By Tony K
Doesn’t really matter what style of bumper you run as long as it does what you want it to. I like short minimal bumpers that rely more on me to keep my rig from running into things. But my bumpers are more than stout enough to hit something and survive, on the road or in the rocks.
-Front Bumper-
For the most part my front bumper is extremely simple just a 2x4x1/4in piece of steel attached to the frame with some 1/2 in flat plate. Tucked into the middle of it is my 8000 lb worm drive Ramsey winch. So the bumper gets a bit of double duty of protecting the rig and winch while at the same time carrying any load imposed by the winch or shackles bolted to it.
The fairlead is buried deep into the face of the bumper with some additional metal added to support a couple of the rollers.
My winch is mounted a bit different than your typical planetary winches that just bolt to a flat surface. My Ramsey fits between two rails putting the main part of the load on a cable closer to the winch mounting points. This somewhat reduces the loads and leverage on the mount points.
-Rear Bumper-
My rear bumper gets a bit more complicated. The main portion in the center is actually the frame crossmember. I made it this way to avoid adding excess material and additional overhang. Out board of this are two small extensions to make the bumper the full width of my rig but still keeping things small and tucked up for clearance.
Behind the center section is the mount for my hitch receiver that also incorporates a mount for a small 6000 lb winch. The side extensions fulfill multiple uses. First of all the plate that mounts them to the frame incorporates mounts for shackles, this way any pull on them goes direct to the frame. You will also find pivoting mounts for my spare tire carrier and gas can rack. And the final piece of the puzzle is the fact that my quarter guards are welded to 
them. A multi-use bumper if there ever was one.
