More KMA stuff from today.

[ChuckH]

Well, I spent most of last night sanding and painting the bumper section of my KMA. When I woke up this morning and looked at it, it looked really good...about 50 times better than when I received it. So, thinking it would be dry, I grabbed it to put it in my truck and it was still a little sticky. Well, since I had just gotten off the phone with Schlud and had told him I would be over in half an hour, I went ahead and carefully loaded it into the back of my truck.

So, I get to Schlud's and open the back. Not too bad...just a few fuzzys attached from my blanket. Well, we took care of that when installing it! First, with the new frame rails, I couldn't get the bumper in so here I am leaning up against it to push. We ended up using the Vikram jack method to get the bumper inserted and then I used a sledge hammer and pounded it in the rest of the way. Needless to say, by the time I had it in the paint job was destroyed! Still better than it was, but I had it so nice! Now I have to sand and repaint again, but I'll just do the outside surfaces and leave it on the truck while doing it.

On to bigger and better things. As expected, only a few of the holes lined up. For the most part my inserts were really close, especially considering I measured and made them without test fitting first. The problem was that they were off by maybe 1/8" or less and the KMA bolt holes were off by a good 1/2" in a couple cases. So, I got the bumper where I wanted and installed the bolts that would go through. Then, I ran the drill through the other ones to get everything together. Keep in mind that I had a 1/4" thick steel bottom support plate, the frame, the 1/8" frame insert, and the KMA to line up all together.

Finally, I got all the bolts in and although I think Schlud waw questioning them, I think my frame inserts worked really well. Any thicker on the inside angle pieces and the bumper wouldn't have fit, and the outside 1/4" plates really help hold everything together. I don't think my bumper will be falling off anytime soon and if it does it's not because the frame couldn't hold it!

We didn't put Schlud's bumper on. He's going to wait until he can get it fixed. His has the same problem mine has where one of the inserts is mounted about 1/4" lower than the one on the other side, and he has rust developing despite the bumper just being stored in the garage. On a positive note, his receiver appears to be straight, unlike mine which comes out pointed a bit to one side and upward. I'm guessing that means his swing arm will close without hitting the receiver.

Anyway, I have a borderline migraine today, so I'm going to go try and get some dinner and then rest. Later!

[gothamist]

That's cool about your frame-stiffeners working out. FYI, MT had to use the scissor-jack-&-wood technique to get his KMA bumper to fit as well....

...and I thought mine not fitting right (but being otherwise correct) was bad...

[Schludwiller]

The left and right inserts are at least 1/4" off. Also the holes drilled into the inserts are not straight.

I'm probably going to find a shop to take off the damn inserts and build new ones properly. Longer too, so I don't have to use stiffeners.

Yes, my KMA was already rusting when I opened it, and it was sitting in my garage in the original shipping packaging (cardboard and plastic wrapping).

[Schludwiller]

Here is a picture showing how the KMA bumper is off. Ironically the receiver hitch is pitched at the right angle to offset the bumper angle, so it's almost straight.

[Schludwiller]

More crappy KMA pictures. Paint drips, bad welds, and rust.

[Schludwiller]

More crappy KMA pictures. Paint drips, bad welds, and rust.

[Schludwiller]

More crappy KMA pictures. Paint drips, bad welds, and rust.

[Schludwiller]

More crappy KMA pictures. Paint drips, bad welds, and rust.

[Schludwiller]

More crappy KMA pictures. Paint drips, bad welds, and rust.

[ScottG]

On a positive note Aside from the cosmetic problems, it looks stronger than hell!

[ChuckH]

Schlud,

I would still use the frame inserts, or atleast the ones I made. Reason is, they take up the slack and bring the bumper up just a bit, and they do add reinforcement. At a very minimum, I would consider the use of those outer plates I made. Of course if you're having new inserts made anyway, then they can space them properly to take up the slack. I'd still use the outer plates though! I forgot to mention earlier that if you have the inserts made longer, there will have to be a cutout at the top to clear a bolt that comes down through the top of the frame just inside the box section. A good (key word: GOOD) shop should be able to do that easily and make provisions for any other items that may be in the way. BTW, Lake Washington Voc-Tech might be a good place to see about having the fixes done. I was thinking about that earlier.


Scott,

The steel is plenty heavy, but some of the welds scare me on mine.
I'm sure it's fine, but nothing would surprise me at this point!

[Philosopher]

Originally posted by ScottG
On a positive note Aside from the cosmetic problems, it looks stronger than hell!

Yeah, too bad it's not though. Schlud, my bumper doesn't look that bad, but it's not too far from that (the shitty welds and paint). I had to re-drill the mounting holes and such. I'm sure there will be some pics of it in the Kentucky pics ...