Drilling Chrome Bumper

Use cutting fluid. The plating will blue as it heats up. I would also paint the metal after the cut, inviting rust otherwise because you removed the plating.

You mean a hole saw I suspect. I have my doubts about how well that will work. Those saws are designed for wood and other non-metallic materials and the teeth are larger than you would see on a metal saw blade. The center hole will get enlarged and the saw will wobble around making a very un-circular hole since the bumper is thin metal.

You could mark the 2 inch hole on the bumper with a marker. Then use a center punch to indent a series of centers around that. Then drill those with a smaller drill bit, 1/4 inch maybe. Then use a saber saw to cut that out and clean it up with a file. You want the top of the small drill holes to touch the 2 inch hole line. The skirt on the connector should cover up any roughness in the hole.

If you have a good 1/2 drill motor then you might find a 2 inch metal bit. It will not be cheap tho.

Or you might find a local welding shop to burn a 2 inch hole for you. They might even have the right sized drill and will drill one. Or try a machine shop.

Probably just soft steel with chrome plate. I drilled through the bottom of my bed with a 3". I would put tape on it so it didn't peel when you drill. Just go slow.

I would mount it below the bumper beside the hitch receiver. They make brackets for those plugs that will mount under the bumper.

Drilling through a chrome bumper is not something I would do.

They make hole saws for steel. No issues doing this. Yes definitely put some type of primer and paint on the bare steel.

dodge guy wrote:
They make hole saws for steel. No issues doing this. Yes definitely put some type of primer and paint on the bare steel.

X2

I have cut a lot of holes for mounting "8 Ball" antenna bases.

Use WD-40 for the lube and run the drill at its highest speed.

Let the speed of the tool do the work.

camperpaul wrote:

dodge guy wrote:
They make hole saws for steel. No issues doing this. Yes definitely put some type of primer and paint on the bare steel.

X2

I have cut a lot of holes for mounting "8 Ball" antenna bases.

Use WD-40 for the lube and run the drill at its highest speed.

Let the speed of the tool do the work.

X3

They are call bi metal hole saws get some cutting oil, and keep the speed of the drill slow! Slow dill speed will work far better than fast. I have drilled stainless steel with one and it worked fine.

12th Man Fan wrote:
I would mount it below the bumper beside the hitch receiver. They make brackets for those plugs that will mount under the bumper.

Drilling through a chrome bumper is not something I would do.

I agree with this statement completely, when the chrome starts coming off it gets ugly quickly.

The saw has to turn fast enough to blow the chips out of the kerf.

If you're going to use a hole saw, make sure you also put some blue tape covering the rest of the bumper. It helps prevent chips from spreading and leaves a cleaner finish when you the cut. I did this on my F-150 when I was installing Rigid backup lights (they were flush mount units). I used a sabre saw when cutting my bumper and blue taped them so I could keep any paint chips from spreading. Here's a sample below: