Fender rub rails... (1 Viewer)

[Mtbcoach]

Doing similar to what Rick did to Dig-Dug, I finally got off my @ss and put these things on top of the priority list.

Mine are made of 1.75/.120 wall DOM tubing, same material as the Demello sliders. My goal with these is to give a first line of defense in the rocks and trees I frequent. They are not meant to fully support the weight of the vehicle, just give me a bit of notice when things get tight.

First comes the front. The rears are all bent up and ready to be fit into place. But, I couldn't wait and had to share the completed (not painted obviously) front set.

Unlike Rick's set up, I did attach mine to the front bumper. I first boxed in the Demello front bumper corner with 3/16" steel plate, made the little cup to receive the tube clamps, so I can detach everything, assuming I'll damage something and want to remove the front bumper, sliders or rub rails for paint/repair.

Driver's side front...

Passenger side front...

If all goes well with the rear, I'll post pics of them tomorrow...

 

[chappysfj40]

looks good so far. i have them on my 60, work well and they flex a bit too. your pass. side looks like it has good clearance between the body and tube, but i think your drivers side maybe be a bit close. on a good note, you always hit your pass side alot harder than your drivers because you can see the driver side.

i like it so far though, cant wait to see the rear...


cheers

chappy

 

[Lemony]

looks great, where do you get the detachable tube thingys?

 

[Mtbcoach]

looks good so far. i have them on my 60, work well and they flex a bit too. your pass. side looks like it has good clearance between the body and tube, but i think your drivers side maybe be a bit close. on a good note, you always hit your pass side alot harder than your drivers because you can see the driver side.

i like it so far though, cant wait to see the rear...


cheers

chappy

Thanks Chappy...I'll post up the rear shortly...

looks great, where do you get the detachable tube thingys?

The "thingys" are known as tube clamps. Thay can be inserted like these or external. I picked mine up from Ballistic Fabrications...

 

[BMThiker]

... but i think your drivers side maybe be a bit close.

I have to agree with him after closer inspection. The FJC has quite a bit of body roll with the stock body mount bushings. I think you'll find some paint-swapping going on after flexing on the trails.

I did on mine. I attempted to limit the body roll by removing the steel bushing that the body mount bolt travels through. Then I cut 1" off of it and reinserted it. Then I cranked the bolts down to squish the rubber bushing and take some of the sway out of the whole system. This had the effect of lowering the body on the frame slightly, but took a lot of the yaw out of it too.

Ideally I think you want at least a fat finger's width (3/4" - 1") of room between the fender and the rail at the top of the fender (your horizontal section). You can achieve this by widening the stance of the rub rails or dropping the rub rail below the "radius" of the body movement (I prefer the latter). Envision it this way...if the horizontal bar got pushed in far enough (full weight of vehicle leaning on it) would it hit the lower edge of the fender? If so, then you may need to move it lower. Just my suggestion, if I had to do it again. If you don't mind a little yellow paint on your rub rails, then don't worry about it.

 

[Mtbcoach]

I have to agree with him after closer inspection. The FJC has quite a bit of body roll with the stock body mount bushings. I think you'll find some paint-swapping going on after flexing on the trails.

I did on mine. I attempted to limit the body roll by removing the steel bushing that the body mount bolt travels through. Then I cut 1" off of it and reinserted it. Then I cranked the bolts down to squish the rubber bushing and take some of the sway out of the whole system. This had the effect of lowering the body on the frame slightly, but took a lot of the yaw out of it too.

Ideally I think you want at least a fat finger's width (3/4" - 1") of room between the fender and the rail at the top of the fender (your horizontal section). You can achieve this by widening the stance of the rub rails or dropping the rub rail below the "radius" of the body movement (I prefer the latter). Envision it this way...if the horizontal bar got pushed in far enough (full weight of vehicle leaning on it) would it hit the lower edge of the fender? If so, then you may need to move it lower. Just my suggestion, if I had to do it again. If you don't mind a little yellow paint on your rub rails, then don't worry about it.

No, it won't touch. It won't move laterally, it will move in an arc around the pressure. The rails is just below the fender and "should" clear it if it flexes that far and I'm in a bad enough spot to put that much weight on it. It will take over 3/4" of deflection before the top of the tubing is in line with the fender. I guess there will be a time when I'll find out but its not on my "worry list". I'm going to Harlan this weekend and intend to give them some time on the trail to see how much flexing I get.

I "intend" their use as a "rub rail", not a slider. A simple "first alert" system when I get into a spot when I may come in contact with the occasional tree, rock or ??? Without coming off like I know anything, I really don't see it happening. I have put pressure on them with a Hi-lift and I just can't get that much movement.

Here is the final product. I painted them with the same bed liner I've been using on the sliders and skid plates. It doesn't look the best but it is functional and easy to repair/repaint.

Here is the "whole package"...

that's all folks...

 

[Kosmo]

Nice work, your rear is exactly why I bent my sliders up in the rear. I pland to continue them to the rear someday.

 

[chappysfj40]

i love the rear bars, how expensive are the taillights your just about to save...... awesome

 

[Jcruzr]

Nice Work! Great idea protecting the taillights. If I ever get around to building my rear bumper I have something similar in mind.

 

[Mtbcoach]

Nice work, your rear is exactly why I bent my sliders up in the rear. I pland to continue them to the rear someday.

Thanks, this has been on my project list for a year...

i love the rear bars, how expensive are the taillights your just about to save...... awesome

Thanks...

I think they run ~$250 list, worth some time on the bender and doing some welding, that's for sure...

Nice Work! Great idea protecting the taillights. If I ever get around to building my rear bumper I have something similar in mind.

Thanks, be sure to share yours as it comes along...

 

[chappysfj40]

250, wow!! worth every penny you spent in tube to protect them things. dents dont matter to the law, but the law requires you to have taillights....

 

[7228]

looks good

 

[BMThiker]

I hear ya Jerry. I'm sure you've studied it thoroughly and the pics certainly can't show it all as well as putting your own hands and eyes on it. I thought I designed enough wiggle room in mine the first time. My fabricator wanted to weld them up a little tighter to the fender and I wanted to be able to stick my hand between the tube and the body. They thought I was crazy for wanting that much space, but they did as I asked - truth was, that I only wanted that much space to keep mud from building up or gravel from getting stuck in there. Then we were both surprised when the body still made contact with the tube.

 

[Aztech]

I like it. But what happened to the rims you made? Are those "trail only"? Or are you saving them for when you have more clearance or something? I thought they looked pretty sharp.

 

[Mtbcoach]

looks good

Thanks...

I hear ya Jerry. I'm sure you've studied it thoroughly and the pics certainly can't show it all as well as putting your own hands and eyes on it. I thought I designed enough wiggle room in mine the first time. My fabricator wanted to weld them up a little tighter to the fender and I wanted to be able to stick my hand between the tube and the body. They thought I was crazy for wanting that much space, but they did as I asked - truth was, that I only wanted that much space to keep mud from building up or gravel from getting stuck in there. Then we were both surprised when the body still made contact with the tube.

I went thru the same. I just got back from a weekend in Harlan and I pushed the FJC pretty hard. I wanted to see if I could create a rub. All is good. I tried to get thru the trail "Making Time" and The trail was tough for the truggy with us running on 39's. Lets just say that i didn't clear the trail, didn't pull cable (except to get back down), just had to turn around and retreat dragging my tailpipe between my legs (literally). And, to test the other end of the spectrum...one of the members of our party left over $3k of camera sitting on a rock. So I did a bit of rally speed on the fire roads, bottoming out my suspension a hand full of times after catching some air.

No rubs, so far...

I like it. But what happened to the rims you made? Are those "trail only"? Or are you saving them for when you have more clearance or something? I thought they looked pretty sharp.

The bead locks are retired for now. Adding the 35 lbs on each wheel made much larger impact on how the FJC drove than I'd imagined. Yes, the will be trail only on a dedicated trail rig.

But, thanks for the compliment...

 

[bernd122465]

Looks good Jerry

 

[Mtbcoach]

Looks good Jerry

Thanks bud, hope things are good with you guys...

 

[BMThiker]

I went thru the same. I just got back from a weekend in Harlan and I pushed the FJC pretty hard. I wanted to see if I could create a rub. All is good. I tried to get thru the trail "Making Time" and The trail was tough for the truggy with us running on 39's. Lets just say that i didn't clear the trail, didn't pull cable (except to get back down), just had to turn around and retreat dragging my tailpipe between my legs (literally). And, to test the other end of the spectrum...one of the members of our party left over $3k of camera sitting on a rock. So I did a bit of rally speed on the fire roads, bottoming out my suspension a hand full of times after catching some air.

No rubs, so far...

Nice! Glad it all worked well and you came back happy. I haven't been to Harlan yet, but it sounds like a lot of fun.

 

[Mtbcoach]

Nice! Glad it all worked well and you came back happy. I haven't been to Harlan yet, but it sounds like a lot of fun.

Got to get up there. We stayed in campsite 3 on the "Putney" side, nice spot but have to drive down to the shower/bathroom. They are clearly putting the resources to use with trail signage and many other improvements since I was last there in '08...

 

[Aztech]

I went thru the same. I just got back from a weekend in Harlan and I pushed the FJC pretty hard. I wanted to see if I could create a rub. All is good. I tried to get thru the trail "Making Time" and The trail was tough for the truggy with us running on 39's. Lets just say that i didn't clear the trail, didn't pull cable (except to get back down), just had to turn around and retreat dragging my tailpipe between my legs (literally). And, to test the other end of the spectrum...one of the members of our party left over $3k of camera sitting on a rock. So I did a bit of rally speed on the fire roads, bottoming out my suspension a hand full of times after catching some air.

No rubs, so far...

Sounds quite painful. I hope it sounds worse than it actually is. Did you get your tailpipe reattached? URE "fixed" mine the first time I was out there. Slipped off a rock on one of the trails and back one of my pipes that had gotten pulled down in AK. Sorry to hear about all that camera equipment getting lost. Was it ever recovered?

The bead locks are retired for now. Adding the 35 lbs on each wheel made much larger impact on how the FJC drove than I'd imagined. Yes, the will be trail only on a dedicated trail rig.

But, thanks for the compliment...

You're welcome
Are you running any sort of tuner for economy? (i.e. bullydog and the like) I'd imagine 35 lbs + really big rolling radius = some pretty outrageous handling and single-digit fuel economy.