I Love The Mercenary Off Road 3rd Gen!

[Mexican Import]

I just realized you have a 3rd gen.

[04Ram2500Hemi]

LOL- all of you are a bunch of smart asses! What I meant was, while I like the Tiregate, it would either block my factory backup camera if I went with one that plugged into my receiver hitch, or if I replaced the tailgate with a Tiregate then I lose my backup camera altogether.

[BlkWgn]

Sorry for not posting up sooner, things have been ridiculous at work this last week. I went up to Mercenary last Sunday, and Todd spent the day playing with the bumper. Basically there are 2 options he is working on, and would like input from the group as to which way we would like to see him go.

The main issue is with where the fairlead on the bumper and the factory fairlead sit. The bumper fairlead ends up about 3 inches in front of and 3 inches above the factory rollers. This makes for a bad angle for the line that would only be exaggerated in a downward pull acting as a lever on the bumper.

Solution 1 - and the option I would recommend, move the winch to the bumper. To get the factory bumper brackets off you have to drop the winch anyways, so it is just as easy to bolt it into the bumper instead of the factory bracket. If you look at the 4th gen bumper it has a flat plate on the front to mount the winch, but since we don't have the intercooler in the way, there is room for the bolt plate to be internal and therefore not change the shape of the bumper.

Solution 2 - leave the winch where it is, and modify the shape of the bumper. The bumper would get a small "bucket" under the winch (like what is done to clear the intercooler lines on the diesel) and the center of the bumper would have to dip in so the factory fairlead could be used without the line hitting the bumper.

Todd is working on both options to see what he can come up with, and I will be leaving my truck with him for a week at the end of July to do final fitting and trimming.

Here are some photos from the day

Winch and bumper removed


getting a bit of clearance for the sway bar and bottom of winch


Center section in place from the top


Center section from the side


center section from the bottom


The frame needs to be trimmed a bit, nothing major



This is how much you trim, it is just taking the corner off

[SheepdogOutdoorsman]

Solution 1 is what I did ... I'll take some pics tomorrow morning ...

[azracer]

My preference would be option 2 (retain OEM winch mounting) with the hole for the fairlead being notched into the bumper so it would be more vertical in that location on the bumper and then eliminate the upper fairlead hole above it, since we would not use that hole. This would keep the overall shape and sculpted appearance we like and retain the OEM winch location, integrity and access.

He could split the difference and move it out at the bottom as well as in at the top to integrate the vertical fairlead into the natural curve of the bumper, if that would look better and be more forgiving on the cable or rope. I envision it looking like a custom license plate recess on a show truck where the form and the contours blend in to allow for the function as it were.

What is he going to do around the smart bar?

Will the sway bar mounts still be used as mounting points?

I already have the rope to replace my cable so I'm fine with no rollers on the bumper and just a fairlead on the bumper. I just want it to line up with the OEM rollers is all.



.

[Mr.Smith]

Which is lightest/strongest? I'd say that's the option to go with, improve on the OE...function over form always!

[RAM4ROKS]

Looking good! That bumper is going to be awesome!!!!

[BlkWgn]

What is he going to do around the smart bar?

Will the sway bar mounts still be used as mounting points?


.

The bumper will still wrap under and use the sway bar mounting points. We trimmed the bumper on the passenger side to roughly follow the shape of the sway bar so everything clears.

[Mexican Import]

So you could notch the bumper and " tub " the smart bar? Or does it cover the smart bar so it isn't exposed to damage?

[BlkWgn]

it does not tub the smart bar, but the smartbar is no more exposed than it was with the stock bumper

[BlkWgn]

Here is a shot of the bumper

I have not had a chance to post the write up over here, but you can find it on my build thread post 50 on American Adventurist http://americanadventurist.com/Forum/sh ... #post31395

There are a few little things that will be added internally, but the testing has begun

[jeep_boy02]

SEXXAY!

[bstefanic]

God I love those bumpers

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

[Mr.Smith]

Has anyone seen the badass stuff being built lately?! Land speed cars, buggys, trucks, you name it...phuc'n c'mon Powerball!!!
https://mercenaryoffroad.com/