Hey this thread seemed long in the tooth for an update......or, rather, for a......
*Bump*
(heh, bumper thread....bump.....bump......)
Anyway:
Some brief behind-the-scenes update:
Boywonder and I have had some semi-frequent back-and-forth conversations going pretty continuously since this kicked off.
For a couple of the chats, I threw some super-fast sketches together (literally 5-minute doodles) to better be able to discuss stuff. But me being a guy who sketches/designs automotive stuff for a living, I didn't want to show any of these quick-and-dirty thumbnail sketches....only ultra-finished/polished stuff, once I had a chance to better refine them.....
But then I figured screw it.
Creating anything truly new is a messy process.
I wouldn't trust anyone who swears otherwise.
And you guys should get an unfiltered look at
*just how messy things "look in the kitchen"* before they get all sorted out and refined into a beautiful finished product.
So without further yammering --- I submit the following two rough doodles:
1) Sketch around the original idea of drop-down brushguard bumper.
* This one positions its pivot point low, such that the brushguard would indeed act as a standing platform when swung forward 90 degrees.
* Original idea was for a pivot placed up higher, such that the flipped-down brushguard would be positioned at grille height (top of bumper) so that it could function as a platform for gear/bikes/etc.
2) Sketch inspired by JackTuppVan's rear bumper storage idea.
* This one would be styled to work with a "shorty" slim-line custom bumper "overcap" that could be used stand-alone as well. (And could incorporate custom light fittings, recovery hooks, etc.)