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Years ago I bent the stock step bumper at DivideRide 1998.. later I got it again when I creamed the quarter panel / tailgate.. and all in all, it was long overdue.
Not a whole lot to it.
The step bumper mounts via some angle-steel bolted under the frame rails. I kept the stock mounts in place, and built my bumper to sit on the step bumper's old mounts.
The tube is 2x4x1/8" rectangle. A few pieces of angle to the old step bumper mounts, and some 2.5x.250 tele-tube for the receiver hitch.
Between the two angle mounts I doubled up the bottom wall of the 2x4 tube with a piece of 2x1/8" flat strap. This is to help combat any bending force exerted by the receiver hitch.
I welded some 3"x1/8" flat to the top with the goal of adding more strength to the receiver hitch area and making a wider perch for my boot.
Hindsight, I should've moved the bumper back a little further to give me more room for my big feet. :)
On the under-sides you'll notice tow hooks. Mounted to the stock step-bumper angle mounts and through the new bumper's mounting brackets.
Mounting them "flat" means they don't hang down as much AND the strap tends to stay on more. At the same time, I didn't have to move the hooks to the very rear so they could wrap up and around the bumper, making them a departure angle problem.