Bent rear bumper on WW

[twinbubba]

Last weekend, leaving a gas station, I bent the rear bumper on my WW. I need to figure out how to bend it back into place then do something to prevent it from happening again. I have read about the casters you can bolt to the bottom of the rear bumper, do they work or is there a better way?

TB

[twinbubba]

Last weekend, leaving a gas station, I bent the rear bumper on my WW. I need to figure out how to bend it back into place then do something to prevent it from happening again. I have read about the casters you can bolt to the bottom of the rear bumper, do they work or is there a better way?

TB

[56Nomad]

TB,

I did the same on my FB2200. It took a big sledge
hammer to bang it back straight and then I repainted it.

You might check Camper World for the caster wheels or consider welding on some skid bars.

Good luck.....

[melon]

I had the same thing happen to me out in the desert one weekend. It was so bad that I broke both my curb side tail lights off. I bent it back into shape with some firewood and a hammer and that got me back home, but the damage had been done. So, when it got home I cut the old bumper off which was basicly thin steel bent on the bottom, and repalced it with 1/8 thick 2x6 steel tube. I thought about adding some casters to the frame after I was done, but when I tested it by lifting the whole trailer with a jack from the new bumber I changed my mind. I figger if this bumper ever came in contact with the ground again I would be more conserned about the asphault than damaging the bumper.
Now, that was my old trailer. I thought about putting caster on the new one, but WW got smart and put skids on the frame of this one, so I guess I will wait until a rip one of these off to add casters.
It would be an easy add on though. I could just weld them right to the bottom of the skids. I don't know how casters would hold up in the dirt though. That seems to be where I do all my damage.

Rod

[WWFan]

Rod!! LTNS (Long Time No See!)

I'm wondering if an extra piece of metal to support the drop in that rail would be a good idea? I think those are only a one-time insurance policy.

What say you Miss Polly?

[King Salami]

I don't recommend casters but I do recommend widening and strengthening the skid plates with 1/4-inch stock, 6 inches wide, in the same configuration, welded (for strength) to the existing points.

The King has spoken.

[56Nomad]

I finished cleaning all the sand out of my rig and
noticed that I also must have hooked the end of
the bumper on something.

It's bent, but I can hammer it straight. Has anyone
found a spray can match for the white paint on
the bumper?

[FatDog]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">What say you Miss Polly? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Do we have a Miss Polly?

I also think the casters idea just focalizes all the energy from a crunch into just one (or two) spots on the bumper - right where the caster is attached. You'll might end up with even a bigger dent in the bumper there. I think you should spread the energy of a crunch out, not focalize it.
I doubt anyone here will put a wheelie bar that has a firm shock built into it onto their trailer but that would do the trick. It would absorb some of the energy. (I WILL pay $25 for a picture of it though, if you do put a wheelie bar on your WW. )

I have been building a welding table at home and bought a 2'x4'x1/2" plate of steel for the top. Unfortunately, it has a 3/16" bow to it across the 4' length. There goes $100.
its hard to shear a sheet that size without introducing some bow to it.
So I propped up each side of the plate on 2x4"s and parked my truck's front tire on the middle of the sheet of metal for a week to bow it back to true. My 8000 pound truck will temporarily bow the metal sheet back to true-flat while it is parked on top of the plate, but once i take my truck off, the plate bounces back to its slight warp!. My truck won't even make the middle of the plate touch the ground when its parked on it and its only 1.5" elevated off the ground and thats over the 4' length!!!! (2x4" on each end)

This is my long-winded way of what could have been simply said: metal strips are strong and diffuse the weight of a boo-boo. Welding on a supporting 2x2" square tube, or a 3" angle would probably give the bumper better overall protection, and still be pliable enough to still be a crumple-zone in case of a major accident and not transfer the energy to the frame.

Now, on my wretched welding table at home, so that i don't waste the $100 i spent on the 2'x4' plate, i am welding 2x2" tube on the plate on both sides of the 4' length WHILE my truck tire is parked on top. I move my truck back and forth a few inches, and with a carpenters 4' level on the plate, weld when i get each spot level. The weld will hold the 1/2" plate level once i take my truck off. Long pieces of metal are STROOOONG.
I'm of course looking forward to having my truck tire, inflated with 90 pounds of air, exploding because of the heat in my face as i weld 8" away from it, but that is another thread. (man i have been looking for a long time for a reason to use that "off topic" little-dude.
Mike

[56Nomad]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by 56Nomad:
I finished cleaning all the sand out of my rig and
noticed that I also must have hooked the end of
the bumper on something.

It's bent, but I can hammer it straight. Has anyone
found a spray can match for the white paint on
the bumper? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I experimented today and purchased a can of
white,"HAMMERITE" Rust Cap smooth finish. The
sell it at Home Depot.

I hammered, straitened, filed and painted the
bumper and then spray painted it. This is an exact color match, so I hit all the other little
rust spots in the rear.

The other good thing about this application is
that it requires no primer and you can paint
right over the rust. It emcapsulates the rust
and claims to be a long lasting rust preventative enamel.

[WWFan]

Howie:

I use that stuff religiously...all of my steel cabinets in the garage are painted with the dark charcoal...great stuff!

Geeez....didn't know you were a body man also!

And Mikey...you made SOME sense there...putting casters will only localize (not quite sure what focalize means ) the impact- you'd have to make sure the rest of the substructure could handle it.

Do you still have all the air in the tires?!