About $150-200 on steel and $250 on powdercoating. Yeah the powdercoating was a bit pricey but there's only one shop in town and it wasn't worth driving 30+ miles one-way to find another one.

 

that actually doesnt sound too bad for the coating if its a reasonably thick application of it...

 

Yes, it was a fairly thick application with a primer basecoat and the the wrinkle finish topcoat. Color is Sherwin Williams Raven Texture Black.

I recently had to be snatched out from axle-deep mud in a 40° off-camber situation - my two downhill wheels sank in at the same time, and my passenger mirror was almost touching the ground. I sure was wishing I had put the winch in as it would have made for a smoother recovery. I put a shackle on the uphill recovery point and it took about 5 snatches at 5-10 MPH plus some throttle to get out, was balanced on 2 wheels for a while during the process. Got out safely, but yikes! Anyway, the bumper held up perfectly so I can now say my welds are tested and proven.

 

Get yourself a Kinetic Rope. MasterPull makes a nice 1"x30' one. You can get them on eBay new from MasterPull for less than $100 shipped. They're great in mud and deep snow recovery situations where a good run is needed to yank you out. I haven't used my strap since I bought mine.

 

Added to my wish list...

 

$78 shipped.
Master Pull Kinetic Recovery Tow Rope Super Yanker 1" x 30' 33,500lb. | eBay