Well the trip started out with the entire west side of South Dakota closed and the eastern side of Wyoming.  We had to travel up through Wyoming into Montana and then to Dickinson.  The trip may have taken an extra two hours but we had fairly dry roads and the tires performed well.  I did notice a bit of a roll into hard corners but I was use to that from the Goodyear Wrangler Silent Armors.  It was almost a disapointment to purchase new tires just for this trip but our disappointment did not last long.  Just as every trip we take to North Dakota we went pheasant hunting.  Jen had a blast in the snow with our new snow tires.  She was plowing through snow drifts and having a great time.  She did have to put it in four wheel drive due to we have no weight in the back.  The tires were not a disappointment.  Glad we purchased these even though we never had to use them on the highway.  We did run into one problem with the tires.  When we purchased them we bought the exact same size tire that was on the truck at the time 265/75R16.  Well the Goodyear Wrangler DuraTrac’s are such an aggressive tire that they rub when turning sharp.  In fact Discount Tire had to cut away a small piece of the front bumber to keep it from rubbing all the time.  They did a great job.

2010

2009

2008

2006

2005

2003

2002

We were in need of a bumper extention on the back of our fifth wheel camper.  We had a fairly large Honda 6500 generator that was taking up a great deal of our truck bed.  The bumper extention was to serve two purposes.  The first was to hold our large generator.  The second was to add a receiver hitch to the back of the camper for future toys to be pulled. The main reason for the project was for installing generator on back of trailer.

1 ) Here is a picture of our camper prior to the bumper extention.

2 )  This is a side view of our camper prior to the bumper extention.

3 ) I started with a bumper from a flatbed pickup that was given to me.  It had two rails that were 3 1/2 inch tubing and each side was 8 feet long.  The tubing was removed from the bumper and one side was cut into two 4 foot pieces.  I was also given a receiver from a pickup that I cut the ends off and used for frame extentions and they were also used for something to hold the tubing in place while I welded it to the frame.  The tubing was a bit heavier than I would like but you can’t complain about free material.  In fact the tubing weighed 40 lbs for the 4 foot extentions and 80 lbs for the 8 foot section.

4 ) The first step on the camper was by cutting off the ends of the bumper that were past the frame, and attaching the ends of the reciever hitch on each side upsidedown.  This was to help in extending the area where I could weld the 4 foot pieces too and gave me something to help hold the tubing in place while I welded it to the frame.

5 ) I then took the two 4 foot pieces of tubing that had been removed from a flat bed and welded them to the frame.

6 ) With the 4 foot extentions in place, I was able to attach the 8 foot piece to the ends.  This made the new bumper. 

7 ) I then took some 2 foot pieces of angle iron to fill in the middle of the new and old bumber.  These pieces gave the center a bit of stabilization. 

8 ) Now was time to add the receiver hitch.  I took the remaining piece of the old hitch and centered it on the new 8 foot bumper.  I welded it to the bumper.

9 ) I ran a 8 x 3/4 inch bolt through the frame and tubing for a bit more strength in case the welds would ever break.

Below is a picture from the ground looking up at the bottom of the extention.

This is a side view of the camper bumper extention.

Here is a picture of how the tubing was attached to the frame.

10 ) I was not happy with how the ends were looking so I add the pieces of the old bumper that I had cut away to the ends and added a 2 foot piece of angle iron to the end to complete the extention on the ends.  Below is a picture from the side with the newly added pieces.

11 ) I was a bit concerned about how the new bumper was attached to the 4 foot extentions so I added a sqare piece from the extention to the new bumper.  I will show this later in the post.

Here is a picture from the back of the camper showing the receiver.

Here is the piece of square tubing that I welded on the extention and the new bumper to give it a bit more strength when something is attached to the back and being pulled.

Here is a picture of how I welded the ends of the old receiver hitch to the frame and to the 4 foot extentions.  This is looking from the top of the camper bumper extention and toward the camper on the passenger side.

12 ) Cut out a piece of 3/4 inch plywood to fit the top and screwed it to the frame.  Attached a few eye bolts to strap the generator down.  Also bolted a tool box to the back for extra storage.

Had problems getting out of the driveway so had to remove generator, tool box, and playwood.  Cut off the 8 foot bumper and flipped it upside down and welded it back on.  Now we can make it all the way out of the driveway without scrapping.  Should have tested this before putting on the plywood and generator.  Lesson learned.

Here is a picture of the drivers side with the tool box attached to the camper bumper extention.

Finished product.  One camper bumper extention DIY style.

Tyler’s first year of TBall.  He was a bit shy at first but after the first game it is now one of his favorite things to do this summer.  We did swimming and t-ball this year to expose Tyler to summer sports.  He loved both, and became very good at each sport.  Noah was a bit young for t-ball, but he did do swimming.  Tyler was good at swimming under water.  He could hold his breath for a long time.  Noah on the other hand was our little cannon ball.  He enjoyed jumping in from the side of the pool.

Tyler’s team in 2010 the WhiteSox.  Thad Fuller and his wife were Tylers coaches.  The season started with Loveland not having a coach for the team, and started asking all the parents to volunteer.  Thad has done a wonderful job with our team.  We even had a few outs this year.  Great job coach! 

GO WHITESOX!!!!

Vote on the one you like.  A, B, C, or D.  You may need to download them to your computer to look at them in full screen.  Once you pic the one you like, then let me know and I will send the larger file to you so you can have it printed.

A)    Original Family Picture

B)    1st modification – Mary lightened the whole picture

C)    2nd modification – Lightened shadows under the caps

D)    3rd modification – Black and White Family Photo