fold down bull bar

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As most of you have guessed, i use my defender for shooting. I have a hatch in the back to stand out of and go lamping or sitting and waiting for fox.
Foxes that are shot need taking back to the firepit and deer to the chiller and i don't want them in the back so at the moment, i have a basket i made that attaches to the Dixon bate tow plate which works great but its always in the way for me getting in and out of the back door so thats why i'm looking at the front.
I know i can put another dixon plate on my front bumper and use the existing basket but i fancy doing something different that doesn't mean i have to remember to take the basket.

I do like the guesses people have made, maybe i will build in a carrier bag holder for when its folded down, save me finding a nice bush in the woods to fertilize 🤣

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As most of you have guessed, i use my defender for shooting. I have a hatch in the back to stand out of and go lamping or sitting and waiting for fox.
Foxes that are shot need taking back to the firepit and deer to the chiller and i don't want them in the back so at the moment, i have a basket i made that attaches to the Dixon bate tow plate which works great but its always in the way for me getting in and out of the back door so thats why i'm looking at the front.
I know i can put another dixon plate on my front bumper and use the existing basket but i fancy doing something different that doesn't mean i have to remember to take the basket.

I do like the guesses people have made, maybe i will build in a carrier bag holder for when its folded down, save me finding a nice bush in the woods to fertilize 🤣
There are adapters that use the pin in the military bumpers for Dixon bate fixtures
(& you may find this thread intresting
 
There are adapters that use the pin in the military bumpers for Dixon bate fixtures
(& you may find this thread intresting
Thanks Phil, i will check that out.
IT's a bit of a touchy subject with some people and i've seen it kick off several times on the defender facebook pages so i try and dodge it if i can.

I’ve already made a front bumper so nothing standard will fit on it
 

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Thanks Phil, i will check that out.
IT's a bit of a touchy subject with some people and i've seen it kick off several times on the defender facebook pages so i try and dodge it if i can.

I’ve already made a front bumper so nothing standard will fit on it
See a picture helps…

Make a T piece(use you recovery eyes for the horizontal, and the winch to hold the upright.)

And this is why I love my truck cab. Anything that stinks lives in the back(except the spaniel)
 
Thanks Phil, i will check that out.
IT's a bit of a touchy subject with some people and i've seen it kick off several times on the defender facebook pages so i try and dodge it if i can.

I’ve already made a front bumper so nothing standard will fit on it
You will find we are generally less delicate than the people of instabook etc. here.
Your bumper looks like it has a nice flat top to it so should be easy enough to knock up some brackets to support a bullbar with a pin to allow them to fold down.
 
This what your looking for ?View attachment 334683
Based on that pic I don’t see the point of mounting the spotlights separately. As they would certianly Be blocked. Would be better pointing to the bull at on a separate switch so they can be turned off when in that position.
If you still need extra light when in use you want a roof bar or old school bonnet pod.
 
That’s exactly what I’m looking for!
I’d that a proper original one? Would you mind taking a couple of pictures of the hinges and locking mechanism.

Also is there anything different you would like to see to improve on it or is it already perfect?

I will be starting from scratch so I can do as I please
Take a look on the stalking directory. Vehicles n’ parts for sale on that too so you might find something that could do your job or something that would give you an idea too.
 
That’s exactly what I’m looking for!
I’d that a proper original one? Would you mind taking a couple of pictures of the hinges and locking mechanism.

Also is there anything different you would like to see to improve on it or is it already perfect?

I will be starting from scratch so I can do as I please
Sorry but that photo was pinched from a Stalking forum.
There was one fitted to an Estate Land Rover that I used about twenty years ago.
From memory the hinges and locking system were as follows.
A section of angle iron with two plates about 4" x 4" welded to the angle iron that the uprights for the bull bar would slot into and a bolt acted as a hinge.
Two holes were drilled into the plates, one towards the grill, when the bull bar was in an vertical position a pin was inserted through the holes to hold the bar in place.
The other hole was drilled to the front of the plate so that when the bull bar was folded down the pin would stop it bouncing up.
 
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I've made a good start on it today, fit it up this afternoon to get the locations of the fixed uprights in position and i should finish it tomorrow hopefully.
It pivots on 16mm bolts at the bottom of the uprights and locates in notches at the top
Just need to figure out the locking up and locking down mechanism but that shouldn't be to much trouble.
I wanted to get my spot lights into the gap in the middle but they to big so i have a plan for that too!

Oh and don't worry if anything looks wonkey or bent, nothings bolted up there and its just balancing, Promise 🤣
 

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And its done!
Very happy with the way it's turned out considering i made a quick sketch in 2 minutes the other night.
Couldn't fit my big round spotlights in so i went for some small square ones which don't look too bad.
Two lights stay up, two stay down to fill the gap in a little bit and hopefully stop my dinner falling through
 

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Looks good.
How did you decide to keep the bull bar upright?
its hard to see on the picture but theres a piece welded to the round bar that i've outlined in red.
The pin in the fixed upright is holding it in the open position, pull it out and when closed, it fits in the other hole below it.
10 seconds to go from one position to the other
 

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