I tend to hit things a lot. My front bumper has been pretzelfried

there are quite a few aftermarket bumpers out there but they all seem to need to fit over thetop of the stock bumper. Since i have to replace the stock bumper anyway i dont see the point in that.

is there an after market bumper for my 04 yamaha 400 kodiak 4x4 that replaces the stock bumper and is substantially more beefy?

I am this close to pulling the trigger on a stock bumper for the '05 450 and using that on my 400. everything appears like it would line up the same visually and the stock bumper for the 450 is much beefier.

 

If I were you, I'd invest in a welder.

 

I agree...build your own if you can

Warn makes a good product, but as you observed, it goes over/attaches to the stock piece, which if "pretzelfied" would be hard to make a good fit.

I have built a few bumpers and have no welding skills, just patience with a chop saw, and a friend who does weld...So, cut up some heavy angle iron which you can find new at Loews or in a junkyard and piece something together

 

I made a bumper out of a tubular steel 2x4 one time. That was a little too heavy but indestructible. A 2x2 would be much better weight-wise and still be tough as nails.

 

I made a bumper out of 6" steel c-channel 3/16" thick. Its very heavy duty. Check out the pics on www.sledsooley.com click on the Area51 page Only difference from when those pics were taken is that I have 2 small lights added in the bumper now.

 

nice project pics there. has the roller fairlead gotten dinged up at all since the install?

i did consider the welding solution. the problem is that i only have 120 in my house and im pretty sure i would need 240 to run even the most rudementary welder. i have done arc welding before. i actually built a trailer for a catamaran out of stop sign post. Aside from causing numerous accidents at nearby intersections this was a very good solution.

one of the other reasons i decided against welding was that the price of the stock metal was really expensive. To the point were it would be about the same as just buying a new one. (albeit i could make a better than stock one as you guys have done). but still it surprised me. i even tried going to the iron monger guy who takes scrap. its not the same as it used to be.

i probably should get a welder and the 240 hookup anyway. im sure ill need it soon. i really cant drive this thing unless its into something stationary at high speed. its only a matter of time before i destroy something else. I have my quad parts guy on speed dial now. he knows me by voice.

 

[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] Funny stuff there. I have a 110/120 volt MIG/flux-core welder. I just run a heavy-duty extension cord out of my kitchen and weld in the driveway. It works great on anything from sheet metal to bumpers, but won't get deep penetrating welds like an arc welder on REALLY thick metal. With the flux-core wire you don't need any gas like argon, and the regulators and stuff. The flux makes it own "gas cloud" when it burns.

 

Thanks frank. i guess thats a wire welder? maybe e-bay.

 

The roller failead has held up very well. I have a 220v arc welder for welding, but a good 110v Mig welder with inert gas will work well. Flux core wire is OK, but shielding gas is much better.

 

is there any pics of these home made bumpers?

i have a 1.75" heavy duty pipe which could make me a rear bumper for backing into things... i have a welder, just need a way to mount it