Dude you have it all wrong.
Let me explain just what the hell he is talking about. The original idea for this bar came to me as I was climbing out of my truck when I was stuck on a hill. I ended up slipping and grabbed the oh ˟˟˟˟ handle. I hung my whole body on that little handle(that I swapped from the back to the driver side,Thanks Roger!),but I almost didn't snag it in time. Anyway when I took it out to inspect the area for the big bars, I noticed that the metal bulged(not cracked) where the bar was bolted in and the paint had cracked(not the metal). Anyway the bar has 8 rivnuts in it and some are near the stronger points of the area,i.e. the ribs and overlaps. I think it is pretty strong. But we will see.

Man that's alot of typing!

 

I think you are on to something. If 2 bolts held 160 LBS. thats 80 LBS. each bolt. Now 8 bolts should be 20 LBS each bolt. I would think this should work. Let us know!

 

Still need a welder. Anybody?!?!

 

Chris, if you wanna help me inspect fuel lines saturday, we can work on the welding stuff. I'm not a master, but we can give it a shot.
BigKen

 

Big Ken, you RULE!!!
Got the bar welded.
I will post progress pics tomarrow.
It is SUPER strong, can hang on it all day.
Just gotta clean it up, and it will be done.
It totally KICKS ASS!

 

yea it does rule... still have yet to see it though. i think after i get my truck, im gonna buy a miller mig. what do you think? i suck at welding, and i was doing better than really crappy. but there about 400$ on ebay.

 

I want one!
Sorry about the lack of pics, I will post them later tonight when I go home. I promise!

 

looking forward to the pix. thanks (in advance) for posting them.

 

OK! Here are some pics to satisfy!













This one shows the fit of the curve to the car. I love it.




Close up of my gorilla welds, ugly but hopefully strong.




The bar fits comfortably in my hand as I drive...through my garage.




You can see how strong it is as I hang out of the door holding on to it.
The damn thing is SOLID...and...three of the eight bolts are not even in it!!






I love the hell out of the bar. Now it is time to pull it off and sand/pretty it up for some paint. Also I need to do now is cap the ends somehow. I will use either metal balls cut in half, or just cut some circles out and weld them in. I have had a dink or two with my head on the bar, nothing painfull yet, but I will probably pad the area around my head and not the angled part. I love this thing and recommend anybody to do it. Best part is, if I end up not wanting it down the road, I can pull it off and put the trim over the rivnuts and its gone.


Please reply with your thoughts on the project. I sit in front of my computer all day waiting for feedback. Not really, but it's great to hear your opinions!!!


By the way, Thanks again for the help BigKen!!!!!

 

Here are some pics of the bar off the truck.








I can dig it.

 

so its pretty solid, eh? awesome. i really like the concept, and you just gotta respect the fact that you just winged it the whole way. man. hats off to you.

what color are you gonna paint it? cant wait to see the finished product.

 

lookin' pretty sweet... who'da thunk...interior trail armor. in terms of padding, it'll be fugly, but you could probably get a tube of pipe insulation and zip-tie it on there. for closing up the ends, yeah if you can weld something in there that's awesome... i was thinking they make those thin steel caps that have the 8-10 bent "fingers" inside them, or also there are better plugs that slip in there and then expand into the tube when you tighten an exposed screw. those would get you by, if more welding on your work of art isn't in the cards. great work!

 

are you going to do one on the other side to match?

 

O yea definatly doing the other side to match. After playing with Kens welder, I have to buy one myself. Then I will be fabricating up all sorts of stuff, like a roof rack, rock sliders, and front/rear bumpers to name a few. I think I will use some crappy plastic caps untill I go through the process of using another welder. Its gonna be flat black.

 

- be of assistance..............bar does look great, too. I gotta tell ya though, you should have been there yesterday...........day-umn..........
BigKen

 

chris, got any final pix? i'm curious to see how it ended up. thx

 

Man, that is so perfect that you responded just now. I have the bar sitting in the garage with a fresh coat of paint. I have had NO TIME between work, school, and the G/F. I took my time wirewheeling it to death and even pressure washed the damn thing to get all the crap out and off the bar(overkill? I think so.) Anyway I planned on posting tomorrow, pics of the bar painted and installed. I am totally excited to let you see my creation! Plus I am proud to say that this thread has surpassed 1,000 views. Hell yea! Check back tomorrow, probably after work(5:00).

 

Take a look.

The flat black paint doesn't really look as spotted without a flash.


They fit well.


I think the welds look good when they are cleaned up.



I love the bar painted and cleaned up.
I will post some more pics later.
Like in the sunshine.

 

sweet! i really like it. looks like for now, you're leaving it unpadded. i was only half-kidding earlier about the pipe insulation. remember back in the 70s when bikes had the snap-on vinyl wraps around that kind of padding? something like that but perhaps with a thin layer of closed-cell foam? er, wait. your parents were probably in high school in the 1970s. what was i thinking? lol! (sorry dude... had to, just had to... now you can rib me for not only having been alive in the 70s but remembering them enough to be embarrassed, too, hehe).

 

Basterd! I saw your rig the other day before I saw this post. I live in richardson also near main st. Wish my old 4runner had a solid axle.

Hey, where are the places to go offroading near by?