well i decided that i wanted to attempt to build my own since i couldnt afford a shrock/calmini and i am very pleased with how it turned out i ended up with right at 300 invested which i could have easily spent less if i wasnt so lazy. basically to start off i got a swing away tirecarrier with hindge that was designed for a 07-09 jeep wrangler i then built a bumper and retro fitted the carrier on to it.. the bumper is all 1/4" steel so it is very very heavy it actually lowered the rear of my truck over half an inch by adding the weight.. here are some pictures they arent the best pics but you can get the idea..the first couple are before it was finished. I am very pleased with how it turned out. let me know what you think!

http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m187/drumminguy81/1269044840455.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m187/drumminguy81/1269044845947.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m187/drumminguy81/1269044856063.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m187/drumminguy81/1269217591828.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m187/drumminguy81/1269205892599.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m187/drumminguy81/1269205885549.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m187/drumminguy81/2010-03-28174111.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m187/drumminguy81/2010-03-28174104.jpg

awesome!

its nice to be able to build the expensive stuff yourself and not have to spend so much cash

yes it is luckly my dad is decent at welding otherwise it wouldnt have been possible. ha. if i hadnt bought the swing arm already built it would have cost me under 100 but i chose to buy a swing arm/hindge assembly already made to save time and effort. the whole thing is painted with flat black wrinkle paint which i think looks great other than the fact that i didnt get it very even so it needs a few more coats to look good.

looks good man

nice job that looks really nice.

Really nice bumper. Now you just need to sort that hitch out so you can fix your departure angle. :)

yea i decided to leave the hitch because i dont trust welding it into the bumper with the towing i do i would rather have the piece of mind

Look's good!

What are you towing???

Looks good but I think you need to ditch the stock hitch

Yeah how come you didnt work a hitch in with it... Im almost ready to build mine...
Looks good man

Looks good!

Did you just take a piece of metal plate and bend it?

no it is a piece of 5" channel 1/4" thick with a 4" plate also 1/4" thick welded on top and at an angle on bottom. it is very heavy and very beefy

unfortunately that hitch kills your departure angle when wheeling.

nice

no it is a piece of 5" channel 1/4" thick with a 4" plate also 1/4" thick welded on top and at an angle on bottom. it is very heavy and very beefy

Nice dude....I think I might try some angle iron and then weld a piece on the bottom

It looks nice.

I agree the hitch is a problem.

If its the factory hitch, at least you probably at least had the OEM frame stiffeners in the rear frame horns to help brace that heavy bumper.

You may want to explain, or think about, what bracing you did to keep the tire from being pivoted back into the hatch door/glass if hit from behind/you back into something.

You can buy a hitch receiver/mount and just weld it or bolt it onto your bumper....if you trust the bumper to take the load.

If you don't think the bumper is as strong as the OEM hitch, maybe re-think how the bumper is made/mounted.

the bumper is definately beefy and it does have the frame stiffeners from the oem hitch.. i dont really do any super crazy off roading so im not very worried about the hitch dragging.. i didnt do much to stop it from hitting the hatch other than makeing the hindge sturdy as hell.. its welded through the bumper agains the legs of the channel.. and there is a rubber bump stop between the swing arm and bumper.. but i guess if something tall enough hit me hard enough it would still be possible to bend it and hit the hatch.. im not too worried about it though if it happens it happens.. this is just my winter beater anyway.. thanks for all the feedback i am definately very happy with it though having that tire blocking most of my view out the rear window takes a bit of getting used to..

the bumper is definately beefy and it does have the frame stiffeners from the oem hitch..

i dont really do any super crazy off roading so im not very worried about the hitch dragging..

i didnt do much to stop it from hitting the hatch other than makeing the hindge sturdy as hell.. its welded through the bumper agains the legs of the channel.. and there is a rubber bump stop between the swing arm and bumper.. but i guess if something tall enough hit me hard enough it would still be possible to bend it and hit the hatch.. im not too worried about it though if it happens it happens.. this is just my winter beater anyway.. thanks for all the feedback i am definately very happy with it

though having that tire blocking most of my view out the rear window takes a bit of getting used to..

Cool.

OK, well, as you don't really off road enough to make even the stock hitch drag, then just mount the tire lower so it doesn't block your view for no reason....you have plenty of room to lower it down, w/o it being even close to dragging on departure.

That way, you solve your only complaint.

:D