Truck parts bleg - RESOLVED

Just concluded the drag of Petey the Pop-Up camper to the Hitchin on the Hill. After returning, I wanted to clean up Petey's permanent pad with a pressure-washer, so I put Petey on the apron to my bigger pad where the M35A2 sits. As I was backing Petey into the slot, I got him too square with the curb (the farging City of Gresham won't let me have a second driveway apron on my property, so I have to use this mounting system to jump the curb), and even though the 6" curbing is softened by a 4X4 timber laying along it, making only a 3.5" jump for the little 10" wheels of the camper, the shock of the mounting of the curb was too much for the stock Mazda B2500 bumper, and it bent somewhat. Didn't wrinkle any metal, or even bend the frame, but the middle section of the bumper, the part holding the trailer ball, bent about 20 degrees from horizontal and bent that part of the bumper upward about an inch. Still trying to figure out the physics of the upward bend, but I guess the mounting attempt (I had to do it twice) put a buckle-moment on the rig. The trailer's "A" frame wasn't affected, nor the hitch on the trailer, just the cheesy-but-dressy bumper.

Now I need to either repair the bumper or replace it. Since the light trailer will be used some more, and I might have to repeat this maneuver again, I want the truck's hitch to stand up to it next time (I have put this trailer in this same spot twice before with no ill effects, but something made a difference this time).

My previous light pickup, a 1974 Toyota Hilux, had an after-market bumper on it (there was no stock bumper sold with the truck in those days). IIRC, it was a Barden Bumper. I towed an 1800# Aljo 15-foot heavyweight travel trailer with it for 4 years and never had a problem with the truck or bumper.

Barden is out of business, but there appears to be another company selling another bumper for the LBT, bodykits.com. Do any readers have any info on the Fey Bumper (no jokes on your blogger getting a fey bumper, please!)? Looks like the total parts cost for the Fey arrangement (bumper plus mounting kit) will be about $440, which is reasonable. Toss in another Large or so for installation, and I should be ready to tow with no worries.

The other concern is cost. If I was made of money, I would repair/replace the cheesy one and add a receiver hitch below it, but that would cost as much as the truck is worth, and it would put the receiver too low to the ground as well. My ideal would be a receiver hitch IN a strong bumnper, but I am not in the mood to pay a custom welder to fab one up for me.

*******************************************************************************

RESOLUTION: I bought a new Fey #66000 bumper, locally, and had a local body guy install it. He charged me one hour of his apprentice's time. total outlay, $240 including a new ball and the $40 install kit. minor fitting was required and the LBT sure looks purty now!

Comments

[Mike Cornelia]

I just had my Toyota Tacoma lifted at Rocky Ridge Lifted Trucks. I was never a fan of the lifted look until I drove one of my friends trucks the other week. I loved the elevation of the truck and just the pure size. It really is a man's car when you look at it. I am so happy I decided on doing this to my truck.

[Will]

I've seen a few people construct ramps for the same situation you have. Usually for motorhomes and campers. They normally build two separate ramps, for easier portability. Some never remove them, but that depends on city conditions. Some even extended over the grass strip, if they weren't allowed to pour concrete or lay paving blocks in it.
Some had wheels that could be mounted so they could be wheeled back to a storage spot when not in use.

Unfortunately, some of the local cities have now banned parking motorhomes, campers, and boats on residential properties.

[Will]

There are several Pick-n-Pull wrecking yards in the Portland area.
Check the bolt sizes on your truck before going, to make sure you have the correct size sockets/wrenches. A 24" breaker/flex bar would be a good thing to have ($12 at Harbor Fright).

Look for a good bumper, or a frame mounted hitch (bolt-on), or some combination of the two. Lots of aftermarket bumpers have a hitch built-in to them. Check Both Mazda and Ranger pickups, and also the Explorer/Navaho SUV's, as they should all be the same frame in the rear. There should be a fairly wide span of years that are interchangeable in these vehicles. If in doubt when looking at a unit, you can always do a trial fit on another truck in the yard. (They should be able to tell you what years are the same, if you haven't found out before hand) They do have an exchange system (30 days), so if you find it not to your satisfaction, you can swap if for a correct one.

Take a small tarp or other ground cloth to lay on under the vehicle. They should have small carts there to carry the parts up to the register area.
Should be about $50 +$5core for a complete bumper. $26 for a hitch. If you find a custom/combo unit, don't point out it has a hitch, just call it a bumper. Sometimes they want to get creative with pricing.
If things get very rusty in your area, a spray lube/penetrating oil might be useful.

[Will]

Pick-n-pull has a website you can use to check whether there are any trucks in the yards in your area. Along with parts pricing.

[P2]

You could heat the bumper up with a torch from underneath, slowly, bang it back into place with a few well placed taps of a hammer, and then have a couple of stiffeners welded in for what would be a fairly small price. The downside is your bumper's weakened already and if you beef it up, the next stress will be transferred to your trailer.... Maybe take a look at your local salvage yard.... Every one drives on used parts......they might have, or may be able to get, a replacement bumper for less than what it would cost to slap an aftermarket one in place.