My Homemade rear bar and carrier

I started on this on Thursday and have got this far.

This comes out of the frame after taking all of the above off. It is being replaced with the 6mm flat bar that is also in the pic, this is so the bumper bar will mount to 14 bolt holes instead of the stock 8.



This hole is at the end of the frame behind the bumper, I needed to get rid of the lip so I could extend the nut strip out and incorporate it into the bar. I also couldn't get the stock nut strip out if I didn't due to the snapped off bolts.

Before, full of mud as well.


After, you can also see the stock bolt holes the bar mounts to.


Here I've mocked up the bracket, 55cm of flat bar running into the fram along with a 6mm plate mounting to the stock holes and a piece of 75x50x5mm box for the mounts.


I was going to run one side of the box all the way through the bar but decided against it. So ended up cutting it down, the end will be welded to the back of the new bar after I mount the spindle (still waiting for it to arrive). Here is the finished mount.



And from underneath you can kind of see what the flat bar bolts through, the bolts from the towbar pass through it and will bolt into nuts that I'll weld on to the top of the flat bar.

Mounted the main bar, got my spindle and hub in the post along with the bearings, picked up a bunch of new bolts, mounted the spindle and smoothed it out a bit

The ends need shaping to follow the lines of the body and I'll also be adding some returns that replace the plastic bits that go up the guards. I'll be trimming the guards at the same time to allow room for 32's



The spindle mounted, a bit of scratch filler on there as well to pretty it up as I put down about three beads of weld and want it to look smooth. It needs a little more smoothing still, I'm happy though it's plenty strong.



And underneath, I poked it through a little for extra strength, it wont be going anywhere, still needs welding down here.



And the profile, I wanted to keep it fairly thin but still stick out enough to hang off if needed. There will be a filler plate between body and bar and it will also go up under the taillights. Still a bit to do to make it look nice.



And the hub, it will sit up a little higher than this once the bearings are mounted. I may also need to mount a pair of brake/taillights in the bar if it is obscured too much, I'll see how it goes.

This is the first return I made, they need trimming to match the body lines as they taper up as it goes towards the bar. I used some nice little powerfull magents to stick it to the body and get the spacing right.





It looks tapered here but it isn't yet, the folds taper upwards though.


Tacked on, you can see a lot needs trimming, it will be cut back on top level with the taillights and boxed under them.









That's it for a few days.

Cheers
Steve

looks good so far, very simple yet functional are you putting anything on it for recovery?

Nothing for recovery, I have a hitch already which will be going back on and will be used for any recovery.

Cheers
Steve

I can see it's getting intense in the shop. You've gone from 12 oz cans of Diet Coke to 20 oz bottles.

As mentioned above about a recovery point, now would be the time to incorporate a receiver in the bumper, even if it's for future use. That would give you some additional departure angle, if that's something you're concerned about.

I really like the mounting setup. I think I'll be stealing that idea for the next incarnation of my MJ bumper.

Looks real good. Simple.

nice fab work. clean.

Got the returns cut to shape, still need to weld them on properly and then grind them down to smooth off the corners and blend them into the main bar. Then it's time to box in under the tailights and get some checkerpate for a filler between body and bar Then I make the tyre carrier.


Profile is pretty tight, You can see the corners need rounding off and also where the guard will be trimmed back. I also need to run a supporting strap from the end of the returns to one of the towbar bolts.








I'm really likeing it so far, looks tough but not too chunky

Cheers
Steve

How did you get those bends? Do you have a break?

Backwoods Rambler said:

How did you get those bends? Do you have a break?

Click to expand...

I scored the back with a 3mm cutting disk on the grinder and then bent it by hand and will weld up the cut again to get the strength back. I wish I did have a break it's be a lot less time consuming

Cheers
Steve

Nice Job Steve!

Is that 3/16" material that you made your rockers out of? How are you tying them in?

Any plans to incorperate tow points? Can't wait to see how it turns out.

Steve F said:

I scored the back with a 3mm cutting disk on the grinder and then bent it by hand and will weld up the cut again to get the strength back.

Cheers
Steve

Click to expand...

Mmmm, good idea. I've been trying to figure out how to make my own body armor....Thanks!

I was going to put in towpoints but I have a hitch that is going back on so will stick with using that. I want to keep the bar smooth looking. It's 4mm plate which is a fraction less than 3/16, the main bar is 5mm which is a bit more than 3/16, all our steel is metric I plan to run some sotr of support from the returns to where the hitch bolts on. I'm not 100% sure how yet but I'll work something out.

Cheers
Steve

Why didn't you make the swing hinge on the passenger side?That way if you have to open the carrier on the side of the free way the carrier doesn't swing out into the road?
Just wondering......

outlander said:

Why didn't you make the swing hinge on the passenger side?That way if you have to open the carrier on the side of the free way the carrier doesn't swing out into the road?
Just wondering......

Click to expand...

Check my location

Cheers
Steve

Started to box under the lights, at the moment it's mostly tacked together but it's falling into place







Cheers
Steve

Coming along nicely there Steve.

lookin good