[TWX]

Worked on fuel carrier arm again.

Going through my metal I didn't have long enough piece of 3x2x1/4 or 3x2x3/16 of the necessary thickness but I did find a 48" length of 3x1x3/16. In discussion my my mechanical engineer wife she suggested that doubling-up the 3x1s would be even stronger, and given the extra weight of the fuel (and it being, well, fuel) the extra strength would be a good thing.

So I decided that if I'm sistering the 3x1s, I'd weld one in to the hinge and to the first bar that sticks out rearward so that I could weld what will become the center to the ends, then sister-on the second one.

It unfortunately took a long time to clean the mill-scale off of everything before I could get to welding.

Welding the first one:

I don't have a true flat-table, but I do have a piece of a granite countertop that I've used a couple of times to get close enough.

I then ground-down the welds enough for clearance and clamped the second one in after cutting it into the right shape:

And welded everything up.

I need to grind these welds down, by the time I was done welding it was too late in the day given how hot the part was.

I'll need to weld a second span sticking out, and I'll need to add the latch-open device as well.

 

[TWX]

I essentially finished today.

Started out spending a lot of time figuring out how to protect the spring in the latch mechanism. Ended up settling on using a brass pipe fitting as something that will let me remove/install the spring. Once that was determined I worked on attaching the latch housing and the additional swingarm.

The hole for the spring is a pipe-thread, for 1/2" NPT. I ran a tap that I'd gotten from my father-in-law (may he rest in peace) that opened up to nearly .800", then I filed the sharp points off of the threads to make it possible to get the spring in. This is probably the best bead I laid in the entire build:

After that I worked on how to space-up the frame I'd initially made, settling on some more of that 3x1 set at an angle, and using some fairly thin tubing to connect the frame at the tailgate down to the arms:

The platform clears the bed easily:

And the jerry can holder thing clears the taillight nicely:

And there's clearance to the tailgate as well:

...to be continued...

 

[TWX]

...continuing.

Stickout when open doesn't even stick out as far as the tailgate when down:

The hole that the latch-open will go into:

Foreground you can see the plate I installed for the latch-closed part to attach at. I did not yet tap the holes, will wait until back from powdercoat.

Then I decided to clearance the arms for departure angle:

\

And I closed-up all of the tube ends.

And I literally ran out of shielding gas as I finished.

It'll end up riding around in the truck with me:

The hope is that the powdercoat shop gets the 'basic white' finish in this week, so I can have this coated.

 

[TWX]

Supposedly the powdercoater has the "basic white" back in stock, so I dropped-off the parts again. We'll see if they're done by the weekend, or if they end up going into next week.

 

[21 Frontier]

You in VA? What powder coater you using?

Sent from my SM-A136U using Tapatalk

 

[TWX]

You in VA? What powder coater you using?

Sent from my SM-A136U using Tapatalk

No, AZ.

 

[TWX]

Finally got my parts back from powdercoat yesterday:

So i started assembly, such as installing the latch-closed mechanisms:

Not shown, when I welded-up the fuel can swingout I did not bother tapping the holes I had drilled for the latch. So I had to tap etc. They turned out well.

Assembling the latched-open mechanisms. My technique using a pipe-tap worked, I was able to get the spring into the hole:

And then I was able to slide-in the bolt and install the retaining bushing:

Not shown, reinstalling the pull-ring. That was just a simple matter of compressing it with a clamp though.

The tire latch-open side was more like how that manufacturer's latches work, but since I did not need the rotate-lock-mechanism-open part I took the rollpin and cut it shorter so it fits entirely within the body:

Installed the wheel studs:

Crossbar installed on the truck:

It went on fairly easily.

Swing arms installed:

Not shown, I had to put the bearing races into the pivots of the two arms. For the fuel side, since I made the fitment a little too tight I took the brand new races for use on the completed part and I ground-down the back side where the race seats into the socket, just enough that the two races sink-in a tiny bit further than they normally would. I'm glad I did it too, made it slip in real easy,but tightening down the big hinge-screw cinched it down to remove play.

Also not shown, I did use some heavy grease on the insides of the pivots where they're not powder-coated and in the bearings. I did not use nearly as much as I would if this was an axle or other constantly spinning part, just enough that it should stop rust and help keep them turning the 1/4 turn smoothly.

...to be continued...

 

[TWX]

Swing arms swung:

Detail of latch-open on both sides:

The ring-pulls are easy enough.

Threw on the tire and sat the shelf part onto the fuel can swing arm:

As expected the tire slightly rubs as it rotates around, barely contacting the light with the raised white letters. I'm not going to worry about it though. It's not severe enough to be a concern.

Hitch and plate installed and lit up, and picture taken stepped-back to where the occupants of a car behind me would actually be while stopped:

I am considering some supplementary lighting, a teeny-tiny pair of stop/running/turn signals like what motorcycles use. We'll see what I can find and for what prices. It may not even be necessary.

Departure Angle still good:

Details of the latched-closed mechanisms:

For what it's worth I am aware that my hitch is fairly far set in compared to the arms, but I have a weight distribution hitch for the trailer which sticks out very far. This weekend I'll have to test it, see if there's any actual interference or not. I don't think it's going to be a problem though.

Remaining to do, I need to install the black shelf onto the arm, and I need to devise a way to secure and lock the cans. I'll end up working on that this weekend but I still need to get more gas for the welder. I'm probably going to rivet the shelf on.

As for the powdercoater, I chipped the coating in a couple of places as I worked despite being careful. Doubtful I'll ever have anything else done by them. They took my job when they weren't prepared to actually carry it out in the time they said, they left the parts out in the rain before they were ready to work, and their communication was poor. It's better than if I'd rattle-canned it but certainly not some kind of industrial-durable finish.

 

[Zero Six LE]

Swing arms swung:
View attachment 367624

Detail of latch-open on both sides:
View attachment 367625

View attachment 367626
The ring-pulls are easy enough.

Threw on the tire and sat the shelf part onto the fuel can swing arm:
View attachment 367627

View attachment 367628
As expected the tire slightly rubs as it rotates around, barely contacting the light with the raised white letters. I'm not going to worry about it though. It's not severe enough to be a concern.

Hitch and plate installed and lit up, and picture taken stepped-back to where the occupants of a car behind me would actually be while stopped:
View attachment 367629
I am considering some supplementary lighting, a teeny-tiny pair of stop/running/turn signals like what motorcycles use. We'll see what I can find and for what prices. It may not even be necessary.

Departure Angle still good:
View attachment 367630

Details of the latched-closed mechanisms:
View attachment 367631

For what it's worth I am aware that my hitch is fairly far set in compared to the arms, but I have a weight distribution hitch for the trailer which sticks out very far. This weekend I'll have to test it, see if there's any actual interference or not. I don't think it's going to be a problem though.

Remaining to do, I need to install the black shelf onto the arm, and I need to devise a way to secure and lock the cans. I'll end up working on that this weekend but I still need to get more gas for the welder. I'm probably going to rivet the shelf on.

As for the powdercoater, I chipped the coating in a couple of places as I worked despite being careful. Doubtful I'll ever have anything else done by them. They took my job when they weren't prepared to actually carry it out in the time they said, they left the parts out in the rain before they were ready to work, and their communication was poor. It's better than if I'd rattle-canned it but certainly not some kind of industrial-durable finish.

Nice work. Thanks for sharing.

 

[sirnixalot]

That turned out very well!

Sucks about the powder coat quality but you live and learn

 

[TWX]

Attached the shelf. I did decide to go with 3/16" rivets, eight, placed to avoid having the cans sit directly on them. I marked the bottom of the shelf with it sitting upside down with the cans, then punched to make it easier to start the drill, then drilled. Once it was drilled I set it and clamped it to drill or mark for drilling the holes on the frame:

I drilled four straight through, the other four I did after starting enough to witness-mark the frame, then pulled off the shelf to drill.

After drilling, I deburred both the shelf and the frame, and then I used some touchup paint on the holes, keeping with the colors the parts are aleady coated in.

Moved on to securing, placed the rivets all loosely to start:

Then set the rivets with the hand tool, starting in the center first.

The rivets clear the cans nicely:

Now I needed to figure out how to secure the cans. I decided to use cam-buckle straps. Partly because I had a single strap to test with, and partly because when I got to harbor freight to but them, they were only $2.99 per two-pack, So ultimately I used all four, three to surround each of one can, and one to wrap around all three cans.

I made sure to weave the straps through the slots in the shelf (this is before adding the fourth strap):

I still need to figure out the locking system but at least the cans won't fall out while driving.

I had cut off the excess tails (these were 12' straps) using a heated razor-blade and a lighter to help melt any stragglers. This may be as short as I'm willing to go:

 

[California Gator]

Looking good. For the security. Maybe weld on some 1"wide x 3/16" thick steel strap on either side of the server shelf running up the sides vertically. The top could be bent 90 degrees. Then drill some holes in those tabs. Then create a cross piece that goes through the handles of the cans. It has holes on each end. Then use some matching padlocks to lock it in place. You might want to get a little fancy with the tabs so that the cross member doesn't jiggle around and make annoying noise (or wear through the gas cans).

Only issue with that is you have that pretty powder coating already on. You'd have to scrub that off with a wire wheel or something.

Hmmm. You probably don't want to do that.

 

[TWX]

Looking good. For the security. Maybe weld on some 1"wide x 3/16" thick steel strap on either side of the server shelf running up the sides vertically. The top could be bent 90 degrees. Then drill some holes in those tabs. Then create a cross piece that goes through the handles of the cans. It has holes on each end. Then use some matching padlocks to lock it in place. You might want to get a little fancy with the tabs so that the cross member doesn't jiggle around and make annoying noise (or wear through the gas cans).

Only issue with that is you have that pretty powder coating already on. You'd have to scrub that off with a wire wheel or something.

Hmmm. You probably don't want to do that.

weight would probably go up too much as well.

On the particular kind of jerry cans I'm using, the spout sits well-proud of the body of the vessel. If I do the captive-cable thing, I'd secure it where it drops into what basically is that valley among the three cans, so that the cans can't be pulled out easily.

In the end I'm not going to go too crazy, mainly going to take steps to stop opportunists. I need to make removing the jerry cans harder than undoing the bolt that serves as the hinge. Few people would have the tools with them to remove that bolt. I need to make it also require tools to cut a cable or rod or the like, just hard enough where no one just naturally has on them the required tools.

 

[RyanD1966]

Hitch and plate installed and lit up, and picture taken stepped-back to where the occupants of a car behind me would actually be while stopped:
View attachment 367629
I am considering some supplementary lighting, a teeny-tiny pair of stop/running/turn signals like what motorcycles use. We'll see what I can find and for what prices. It may not even be necessary.

Funny, the same thing occurred to me as well. I'd recommend some aux lighting, don't know about your State but some do have regs regarding items hanging past the end of a standard vehicle body and how they have to be marked / flagged. I just added aux lighting to my trailer-receiver slot-in flat-shelf cargo carrier a few months ago, the idea of a stinger that hangs out nearly 3' when installed, with no warning its back there but two small passive reflectors, made me nervous with the idiot drivers we have between DC and Baltimore.

 

[TWX]

Funny, the same thing occurred to me as well. I'd recommend some aux lighting, don't know about your State but some do have regs regarding items hanging past the end of a standard vehicle body and how they have to be marked / flagged. I just added aux lighting to my trailer-receiver slot-in flat-shelf cargo carrier a few months ago, the idea of a stinger that hangs out nearly 3' when installed, with no warning its back there but two small passive reflectors, made me nervous with the idiot drivers we have between DC and Baltimore.
View attachment 367670

Fortunately for me the amount of stickout is less than if the tailgate is down, and the way I've (over)built these arms it would have to be a prett hard hit to cause damage to them. I'm thinking any additional light would be more so that a cop can't cite me for obstructing the lights. I'm looking at a solution like these 3/4" round panel-set dual-brightness lights that I would install into those stubs on the hitch past the flanges:

Or perhaps some kind of bullet tail light like used on motorcycles, with their mounting stalks set into the trailer hitch mounting plates through some small holes I'd drill:

I'd put these effectively between the hitch and the swingarm crossbar.

I'm probably going to put some reflective tape on the arm for the fuel can mount, on the frame right below the shelf, this sort of stuff:

I'll install it where the corners are red, and white just inboard. I'll do it so that no matter the way the arm is positioned there's red at the trailing edge.

 

[TWX]

It was a nice day outside so the family did some errands and shopping. Ended up at a Lowes to see if they had swaging equipment for 1/4" or thicker steel cable / wire rope. They did not, but the clerk pointed out a product that actually does what I want. It's unfortunately from Master, whose actual security practices on their locks are not my favorite, but in this particular application it'll work:

The "Python" lock clamps down on the 8' cable as it passes through the lock body. This is around 2' longer than I require for my fuel can holder but is not enough over to be of concern. It was $26, so not cheap, but it's got the plasticized cable to hopefully avoid too much abrasion on the cans or carrier. (I picked up a different one for purchase, my keys aren't the ones in the picture, I picked up one with much stronger bitting on the keyway)

Installed:

And the lock mechanism itself underneath the shelf:

Even though there's not much material on the rectangular frame below the holes, the supporting arms are there and would not let the cable just be slipped off.

So, yeah, it's Master and that's not my preference, but it's a cable lock where someone really determined is going to compare prepared to defeat that. For this security application it will do the job as good as anything with this weight and exposure would.

I think at this point I've about beaten this dead horse into the ground. If anyone has questions I'll be happy to try to answer them though.

 

[RyanD1966]

It was a nice day outside so the family did some errands and shopping. Ended up at a Lowes to see if they had swaging equipment for 1/4" or thicker steel cable / wire rope. They did not, but the clerk pointed out a product that actually does what I want. It's unfortunately from Master, whose actual security practices on their locks are not my favorite, but in this particular application it'll work:

View attachment 367706

The "Python" lock clamps down on the 8' cable as it passes through the lock body. This is around 2' longer than I require for my fuel can holder but is not enough over to be of concern. It was $26, so not cheap, but it's got the plasticized cable to hopefully avoid too much abrasion on the cans or carrier. (I picked up a different one for purchase, my keys aren't the ones in the picture, I picked up one with much stronger bitting on the keyway)

Installed:
View attachment 367707
View attachment 367708

And the lock mechanism itself underneath the shelf:
View attachment 367709

Even though there's not much material on the rectangular frame below the holes, the supporting arms are there and would not let the cable just be slipped off.

So, yeah, it's Master and that's not my preference, but it's a cable lock where someone really determined is going to compare prepared to defeat that. For this security application it will do the job as good as anything with this weight and exposure would.

I think at this point I've about beaten this dead horse into the ground. If anyone has questions I'll be happy to try to answer them though.

Nice job on the lock, I didn't know that even existed so I'll add that to my mental inventory of things that could turn out to be useful in the future. Thanks for that TWX.