New "BruceTS" style 3rd Gen 4Runner rear bumpers
02-15-2007, 04:08 PM
#185
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Man this would be a good business opportunity.
I should buy a welder and start making rear bumpers.
Course it might take me a while to figure out how to uh... make one.
I should buy a welder and start making rear bumpers.
Course it might take me a while to figure out how to uh... make one.
02-15-2007, 05:44 PM
#186
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Bruce has some things in the works that should finally allow for bumper production to begin "soon". He knows about this thread and the demand, but won't, and rightfully so, start until the time is right. I've been talking with him about this, and I know it's been a while guys, but things will happen as soon as possible...
Last edited by calrockx; 02-15-2007 at 05:46 PM.
02-16-2007, 03:32 AM
#188
two months shy of two years on this...
no offense bruce - i know how busy life can be, and how stuff like this can definitely take a back seat to other things, so i doubt that this would ever come to fruition.
there's more to it than just cutting parts and shipping them out. if you have one of these bumpers on your rig and somebody rear-ends you and (they or the insurance company) sues you for additional injuries/damages sustained by having a non-DOT approved bumper on there, then bruce would be personally liable if he does not sell these under a LLC or LLP. what if someone doesnt' torque the bolts down and never checks things, then the bumper falls off going down the freeway at 70+ MPH? there's hundreds of scenarios that necessitate the need for some type of liability umbrella, such as an LLC, LLP, etc. setting up an LLC takes a little time and money to do it right - more up-front and ongoing expenses that must be offset by the price of the bumpers.
in all honesty, going thru the trouble of setting up the liability umbrella (Business License, LLC, Business Insurance) then answering all the preliminary questions, dealing with all the issues of complaints (for fitting up to bent/warped frames, clueless people, ad nauseum), etc, then selling bumpers for ~$500 on a small-scale fabrication process isn't going to be very profitable. in order to sell them that cheap and make it worth it, you would need to mass-produce them or work for free (or without any liability protection what-so-ever). you'll have $200+ in steel alone. don't forget that you'll have to ship at $100-$200 per bumper, then you have to pay for all the consumables, etc, etc, etc, all before making one red cent for your time/effort.
just my $0.02 and something for bruce to think about.
no offense bruce - i know how busy life can be, and how stuff like this can definitely take a back seat to other things, so i doubt that this would ever come to fruition.
there's more to it than just cutting parts and shipping them out. if you have one of these bumpers on your rig and somebody rear-ends you and (they or the insurance company) sues you for additional injuries/damages sustained by having a non-DOT approved bumper on there, then bruce would be personally liable if he does not sell these under a LLC or LLP. what if someone doesnt' torque the bolts down and never checks things, then the bumper falls off going down the freeway at 70+ MPH? there's hundreds of scenarios that necessitate the need for some type of liability umbrella, such as an LLC, LLP, etc. setting up an LLC takes a little time and money to do it right - more up-front and ongoing expenses that must be offset by the price of the bumpers.
in all honesty, going thru the trouble of setting up the liability umbrella (Business License, LLC, Business Insurance) then answering all the preliminary questions, dealing with all the issues of complaints (for fitting up to bent/warped frames, clueless people, ad nauseum), etc, then selling bumpers for ~$500 on a small-scale fabrication process isn't going to be very profitable. in order to sell them that cheap and make it worth it, you would need to mass-produce them or work for free (or without any liability protection what-so-ever). you'll have $200+ in steel alone. don't forget that you'll have to ship at $100-$200 per bumper, then you have to pay for all the consumables, etc, etc, etc, all before making one red cent for your time/effort.
just my $0.02 and something for bruce to think about.
Last edited by bamachem; 02-16-2007 at 03:35 AM.
02-16-2007, 08:08 AM
#189
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bamachem, I already have a work around reguarding the issues you brought up with liability, one of many reason why it's taking so long. The original thread is almost 2 years old, but you also have to remember that it started out as an April Fools joke and there was no plan to put it into production. I'm doing this in my spare time between all my other projects and have always encouraged people to build their own bumper, giving them any help as needed. As you know there are plenty of threads where others have copied this bumper already.
I'm not too sure what steel cost in your part of the country, but I have a source here that cost me $0.79lb.
Right now the big issues I have is $$$, most of it went away paying for fuenral expenses and other bills pertaining to my mothers death.
Since this thread started, I have built 2 other bumpers and currently have 3 more prototypes in production to test/build the rest of the jigs needed. My original source for laser cutting was scrapped, another delay, but I have a few other places to check into once I get some more money saved up.
Building a bumper from scratch, takes much more time and welding than having all the part pre-cut and bent, once I can get this done, the time welding will be cut down to less than an hour for each bumper. Doing so will bring the price down to the projected range. this will also keep the kit price reasonable for the DIY individual or even a fabrication shop that may be intrested in building them.
Plans have changed on what and who I will offer a bumper to, locally I'll build a complete bumper for individuals. For others around the country, I will offer a kit that will need to be welded together, mainly because there are too many variables to make one size fits all bumper. And the time it would take me to redesign the mounts to be adjustable will take too long to put into production.
Things have been moving along much slower than expected, but eventually I will get it going, just can't set any exact date at this time.
I'm not too sure what steel cost in your part of the country, but I have a source here that cost me $0.79lb.
Right now the big issues I have is $$$, most of it went away paying for fuenral expenses and other bills pertaining to my mothers death.
Since this thread started, I have built 2 other bumpers and currently have 3 more prototypes in production to test/build the rest of the jigs needed. My original source for laser cutting was scrapped, another delay, but I have a few other places to check into once I get some more money saved up.
Building a bumper from scratch, takes much more time and welding than having all the part pre-cut and bent, once I can get this done, the time welding will be cut down to less than an hour for each bumper. Doing so will bring the price down to the projected range. this will also keep the kit price reasonable for the DIY individual or even a fabrication shop that may be intrested in building them.
Plans have changed on what and who I will offer a bumper to, locally I'll build a complete bumper for individuals. For others around the country, I will offer a kit that will need to be welded together, mainly because there are too many variables to make one size fits all bumper. And the time it would take me to redesign the mounts to be adjustable will take too long to put into production.
Things have been moving along much slower than expected, but eventually I will get it going, just can't set any exact date at this time.
03-01-2007, 05:18 PM
#191
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Ok I just putting the finishing touches on another bumper, and have been cutting the material for a few more. For now I'll be just fabricating them from scratch for anyone locally. Next week, If I'm not back to work, I'll get in touch with a few manufacturers to see about the cost to have the pieces laser cut. To keep material cost down I had to purchase 40 ft of 2x4 tubing pre-cut. Out of the 8 tubes 5 are already tapered cut. I'll be spending the next few days just cutting out the side wings, and other parts.
Until I can get the parts laser cut, I won't be able to offer a kit.
For now I'm just trying to get some bumpers out, but these one-offs will cost a bit more, because of the amount of welding and clean-up involved.
I'll post a few picture soon......
Ok, last sunday Charles stopped by as I was fitting the bumper.......
Until I can get the parts laser cut, I won't be able to offer a kit.
For now I'm just trying to get some bumpers out, but these one-offs will cost a bit more, because of the amount of welding and clean-up involved.
I'll post a few picture soon......
Ok, last sunday Charles stopped by as I was fitting the bumper.......
Last edited by BruceTS; 03-01-2007 at 07:08 PM.
03-02-2007, 07:48 AM
#194
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I'm so happy 
.
03-05-2007, 07:25 PM
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Bruce, any chance you would sell the blue prints so that people like myself can produce one at home. I'd be willing to give you some dough for the plans and I guess I would only have my word to give that I wouldn't redistribute them.
03-05-2007, 10:00 PM
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I was about to update my webpage, but the site went down for some unknown reason and I haven't had time to find out. I will be putting up a new page soon with complete diagrams on exactly how to build the bumper, including all measurments.
I have no problem with someone building this bumper for themselves and have always encouraged it.
Tomorrow I'll be taking new pictures for the webpage while I cut out the parts for the next few bumpers. I also picked up a HD sheetmetal brake that should be able to handle bending 11 guage. If it works out, it'll speed up production.
I have no problem with someone building this bumper for themselves and have always encouraged it.
Tomorrow I'll be taking new pictures for the webpage while I cut out the parts for the next few bumpers. I also picked up a HD sheetmetal brake that should be able to handle bending 11 guage. If it works out, it'll speed up production.
