43 pm: |
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Alen, where else is your bumper attached? |
Alen Babayan (Alen)
| | Posted on Monday, December 23, 2002 - 04:34 pm: |
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Greg, from my quarter panel slider to the frame i have 3/4" pipe going to the frame at a 35 degree angle. |
Dave_Lucas (Dave_Lucas)
| | Posted on Monday, December 23, 2002 - 10:56 pm: |
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Alen,
A few questions,
1. Does your bumper bolt to the four factory points as well as the two hitch mounting points on the rear cross member?
2. Was the damage caused by the quarter panel slider getting pushed up into the sheet metal?
3. Do you have any pictures of the damage and a description of where the bumper was struck to cause said damage?
I am planning on adding a brace to the bumper I am currently making just to see what it turns out like, but I think that my bumper would still be ok since it does not have the quarter panel sliders like yours and Greg's. I can see where it would cause a problem when you add that long piece of metal sticking out there acting as a lever when pressure is applied. |
Al Oliveira (Offroaddisco)
| | Posted on Tuesday, December 24, 2002 - 09:41 am: |
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Dave, from my experience that protection on the rear quarter is needed. If you're building a rear bumper I would take a close look at that section.
Just my 2 cents |
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