Motorhead Mountain Recreation and Recovery Build 👷🏻‍♂️

[Norm A.]

I have a 12/12 build date so just wondering when you will be available to come to my house to give me a big hand, p.s. bring your welder

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[SROC3]

That is a very purposeful and solid build. Thanks for sharing man! Great bumper work!!! Very impressive!

 

[2020FordRaptor]

This is a long post. I was going to start a build thread a year ago, but work and life have kept me busy. With a few weeks off, I decided to catch you all up. We picked up our FE in November 2021 from Granger Ford. We ordered the factory tow wiring and hitch, remote keypad (relocated to the fuel door) and the rear fixed-lid cargo enclosure. It remained stock and served as my road trip vehicle to work at Bronco Off-Roadeo MOAB for 3 months or so:

My first modification was hood struts. Not sure why this is so hard for manufacturers, but is one of my only complaints. While I was doing that, I installed an underhood light with an override switch at the same time:

Some extra storage in the form of some Molle door pockets and the Mabbet center console organizer. Then added the archetype BYOB. After loading up recovery gear, I used this for a couple of trail recoveries, but held off on the winter recoveries until I had time to build my bumper and winch mount.

In March, my brother and I build a bumper and modified the factory skid plate to match. At about the same time, I traded the gloss black grille and mirror heads for the grey badlands to reduce the amount different color trim. To be honest, the gloss items look fantastic on the Antimatter Blue Broncos!

You can see the front crash bar mount was cut back and boxed in.

I added the JCR camera relocation kit after getting the bumper and skid plate powder coated. The front bumper is mostly 1/4" and designed to support a much bigger winch (but I had this laying around after a $199 sale a few years ago). The recovery points are also designed and mounted to support it being towed behind my RV. The squadron-R SAE driving lights were wired into the existing bumper wiring and I added the new headlight switch and associated Forscan tuning to get it working. The winch line is Masterpull Superline XD, which is a 3/8 line armored and heat-treated to be as strong as 7/16. Plus no clean-up!

The roller fairlead had to go, as it showed in the front camera. I purchased a Factor 55 fairlead that didn't have their logo printed on it. Cleaner look for sure.

Then it was time for more light, and Baja Designs had their XD80s listed. Best customer experience ever; I texted to see if they were available. They send a picture back showing them in their hands and they were shipped a few hours later! I made a video comparing them to just the high-beams. You can watch that here:

With front protection taken care of, it was time for some frame-mounted rock sliders. the rockers were clearanced for movement of the bars (side of the frame has a bit of flex) welded back up and painted. Then the tubes were bent and installed:

Time for a rear bumper. The factory bumper has a few flaws, including the snap-in license plate can be ripped out going over obstacles due to the overhand on the left bottom corner. My brother was in town, so I enlisted his help again. You can see I am not a fab shop, just doing the best I can with tools and skills I have, and overcoming obstacles (no pun intended) as needed:

The tow hitch was incorporated into the bumper so the frame crossbar didn't have to take all the force when winching (anchored) or towing. It also pulled it further off the ground so it isn't as much a "touch" point!

You can see the recovery points were also cut off, and swapped so they were facing up. They still protect the bumper, but are no longer hanging down to drag off rocks. The tow wiring was then reinstalled with a 7-pin plug under the bumper after this picture was taken:

It was then time for a lift. I added an Icon 3" lift kit (a full inch shorter than the zone 3" I just installed on a friend's Bronco). The Falken Wildpeaks were on a 4-month backorder, but these work so well in the snow of Colorado. Method 17x8.5 wheels (0 offset) were an easy choice, although I feel like a Toyota .

I added a Hammerbilt tailgate reinforcement kit along with a 2 gallon fuel container and a ham radio antenna mount. I also installed the Oracle flush-mounted taillights. The backup lights are far brighter than the stock units, and the fuel can lock no longer hits the tailgate when opening.

I added some rock lights. I generally use these more often for installing/removing tire chains (watch front chain clearance with a stock offset wheel):

I like trail communications, so in addition to GMRS/FRS and an inReach satellite messenger, I added a ham radio, which also allow text and email as well. Since the head unit is remote, I put the radio under the dash and located the radio up above the passenger visor where I can see and reach it, but is out of sight when turned off.

Like a few others on this forum, I made a quick disconnect for my ham radio. This way, the microphone can be stored away unless I am using it.

Recently added the FPP 2.7 tune (and have installed a few others). What a difference it makes. After helping a friend with his lift and driving it to get aligned, I remembered the lack of throttle response and early shifting after installing the 37s. I don't have that anymore! Plus, I can keep an eye on my fuel octane:

Lots of other little mods that make life better, pull handles above the doors, a dog carrier in the rear (so I can store things on the seat) and of course, a bunch of recovery gear filing the cargo area!

That looks awesome!

 

[Arokcrwlr]

This is a long post. I was going to start a build thread a year ago, but work and life have kept me busy. With a few weeks off, I decided to catch you all up. We picked up our FE in November 2021 from Granger Ford. We ordered the factory tow wiring and hitch, remote keypad (relocated to the fuel door) and the rear fixed-lid cargo enclosure. It remained stock and served as my road trip vehicle to work at Bronco Off-Roadeo MOAB for 3 months or so:

My first modification was hood struts. Not sure why this is so hard for manufacturers, but is one of my only complaints. While I was doing that, I installed an underhood light with an override switch at the same time:

Some extra storage in the form of some Molle door pockets and the Mabbet center console organizer. Then added the archetype BYOB. After loading up recovery gear, I used this for a couple of trail recoveries, but held off on the winter recoveries until I had time to build my bumper and winch mount.

In March, my brother and I build a bumper and modified the factory skid plate to match. At about the same time, I traded the gloss black grille and mirror heads for the grey badlands to reduce the amount different color trim. To be honest, the gloss items look fantastic on the Antimatter Blue Broncos!

You can see the front crash bar mount was cut back and boxed in.

I added the JCR camera relocation kit after getting the bumper and skid plate powder coated. The front bumper is mostly 1/4" and designed to support a much bigger winch (but I had this laying around after a $199 sale a few years ago). The recovery points are also designed and mounted to support it being towed behind my RV. The squadron-R SAE driving lights were wired into the existing bumper wiring and I added the new headlight switch and associated Forscan tuning to get it working. The winch line is Masterpull Superline XD, which is a 3/8 line armored and heat-treated to be as strong as 7/16. Plus no clean-up!

The roller fairlead had to go, as it showed in the front camera. I purchased a Factor 55 fairlead that didn't have their logo printed on it. Cleaner look for sure.

Then it was time for more light, and Baja Designs had their XD80s listed. Best customer experience ever; I texted to see if they were available. They send a picture back showing them in their hands and they were shipped a few hours later! I made a video comparing them to just the high-beams. You can watch that here:

With front protection taken care of, it was time for some frame-mounted rock sliders. the rockers were clearanced for movement of the bars (side of the frame has a bit of flex) welded back up and painted. Then the tubes were bent and installed:

Time for a rear bumper. The factory bumper has a few flaws, including the snap-in license plate can be ripped out going over obstacles due to the overhand on the left bottom corner. My brother was in town, so I enlisted his help again. You can see I am not a fab shop, just doing the best I can with tools and skills I have, and overcoming obstacles (no pun intended) as needed:

The tow hitch was incorporated into the bumper so the frame crossbar didn't have to take all the force when winching (anchored) or towing. It also pulled it further off the ground so it isn't as much a "touch" point!

You can see the recovery points were also cut off, and swapped so they were facing up. They still protect the bumper, but are no longer hanging down to drag off rocks. The tow wiring was then reinstalled with a 7-pin plug under the bumper after this picture was taken:

It was then time for a lift. I added an Icon 3" lift kit (a full inch shorter than the zone 3" I just installed on a friend's Bronco). The Falken Wildpeaks were on a 4-month backorder, but these work so well in the snow of Colorado. Method 17x8.5 wheels (0 offset) were an easy choice, although I feel like a Toyota .

I added a Hammerbilt tailgate reinforcement kit along with a 2 gallon fuel container and a ham radio antenna mount. I also installed the Oracle flush-mounted taillights. The backup lights are far brighter than the stock units, and the fuel can lock no longer hits the taillights when opening.

I added some rock lights. I generally use these more often for installing/removing tire chains (watch front chain clearance with a stock offset wheel):

I like trail communications, so in addition to GMRS/FRS and an inReach satellite messenger, I added a ham radio, which also allow text and email as well. Since the head unit is remote, I put the radio under the dash and located the radio up above the passenger visor where I can see and reach it, but is out of sight when turned off.

Like a few others on this forum, I made a quick disconnect for my ham radio. This way, the microphone can be stored away unless I am using it.

Recently added the FPP 2.7 tune (and have installed a few others). What a difference it makes. After helping a friend with his lift and driving it to get aligned, I remembered the lack of throttle response and early shifting after installing the 37s. I don't have that anymore! Plus, I can keep an eye on my fuel octane:

Lots of other little mods that make life better, pull handles above the doors, a dog carrier in the rear (so I can store things on the seat) and of course, a bunch of recovery gear filing the cargo area!

The bumpers look awesome - nice work. Also, finally someone installed rock lights correctly - lighting the ground and not the wheel well. Can you provide more detail on how you mounted them and which lights you went with?

 

[Hank 615]

I'm very much interested in the details of your radio setups, it looks awesome

 

[BigFootie]

Great job! I really like the cardboard templates! My kind of fab. Maybe explains my enjoyment of watching FabRats and MORR.

Really good work. Thanks for posting!

 

[Darrell]

Wow, you hit it out of the park with those bumpers. You should sell the rights to a manufacturer and reap the benefits of your design. I would buy a set that is the best I've seen so far. Great job!!!

 

[Hedrock]

Bumpers are 11/10, absolutely killer job. Great rig, too. How’d you get the job working at Off-Roadeo?

 

[Ryuk]

Bumpers and rock rails are 11/10, look better than basically anything on the market TBH.

I 100% concur

@The Bronze
I updated your Resume for you

The Bronze
Location: Somewhere remote
Skills: Mad

 

[popo_patty]

Ok, how is it that you single handedly build bumpers that are EXACTLY what we the people want. all you overpriced, under built bumper companies take note. This man has checked ALL the boxes. Where do I buy these lol

 

[ATLBronco75]

Bro just start selling those bumpers!

 

[Kaopeterson]

Nice work Kelly!

 

[The Bronze]

Here are the radio install details. I wanted the ham radio to be tucked out of the way when not in use. So I put in a few extra steps to make that happen. Since my Yeasu FTM400XDR has a remote head unit, it made it easy to put each components out of the way, but still completely functional.

The antenna external mounting was a piece of cake. I used the Hammerbilt optional bracket on my tailgate reinforcement. Easy part over.

Routing the coax cable was a bit tougher. The factory manual makes getting these panels off much easier. No clips were damaged in removing this!

You shouldn't need a laptop to pull a few panels, but that's where we are these days!

With the antenna mounted and coax run to the front of the dash, I was able to use a right angle drill to make a few holes to mount the radio itself behind the under-dash fuse box. Yes, I missed the location on the first hole-punch, it is almost impossible to get yourself under the dash to see anything. Next time, the seat comes out, but I was thinking "two, holes. How hard can that be?" The bottom hole was easier to get a punch into. Don't drill too far, you will reach right into a fuse box. I used a short-reach bit to keep me out of trouble, but I have taped on washers, nuts, and such to provide a positive stop when necessary

My latest Yeasu had a mounting bracket that didn't allow for any slip-fits. I swapped the mounting brackets with the year-older bracket in my Samurai. It made it way easier to slip the radio in with two screws loosely installed then fight to get the other upper started.

I fit the radio into the bracket with the SD card opening and the microphone and head-unit connections facing out. That did leave the coax cable connection in the back which took a little work to install, but the programming cable (USB) connection is tiny. Definitely install that before putting the radio in!

Running the network cable to the head-unit wasn't too bad. Pull the air bag cover, snake it up to the channel that runs under the front roof panel seal and pull the cable out where you want it:

The head unit was easy. 4 small screws and it was sitting pretty on a uniball mount. The radio is completely hidden from view above the visor, unless you are sitting in the seat.

To make this radio install really unobtrusive, I added a quick disconnect (RJ12) connector for the microphone. I also used a 3' extension cord to reach the radio: I started to pull the console and then realized that wasn't necessary:

Here is the microphone set up for use. I didn't add a microphone clip as that would defeat the hidden radio setup:

I then programmed the radio. Since I already have my ham license, I tested it out and checked the text and email features as well. It also can send tracking data via APRS to allow my wife or whoever is scheduled to watch over me to view my progress. Works like a charm!

There are lots of radio options, but this remote, full-featured Yeasu is my go-to for trail communications.

 

[68 galaxie]

Maybe some of the aftermarket companies get the idea to copy your custom work. Your bumpers and rock rails look awesome

 

[4avor8ntfair]

This is a long post. I was going to start a build thread a year ago, but work and life have kept me busy. With a few weeks off, I decided to catch you all up. We picked up our FE in November 2021 from Granger Ford. We ordered the factory tow wiring and hitch, remote keypad (relocated to the fuel door) and the rear fixed-lid cargo enclosure. It remained stock and served as my road trip vehicle to work at Bronco Off-Roadeo MOAB for 3 months or so:

My first modification was hood struts. Not sure why this is so hard for manufacturers, but is one of my only complaints. While I was doing that, I installed an underhood light with an override switch at the same time:

Some extra storage in the form of some Molle door pockets and the Mabbet center console organizer. Then added the archetype BYOB. After loading up recovery gear, I used this for a couple of trail recoveries, but held off on the winter recoveries until I had time to build my bumper and winch mount.

In March, my brother and I build a bumper and modified the factory skid plate to match. At about the same time, I traded the gloss black grille and mirror heads for the grey badlands to reduce the amount different color trim. To be honest, the gloss items look fantastic on the Antimatter Blue Broncos!

You can see the front crash bar mount was cut back and boxed in.

I added the JCR camera relocation kit after getting the bumper and skid plate powder coated. The front bumper is mostly 1/4" and designed to support a much bigger winch (but I had this laying around after a $199 sale a few years ago). The recovery points are also designed and mounted to support it being towed behind my RV. The squadron-R SAE driving lights were wired into the existing bumper wiring and I added the new headlight switch and associated Forscan tuning to get it working. The winch line is Masterpull Superline XD, which is a 3/8 line armored and heat-treated to be as strong as 7/16. Plus no clean-up!

The roller fairlead had to go, as it showed in the front camera. I purchased a Factor 55 fairlead that didn't have their logo printed on it. Cleaner look for sure.

Then it was time for more light, and Baja Designs had their XD80s listed. Best customer experience ever; I texted to see if they were available. They send a picture back showing them in their hands and they were shipped a few hours later! I made a video comparing them to just the high-beams. You can watch that here:

With front protection taken care of, it was time for some frame-mounted rock sliders. the rockers were clearanced for movement of the bars (side of the frame has a bit of flex) welded back up and painted. Then the tubes were bent and installed:

Time for a rear bumper. The factory bumper has a few flaws, including the snap-in license plate can be ripped out going over obstacles due to the overhand on the left bottom corner. My brother was in town, so I enlisted his help again. You can see I am not a fab shop, just doing the best I can with tools and skills I have, and overcoming obstacles (no pun intended) as needed:

The tow hitch was incorporated into the bumper so the frame crossbar didn't have to take all the force when winching (anchored) or towing. It also pulled it further off the ground so it isn't as much a "touch" point!

You can see the recovery points were also cut off, and swapped so they were facing up. They still protect the bumper, but are no longer hanging down to drag off rocks. The tow wiring was then reinstalled with a 7-pin plug under the bumper after this picture was taken:

It was then time for a lift. I added an Icon 3" lift kit (a full inch shorter than the zone 3" I just installed on a friend's Bronco). The Falken Wildpeaks were on a 4-month backorder, but these work so well in the snow of Colorado. Method 17x8.5 wheels (0 offset) were an easy choice, although I feel like a Toyota .

I added a Hammerbilt tailgate reinforcement kit along with a 2 gallon fuel container and a ham radio antenna mount. I also installed the Oracle flush-mounted taillights. The backup lights are far brighter than the stock units, and the fuel can lock no longer hits the taillights when opening.

I added some rock lights. I generally use these more often for installing/removing tire chains (watch front chain clearance with a stock offset wheel):

Hey Kelly! You were my Off-Roadeo guide at Moab! The bumpers look fantastic! Echoing others, I’d definitely buy these bumpers…I’ve been waiting for aftermarket ones that checked enough boxes

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