I added an aux tank and needed to relocate the spare tire. The normal way to do this is by adding a rear swingout. This again requireas a new bumper to support the weight of the wheel.
See also Low Budget Auxiliary tank Land Cruiser 80
Bumpers are expensive and heavy. To go budget and also reduce weight I decided to make my own. Also, I had recently bought e welder, a 250 A Esab Smashweld, and as a newbie welder I needed some practice on thick steel before moving on to sheet metal. 250A is perfect for this job.
The idea behind the design is to leave the 80 rear traverse as-is, and just add new side-bumpers. Bumpers that can be purchased consist of a complete steel traverse in addition, and are quite heavy. This bumper is made of an off-the-shelf steel U-profile that fits over the traverse with a bit grinding, flat steel plus some square tubes. The side protection is made of two 10cm wide 6mm flat steel welded together on the long side to create an open V profile. To take up side forces there are two flat steels inclining backwards to the frame. This is to lead the forces to the rear traverse. Technically it would be better to use a strut perpendicular to the frame, but in case you are hit by a car from the side this could lead to a warped frame. Better with a warped quarter panel.
The benefits are: easy to build and fit, and low weight. Total weight is around 20 kilos.
Because of local regulations of light viewing angles I had to put in new rear lights. These are LED lights used for trailers. The towing brackets are going trough the bumper and bolted to the frame.
Later I added a bike rack as well. Handy, because spare tire and bikes will swing out. The support is a bracket with a standard towing ball that I use for a regular bike rack.
Swingout is more difficult to build so I purchased one from 4x4labs, which also sell complete bumpers.
Some bumper vendors:
4x4labs
arb-80-series-land-cruiser-lexus-lx450-modular-rear-bumper
cruiserworld.eu
