Rear bumper for RTV 900

 Been tossing around an idea for a bumper on my RTV 900.  I have an older model with the 1.25 hitch.  Has anyone tried making and mounting a bumper into the tow hitch?  I am planning a run into the Colorado mountains and wonder if it would be worth it to make something to protect the hydraulic fluid tank.  Not planning on rock crawling, but you know how murphy shows his ugly head!!

Just a thought. 

Doc

i think the bumper would be better if it mounted higher up. i have been wanting to make a bumper but don't have an rtv to go off of for a pattern but i do know one thing don't use the hitch because it will only hang up on everylittle thing that comes along.when i go mudding or trail riding with my rhino i always yank the trailer ball out because it would catch everything around and get you stuck faster than just plain old getting high ceneterd. so if your gonna fabbricate something work off the bed  not the hitch. 

 Well, that helps.  I was thinking of putting about an 8" riser on the hitch then running the bumper across below the tail lights, but if you tend to get stuck with just the hitch, it kinda negates the usefulness of the bumper. 

thanks

you could make a riser for it if you go straight up out of the reciever but then if you try to tilt your bed one of them is gonna get bent up bad . i don't have a rtv but my hpx i had and my rhino i have now they would hang up on the hitch every time.  i did see a bumper somewhere that someone made for their rtv and it did just as you are thinkin it was mounted to the recieverit didn't really work or atleast look like it would do much good because it only protected the oil tank in the rear and nuthing else. to me a bumper should protect the bed from when you backup and hit something.

i found this one on ebay it looks real cheap for 119.00 it seems to mount to the under neath the bed like i would do . i have a feeling it's made out of some really thin material and with the weight of an rtv it wouldn't last one hit.

 http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/345-Kubota-RTV-Rear-Channel-Bumper-RB-KUB_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem1c0d99d99aQQitemZ120487270810QQptZMotorsQ5fATVQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

You might try looking at Tractor by net in the Utility vehicle discussion. There was a man who fabricated a 2" receiver for his RTV 900 which may have incorporated a bumper it was welded to the steel tube that goes between the wheels that the 1 1/4 inch receiver is on.

This post would have been in the first 25 pages  or so I think.

Martin