So, I got one of these:



Had to wire it up (dad inspecting my work):



Cut some stuff:



Mmmm - melted steel:





Took a while to re-learn how to make the sticks play nice:



Top: using 1" die in HF bender (it's 1" pipe), Bottom: using 3/4" die, and relieving pressure once or twice during bend (opening hydraulic valve, then closing and bending some more) created consistently nice looking radius.





Mock up:



Not sure if I'm going to do stretched steel, or a painted piece of plywood up top yet. At $10-$15 + a few $$$ for paint, the plywood is tempting. I don't hear any howling at any speed. I do notice a slight drop in power at freeway speed (when trying to accelerate), but not nearly as bad as I was expecting.

#1 Reason why I want a welder right there

That looks really good and you are saving a lot of money making your own safari rack . That welder looks just like the one I sold on craigslist two years ago , I wonder if it's the same one .  Painted plywood will peel and warp in the weather after a few years like on my trailer , but stretched steel , last time i checked was close to $100 for a 4x8 sheet . I wonder where you could find a big sheet of ABS plastic , that would be durable , maybe .  Anyway, looks better than mine .

Those racks both look great. I'd put bars across it like scoutman did. You can always lay a temp piece of plywood down when needed. That is what I do. I'm still partial to the one I made though.

I drove a '57 chevy work truck with plywood in the back for years. It handled a lot of abuse before needing replacement. $10 for the wood, $2-5 for paint, and a hand full of nuts / bolts / washers seems fine to me. And, I like the idea that I can easily remove & store the wood when it's not needed. Steel has it's advantages too - just one of them isn't availability around here.

Not the same welder. I'm the second owner of this one. The guy didn't want to part with it, but his wife wanted him to make room around the house, so I got a complete welding set, sticks, gloves, jacket, bla bla bla for $50  Stick is a PITA to learn on, but it's got it's advantages over mig.

Jeff,
Yours is quite clean 

Looks good.
I had a welder simillar to that when I was in High school. I agree not the easiest to learn on, but a good welder and 50. would be a steel for the welder alone!!

Looks good.  Have you wired the lights up yet?

Looks very nice!  They all do!

jeff1997 What did you do to mount the rack to the truck? any chance you could post a pic?

The lip is found under the trim piece.

Fin

Very nice!  I gotta get me a welder and bender!  Nice bumper too, that calmini?

yeah, it all adds up - probably would have been better off buying one - LOL

ZOR bumper - prototype, so I had to do some modification & shoe horning. Quality built, and it's my understanding all the bugs are worked out now. I might hack it up some more to reduce some weight.

Bumper looks beefy,  I can't decide if I want plate steel or tube steel, they all look indestructible!

If I make my own from scratch, it will be light weight, and much thinner than what other people are making theirs out of. Remember - in an impact, something's got to give. I'd rather it be the bumper than the frame. Most the guys making bumpers out there are making them from the same material you'll see on one ton, and larger, trucks. That's just too over-built for my tastes. Over built = way too much weight.

Then again - I love air time, and sand dunes, so weight is more of an issue to me than most people.