Big truck bumper

[Sberry]

I need to build a bumper for a truck. I know there are regs on height and I have an idea with that but is there a particular width? I think they call it ntsb reg or something? Its a underide protection bumper to keep cars from going under the truck and decapitating the car occupants.

[Arc Burn]

I bet someone in the trailer industry could tell you,probably along the same lines as trailer widths and restrictions.

[Sberry]

I found the regs I think. Nice of it to be posted in MM. 300 to 400 mm to the bottom of the face of the bumper and 1800 to 2300 wide. This actually works out with the materials I have on hand and the only mod I am going to make is on the uprights but will include a stiffener at a hight stress area.

[Sberry]

It calls for tube steel with neatly capped ends,,, we can do that. It goes on this little Mack I have been fixxing up and has a Hiab knuckle boom on it.

[Franz]

Sberry, are all them measurments metric cause that's a Froggy Renault Mack?

If you have access to any 6" square guard rail, it makes a nice bumper, and by hinging the "neatly capped ends" you can use the bumper for storing bars & rollers.

[Sberry]

Yes, its a Renault. The measurements are metric in the ICC regs and I have a piece of 1/4 x 3 x 4 sq tubing I used. The pieces are cut and the tube fabbed laying there ready to install this morn. I should have moved truck inside before it started raining,, ha. Its a nice little truck even if it is a French thing. I replaced a bent front axel I found for a hundred bucks, replaced the brake lines and some new cans, new lights and I got a better cab and a door for 200 too. A bit more steel work on the tool boxes yet, paint the cab, install new windshield and blast and paint the rest of the truck and some lines on the crane and its going to be good to go. New steer tires also. Its a nice driving truck. I beveled the ends of the tube and it actually looks like a solid piece of steel. I am adding a Reese style hitch socket and trailer light connection. You will get a couple pics after paint job. I cut a couple slots in the headache rack to secure torch bottles with a nylon strap for the occasional trip to the junkyard when I dont need to take the service truck. I used it the other day to get some 4 inch pipe for another project and lifted the whole bundle on to load. Made it a one man job with the crane.

[Franz]

Those Hiabs are an amazing contraption, I still remember being greatly impressed when I saw the first one perform 30 years back.
Almost any crane is a plus, but unlike most, the Hiab eats very little truck space.
Around here a solid steel bar isn't enough bumper, I've actually had one idiot get his car halfway onto my trailer in city traffic. Even allowing for the babe we were both checking out, that was an accomplishment.

[Sberry]

Yes, thats why I chose the truck I did. Leaves the truck bed open for hauling eqipment. This is a small crane but will work for most of my stuff at the moment and its out of the way unlike the pole truck type. Its not as handy for ******** work as its a compound move to go straight up and down but will suffice for now. I need to get a couple new lines for it yet but it beats a loader and I can load and unload equipment without backing on with tractors at a satalite farm I have. The bed is 20ft too as my other truck had only a 16 and hauling tractor with implement on the 3 pt fits much better. It is also much heavier gvw than the chevy C60 I was using. It also has a nice short turning radius on this style of truck. Great on fuel too. Even being 20 yrs old it only had 95 thou miles on it but had a severe frone end problem that scared everyone off which I managed to fix on the thrift. Brake lines were steel and it was used around city with lots of salt. I managed to replace with U.S. plastic by welding adapters to fittings that entered the valves. Its becoming a American/Euro truck as I go. I was going to patch the body untill I found a Texas cab for small $ at a huge truck salvage near me. I called a bud in the glass biz and he gets me a brand new windshield for 148$,,, ha List at 700,, I am not foolin with used at that rate. He tried to get me one with partial tint but it wasnt available. Vision is great in this style of cab too. Now on to the search for the Phillipino maid. I called and left message with Martha Stewart and asked where she got her domestic help. As "thrifty" as Martha is I figure it cant be too pricey.

[Franz]

Well Sberry, since yer puttin that BIG bumper on the back end of that little Froggy mack, don't forget to put an elastic TuTu on the Hiab.
Once you get accustomed to the controls on that Hiab, it's amazing what can be done with that contraption.

I stopped likin Macks a long time back when a B model cab tried compressing my spine every time it went over a bump. Those cabs were built for short guys.
The cab of that Froggy Mack is too small and has too much glass to properly use a Phillipino maid in there. Maybe you could swing by Monster Garage with it and have them install some hydraulic jumping legs on the back end.

Weaver, glad to see you posted, I was beginnin to worry your wife did you in with a cast iron skillet cause you wouldn't let her bring that nice cat home.