Concept drawing - lightweight rear bumper swingouts
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Auto-darkening, a Kobalt-badged helmet, set somewhere on the lighter side of the darker half of the range.
Where you see it is where I welded it, and it was not at a nice angle, and precariously perched. Admittedly if I had demounted the arm and clamped it into a vise before welding it probably would have turned out better.
I've received a recommendation for a powdercoater that also does surface prep, they open at 8am tomorrow, hopefully I'll be able to get it in to them. I'm going to go white like the truck, or enough like the truck that it'll be fine.
if I do end up doing the rock sliders and building up the hitch with tubing, I would want the sliders to be white. I've seen some examples of two-tone powder coating, not sure if it's worthwhile or not, but at that stage if it is the way I go then I'll possibly do the hitch itself in black with the tubing in white.
Probably will.
If I can find someone to do the bending that's step one. Step two is the metal supply shop selling either 10' lengths or 24' lengths. For the sliders it depends on how much extra material is needed to do the bend. 120" of source material for 101-102" of slider, I'd need to be careful. I'd rather start with 24' lengths but I don't have a trailer.
I'm not even worried about the lack of a tube notcher, I can just grind what I need. Not easy, but not stupidly hard either.
material length can be problem for sure, have you considered a pipe bender from Harbor Freight if you have one close?
I've watched so many videos of people attempting to use them and getting poor results, I'd rather not. I'm almost more inclined to buy a brand new bench-mount or pedestal mount bender other than the fact that I don't see myself using it often.
Hopefully tomorrow I'll know if the fabricator I e-mailed-to is willing to do a small job of just a few bends or not. If not, I'll see if I can find anyone or anywhere else to bend. I have a friend with a trailer, not sure if it would accommodate 24' lengths or not but if it can then I may ask. Worst case the steel supply can do a cut, but not sure if they charge extra or not. I could move 2x12' with effort.
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I figure that I'll have mine stick out maybe 3" from the truck. That's about 3" from where the door seam is...if you drop a plum line strait down from the edge of the door sill. That way I have room for a shoe to step on it.
Still not sure if I'll have them on an angle to hug the truck a little. I figure that I'll make them up and then do the angle and see how it looks.
I realized that I've got some ~2" x 2" boards. I think I'm going to mock up one and see how it looks. If I don't like it then I can easily change them. If I like the square bar look, then I'll try making the main slider a 3" wide piece.
For your rear-end sliders. I like the bottom left, too. It also looks to be the strongest.
Still not sure if I'll have them on an angle to hug the truck a little. I figure that I'll make them up and then do the angle and see how it looks.
I realized that I've got some ~2" x 2" boards. I think I'm going to mock up one and see how it looks. If I don't like it then I can easily change them. If I like the square bar look, then I'll try making the main slider a 3" wide piece.
For your rear-end sliders. I like the bottom left, too. It also looks to be the strongest.
With a side profile look the frame is visible enough that I didn't feel a need to tuck the rails up against the rockers. The frame is the low point, and the utility of a step is enough to make that worthwhile for me.
When I actually get to building 'em I'll probably pick back up on this thread that I had started some time ago.
Starting work on the jerry can holder. Until I get the existing parts back from powder-coat I can't finish, but I can at least start.
I'd started out looking at off-the-shelf components that might make the build easier. Unfortunately prebuilt three-can holders are very expensive, like the better part of four figures. Then I started looking at telecom parts, and I stumbled across wall-mount shelves for non-rackmount electronics. The original model from vendor Startech was unfortunately discontinued, and many others ship as four-piece kits I found this:
![Wood Netbook Gas Rectangle Output device]()
This is a Middle Atlantic wall shelf, meant for use in equipment rooms for gear that is not rackmounted. I ordered this one in particular because of the several manufacturers of similar shelves, Middle Atlantic and the discontinued Startech models are the only ones that are shipped already finished, welded together in one piece. Others are shipped as knockdown kits and held together with screws.
![Wood Rectangle Audio equipment Gadget Electronic instrument]()
Inside it's a little over 20" wide, and in the orientation it was designed to be installed, around 14" tall along the wall, and jutting-out around 17" from the wall. In the orientation I have it shown it's sitting on what would be its back, with the vented panel being 17" tall with a lip at the top, and the bottom panel being 14".
For reference, a NATO-standard jerry can is 18 1/4" tall x 13 1/2" deep x 6 1/2" wide. Three such cans are 19 1/2" wide. There are several manufacturers of water jugs that are similar dimensions.
Here's three jerry cans on the shelf:
![Tire Automotive tire Motor vehicle Automotive design Automotive exterior]()
![Motor vehicle Bumper Automotive design Automotive exterior Tool]()
The lip overhangs the openings on the cans, just a little, potentially just enough that depending on how I ultimately settle on retaining the cans they won't be able to be opened while secured:
![Motor vehicle Hood Automotive tire Vehicle Automotive exterior]()
For reference, this shelf unit was $180. Not cheap, but being built in one piece and welded, and rated for 200lb static capacity by itself, just mounted to studs.
...to be continued...
I'd started out looking at off-the-shelf components that might make the build easier. Unfortunately prebuilt three-can holders are very expensive, like the better part of four figures. Then I started looking at telecom parts, and I stumbled across wall-mount shelves for non-rackmount electronics. The original model from vendor Startech was unfortunately discontinued, and many others ship as four-piece kits I found this:
This is a Middle Atlantic wall shelf, meant for use in equipment rooms for gear that is not rackmounted. I ordered this one in particular because of the several manufacturers of similar shelves, Middle Atlantic and the discontinued Startech models are the only ones that are shipped already finished, welded together in one piece. Others are shipped as knockdown kits and held together with screws.
Inside it's a little over 20" wide, and in the orientation it was designed to be installed, around 14" tall along the wall, and jutting-out around 17" from the wall. In the orientation I have it shown it's sitting on what would be its back, with the vented panel being 17" tall with a lip at the top, and the bottom panel being 14".
For reference, a NATO-standard jerry can is 18 1/4" tall x 13 1/2" deep x 6 1/2" wide. Three such cans are 19 1/2" wide. There are several manufacturers of water jugs that are similar dimensions.
Here's three jerry cans on the shelf:
The lip overhangs the openings on the cans, just a little, potentially just enough that depending on how I ultimately settle on retaining the cans they won't be able to be opened while secured:
For reference, this shelf unit was $180. Not cheap, but being built in one piece and welded, and rated for 200lb static capacity by itself, just mounted to studs.
...to be continued...
...continuing.
Since the shelf itself isn't firm enough on its own I figured I needed a frame. I had some angle iron dunnage that was used to ship my 2-post lift:
![Wood Twig Motor vehicle Font Freezing]()
![Wood Road surface Motor vehicle Automotive tire Chair]()
In hindsight I wish I hadn't left it out exposed in the weather for several years, and also in hindsight I wish that I'd just cut the lengths I needed rather than disassembling the frame completely first. I ended up spending more time than I should have separating it into parts and then grinding those parts down far enough to make them weldable.
This was my result:
![Wood Composite material Gas Automotive exterior Table]()
![Wood Wheel Gas Rectangle Automotive exterior]()
I didn't take any pictures while working but I had the angle iron oriented the other way around, hanging down around the shelf. I tacked and welded the outside, then pried it off and welded the inside.
This is it staged with the shelf and fuel cans:
![Motor vehicle Bumper Automotive exterior Gas Automotive lighting]()
![Wheel Tire Automotive tire Motor vehicle Vehicle]()
![Wheel Tire Wood Automotive tire Motor vehicle]()
I haven't decided if I'm going to use this orientation (flat at the top) or turn it over the way it was when I first fixtured it (flat to the bottom) wrapped around the base. The latter way might do a better job of retaining the cans while four wheeling. If I do that I'll have to grind the welds on the inside with some kind of steel rotary grinder, so it'll fit.
With the holes that were present in the dunnage I may be able to use them to help tie things down if I don't invert it.
Once I have the parts back from powdercoat I'll work on the hinge and interconnecting braces, and look at methods to retain the cans both for proper tiedown and for antitheft.
Since the shelf itself isn't firm enough on its own I figured I needed a frame. I had some angle iron dunnage that was used to ship my 2-post lift:
In hindsight I wish I hadn't left it out exposed in the weather for several years, and also in hindsight I wish that I'd just cut the lengths I needed rather than disassembling the frame completely first. I ended up spending more time than I should have separating it into parts and then grinding those parts down far enough to make them weldable.
This was my result:
I didn't take any pictures while working but I had the angle iron oriented the other way around, hanging down around the shelf. I tacked and welded the outside, then pried it off and welded the inside.
This is it staged with the shelf and fuel cans:
I haven't decided if I'm going to use this orientation (flat at the top) or turn it over the way it was when I first fixtured it (flat to the bottom) wrapped around the base. The latter way might do a better job of retaining the cans while four wheeling. If I do that I'll have to grind the welds on the inside with some kind of steel rotary grinder, so it'll fit.
With the holes that were present in the dunnage I may be able to use them to help tie things down if I don't invert it.
Once I have the parts back from powdercoat I'll work on the hinge and interconnecting braces, and look at methods to retain the cans both for proper tiedown and for antitheft.
So one thing that I've learned subsequent. The NATO-style Jerry Cans can swell-up when they're mostly empty and the temperature swings upward dramatically, they get wider. Three empty ones do fit, but they are squeezed-in, they scrape the sizes of the Middle Atlantic shelf. They do fit though.
Grr. need to vent.
Powdercoater apparently had their tag for my parts come off. I called to find out if I could pick up today and because the tag was missing I didn't my parts done because they couldn't tell for certain what color I'd chosen or how to reach me. Supposedly they'll be done in a couple of days now, to be ready for wednesday or thursday.
This also means my parts, as finish-stripped as I could make 'em, were left out in the recent several days of rain.
So I'm annoyed. I guess I have to both watch the weather and keep on their backs constantly. I don't like having to do that with vendors. Unfortunately none of the close places can surface-prep parts this big. The fuel can carrier is probably small enough for a smaller, closer powdercoater at least, but if I do rock sliders I'll have to give it some real thought exactly what I want to do with powdercoating.
Powdercoater apparently had their tag for my parts come off. I called to find out if I could pick up today and because the tag was missing I didn't my parts done because they couldn't tell for certain what color I'd chosen or how to reach me. Supposedly they'll be done in a couple of days now, to be ready for wednesday or thursday.
This also means my parts, as finish-stripped as I could make 'em, were left out in the recent several days of rain.
So I'm annoyed. I guess I have to both watch the weather and keep on their backs constantly. I don't like having to do that with vendors. Unfortunately none of the close places can surface-prep parts this big. The fuel can carrier is probably small enough for a smaller, closer powdercoater at least, but if I do rock sliders I'll have to give it some real thought exactly what I want to do with powdercoating.
Ok. Yesterday I called the powdercoater, apparently not only weren't they done yet, but they didn't realize they were out of the color of powder that I had requested. Needless to say I was unhappy with this, as it has meant the parts were sitting out like I'd mentioned, meaning even if I just collected my parts they'd have a layer of surface rust on them. But last night I had an epiphany, if they were willing to sandblast them and release them back to me while keeping my place in-line for when the powder color arrives, then I could keep working on my fuel can swingout. This morning I called them and they agreed to it. At 3:30 they hadn't gotten back to me yet so I called, the parts were sandblasted, so I picked them up. They're supposed to call me when the powder comes in.
![Automotive tire Bumper Automotive exterior Wood Gas]()
the sandblasting looks good, the texture feels like something that will take the coating well. So from that perspective I'm pleased enough, since I haven't been charged anything yet. If they get back to me with powder back in stock then fine, I'll go back, but if they never do, the parts aren't going to get worse in the weather and I could go somewhere else if needed, even to other shops that can't sandblast.
After getting home I took dimensions from the swing pivot point where the bearing races go in, and built another. I had to take two lengths of pipe, cut them where they would be able to be compressed down around two bearing-races, and welded together. I made sure that with this one to do a much more thorough job of beveling the edges of the cuts. I built-up the filler a higher than it needed to be and chucked it up in a bench vise to grind back down again, I didn't find any porosity in where I ground-down to. This was the extent of what I could do, the part was just far too hot to work with otherwise.
Tomorrow morning I will attempt to build the rest of the fuel can swingout. I'm leaning towards using four of the holes on the frame I built (on the long sides, two on the front, two on the back) to build some kind of locking removable cage with hinges to let it collapse-down to be stowed when the cans don't need to be locked, but we'll see. For now I'm just concerned with getting the arm itself built. If the swingout is built before the powdercoater lets me know that the powder pigment is in then it'll go to them to have it also coated.
This is what I have in mind:
![Rectangle Slope Font Parallel Pattern]()
![Rectangle Slope Font Parallel Pattern]()
![Font Rectangle Line Parallel Diagram]()
And something just for fun, a possible combination of a spare-tire cover and fuel can cover that I would find entertaining:
![Font Parallel Circle Diagram Rectangle]()
the sandblasting looks good, the texture feels like something that will take the coating well. So from that perspective I'm pleased enough, since I haven't been charged anything yet. If they get back to me with powder back in stock then fine, I'll go back, but if they never do, the parts aren't going to get worse in the weather and I could go somewhere else if needed, even to other shops that can't sandblast.
After getting home I took dimensions from the swing pivot point where the bearing races go in, and built another. I had to take two lengths of pipe, cut them where they would be able to be compressed down around two bearing-races, and welded together. I made sure that with this one to do a much more thorough job of beveling the edges of the cuts. I built-up the filler a higher than it needed to be and chucked it up in a bench vise to grind back down again, I didn't find any porosity in where I ground-down to. This was the extent of what I could do, the part was just far too hot to work with otherwise.
Tomorrow morning I will attempt to build the rest of the fuel can swingout. I'm leaning towards using four of the holes on the frame I built (on the long sides, two on the front, two on the back) to build some kind of locking removable cage with hinges to let it collapse-down to be stowed when the cans don't need to be locked, but we'll see. For now I'm just concerned with getting the arm itself built. If the swingout is built before the powdercoater lets me know that the powder pigment is in then it'll go to them to have it also coated.
This is what I have in mind:
And something just for fun, a possible combination of a spare-tire cover and fuel can cover that I would find entertaining:
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If you want to come out to San Diego, Bring it to RW Little. We bring all our stuff there.
Appealing as that is, I don't have the time to do that. Maybe for rock sliders, we'll see depending on what I do and if I choose powder or paint.
So my wife is a mechanical engineer. I've solicited and received her opinion and she's recommended that I don't try to center the fuel cans on the centerline of the tire vertically, even though that means no more clever Star Trek cover, it reduces the length of the moment-arm of the fuel carrier.
I took the design and added a dashed line reflecting the departure angle created by the hitch and spare tire, then I lowered-down the fuel can assembly until I reached that line, but didn't especially intrude. I don't want to harm the departure angle. This was what I came up with:
The difference isn't dramatic, around 3" lower, but it will reduce the weight and moment-arm. Downside, I lose the ability to see the fuel cans in the rear view mirror. but, that really shouldn't matter especially much, particularly if I install a backup camera.
I'll probably have to go shopping for the green swingarm. The piece I have now is too short, and while my welding is getting better I'm still a rank amateur, so extending what I have is likely not a good idea. It's around 3x2 1/4" wall. The flat horizontal purple part would be 3/16" or 1/8"/.120, probably also 3x2 or pehaps 3x1-1/2 or 3x1, the angled purple part would be 1/8"/.120 most likely also same 3x2 to 3x1,, and the flat part right under the frame of the carrier would most likely be 3" angle iron, 1/8"/.120 wall. My wife suggested nothing thinner than 1/8"/.120, but that my assumption on being thickest right at the hinge and getting thinner the further out should be fine, within limits. The goal is obviously for it to be strong enough, but for it to be just strong enough rather than making it so heavy that it's an undue burden.
If this works then it wouldn't surprise me if some of the CCSWB owners will want to come up with something like this for themselves, since they have much less bed available and might want it for camping gear rather than the four wheeling supplies.
Given the quality of my welding, warp-factor is very much on my mind.I find this whole "enterprise" rather a "flight" of fancy, but big props for the whimsy factor ( or warp factor ).
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