The BA is a huge hunk of metal. I think it is 14 gauge, which is somewhat thin and flemsy compared to most off-road bumpers. But it has to be built from thin metal due to its rather large size. If you made it from 3/16" (which is pretty much the standard) it would be way too heavy for the H3. The winch shelf area was double layers of 14ga. with gussets to support the winch load. I'm afraid I don't have any good shots of the back of it but, here's a shot of mine sitting on the floor right before I sold it...
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The winch mounts directly between the frame rails which is good. This means there is no "lever" action, to possibly bend the frame rails (like some other shelf mounts). For this reason it utilizes only the (4) tow-hook bolts to mount it, and that is plenty sufficient. However, if you move your winch away from this location...you should try to use the other (4) bolts (on the sides of the frame rails) to triangulate the mounting and prevent any bending that could occur during a hard pull. The H3 has crumple zones built into the frame rails, and you should take that into account with your design. If you do keep your winch mounted low between the frame rails...you'll probably be limited to an 8000lb. unit due to the tight space under there. Although it looks imposing, the BA is actually not much of a bumper. The more I used my BA, the more dissatisfied I became with it. The fairlead opening needed enlarged...the powder-coat is very poor quality...and more than once, I wadded the winch line up inside it. Be careful using it for a plow...it is easy to bend. Also the ends stick-out past the body, and you can accidentally hook the bumper on small trees while in reverse. This will also bend the BA. The cool thing is...you can bend it back without much effort.
If you are starting from scratch, there are many improvements you can incorporate into your own design. Just like everything...there is usually a trade-off for every change you make. The hidden winch idea looks great at the mall but, makes actual winching very tough. Its difficult to see the drum and properly spool the winch-line onto it. Most of the time...the low-mount winch will be under-water (or mud) when you really need it, and servicing it usually requires removal of the bumper. Conversely...exposed winches are ugly, and prone to weather damage and vandalism. It all depends on how much you plan to use it, and whether you are willing to compromise to get what you're after. I love seeing scratch-built bumpers, and I encourage everybody to dive-in and come up with their own design. I recommend using 3/16" mild steel, and building several designs out of cardboard before you start welding. I actually built a "jig" that mimics the H3's front frame rails. That way I can play around with different design ideas without having my truck disassembled.
The BA bumper is 12 gauge steel which is 1/8" I believe. I have had mine for almost 5 years and it is one of the best modificaions I have done. The powder coating was crap. I sand blasted mine after two years and recoated it with Extreme chassis paint from Eastwood corporation. It has held up well. I also widened the fairlead openining a little and put on a billet hawse fairlead to replace the roller one. I also replaced the steel cable with 85 ' feet of amsteel blue synthetic line .
http://phoenix.craigslist.org/nph/cto/3250063627.html
