Crumm
Fordoholic
Any of you guys with Happijac camper tie-downs know the stress they put on the bumper. Many bumpers out there are tweaked out of shape from the tie-downs. I built a simple reinforcement brace out of some 3" flat bar. Once I had it in place I lifted the corner of the truck with my engine hoist and the bumper did not move a inch. I highly recommend some reinforcement on the bumper if you use Happijac tie-downs for you slide in camper.
It is a simple matter of placing the flat bar in a position where it triangulates the corner of the bumper. In my case I bent the end of the flat bar about 60 degrees at the 3" point and ran it down to the bottom of the ez-lift hitch mount. The bumper end is secured with the Happijac button and the lower end is welded to the hitch side plate.
Here is a picture of the reinforcement.
Here is what happens without the reinforcement:
It is a simple matter of placing the flat bar in a position where it triangulates the corner of the bumper. In my case I bent the end of the flat bar about 60 degrees at the 3" point and ran it down to the bottom of the ez-lift hitch mount. The bumper end is secured with the Happijac button and the lower end is welded to the hitch side plate.
Here is a picture of the reinforcement.
Here is what happens without the reinforcement:
