New Toy

[fj40tom]

That thing weigh as much as it looks like?

Looks good for a pikturetaker

It is heavy, but hell for stout...

It has turned out to be the PERFECT rack for a full-size rig. I will make someone a great deal on it if they are interested.

I ordered some new tooling to build a much lighter weight version. It will be arriving very soon...

More to come...

Cheers,

tp

 

[fj40tom]

The correct dies for the Hossfeld bender finally showed up and I put them to use.

The goal of the 2nd version of this rack is to build a rack that looks good, works even better, and still remains fairly light weight for the 4Runner.

I ordered some thiner wall tubing for this rack. The .083 wall thickness tubing on the first version is super strong, but it ended up being a little heavy for a small truck. This design also uses bent corners rather than the formed plates.

This rack uses a mix of .065 wall thickness and .083 in high stress areas.

The rack will hold four lights up front, two wide beam and two pencil beam.

Another view. I was just mocking up a few things to check the design lines before I stared cutting up more metal.

More to come...

Cheers,

tp

 

[fj40tom]

More progress pics:

I started out welding in the side and rear support posts and plates:

Custom "branded" side plates. The plates are framed with 1/2" square tube:

Like the first version of the rack, the mounting plates are notched to offer a flexible fit to several different vehicles.

The light mounting tabs were sheared, punched, and welded in:

Test fit:

I am using two pencil beam lights and two driving beam lights on the rack:

I was also able to test fit a back guard for the lights. It is a small piece of expanded metal that has a 25-30* bend in it. It will protect the lights from being hit by items in the rack. It still needs to be trimmed and welded in.

Test fit on the 4Runner:

Another pic:

The floor will be next...

Cheers,

tp

 

[wngrog]

Nice pics.....who took those for you?

I like! Nice work Tom...

 

[Texican]

Nice pics.....who took those for you?

I like! Nice work Tom...

F' the pix who did the welding for him?

 

[wngrog]

Tom, does this mean you plan on leaving the Dodge and the camper behind on trips to Baja now or will you trailer this down with the dirt bikes?

How long does it take you to get to Baja anyway?

 

[fj40tom]

Tom, does this mean you plan on leaving the Dodge and the camper behind on trips to Baja now or will you trailer this down with the dirt bikes?

How long does it take you to get to Baja anyway?

I still have not decided what I am going to do about Baja this year, but we have considered going w/o the Dodge and camper and just taking the 4Runner. Given my father-in-law's current health condition, things are still up in the air for the Baja 1000 this year.

It takes us about 23 hours to get to Tecate where we cross the border. It is another 2-3 hours to Ensenada from there in our rig. Drive time south of Endenada varies depending how far down you want to go, but it is a hard 10-12 hours from the border to Gurrero Negro (halfway point when driving all the way to Cabo).

Cheers,

tp

 

[fj40tom]

F' the pix who did the welding for him?

BITE ME!!!!

Cheers,

tp

 

[Texican]

BITE ME!!!!

Cheers,

tp

hey beeeaattch...............

we gonna see you at the Roundup????

been too long since we had you to bitch slap around.........

 

[SHREG]

I still have not decided what I am going to do about Baja this year, but we have considered going w/o the Dodge and camper and just taking the 4Runner. Given my father-in-law's current health condition, things are still up in the air for the Baja 1000 this year.

It takes us about 23 hours to get to Tecate where we cross the border. It is another 2-3 hours to Ensenada from there in our rig. Drive time south of Endenada varies depending how far down you want to go, but it is a hard 10-12 hours from the border to Gurrero Negro (halfway point when driving all the way to Cabo).

Cheers,

tp

Sounds like one heckua trip.

Best to your Father-in-law.

G