I was talking with a fabrication shop my cousin works at and they want to build some bumpers and rock rails for me.  The catch is they want to weld the bumpers and rails to the frame.  It sounds like it would be strong.

What are the thoughts?

Also, they asked if I wanted 1 and a half, 1 and 3 quarter or 2 in round bar

Thoughts?

I think welding the rails to the frame would be ok, But I personaly would rather not have the bumper welded direct to the frame. What if you have to remove the grill? or any other front part of the vehicle. I would go with 1.5 or 1.75 tubing( the choice is yours) Welding would be strong but I guess what kind of vehicle it is going to be whould have to break the ice.
Daily driver, slight trail use, heavy trail use, offroad only, those  would be the deciding factor for me.hope this helps.

TJ

Daily Driver / Mountain and Desert trail

I kind of like brackets but wondered what everyone was doing

I welded the "bolt on " brackets for my Calmini bumper to the frame after i bolted the bumper together and onto the Tracker. It only has two small bolts on each side, and the bottom mount holding it on otherwise. Now I can remove the bumper if needed, but once bolted to the brackets, it's strong as can be.