Making rear stiffeners...

[desertjr]

I was going to order from Hd Offroad but started looking at some "custom" versions online. I don't like the fact that the stiffeners are single plane vs dual plane. Basically they weld only to the side of the frame vs to the side & bottom.

So now the questions..would it be best to get the HD offroad & then weld in another piece of 1/8" to the bottom of the rail, 2 seperate pieces of metal. Or should I get some 3x3 angle & heat/bend it to contour the rail? I want the rear stiffener to tie into the gas tank skid/tow hitch holes.

Also would like to make my own front stiffeners out of 1/8" or so..just think it'll be much cheaper overall.

 

[ROBZ95Xj]

did mine out of 3x3x3/16 angle

 

[desertjr]

You did your middle stiffeners to? I was thinking of ordering those from HD, just because I don't wanna form those to the rail..I like how the have the 45* bend vs the 90* like angle..however in the rear I don't care cause no one sees it as much lol

Pics of how yours extend backwards?

 

[Breezio69]

Making them would be easy, id consider a well made homebrew set of stiffeners superior to many products I've seen on other sites (for example robz's)

If you were to do them yourself go pick up an angle finder from a hardware store (not a roofers triangle) its the plastic handle with the metal end that slides out and pivots. You'd hold it to the frame where an angle is, tighten it down and use it as your template for the stiffener angle.

Doing it this way would require a definite measure twice cut once skill, or you could tape together a bunch of cardboard strips and trim it to the frame as needed, just as easy.

Also, doing it yourself.would result in one continuous strong piece of metal, not a couple different pieces and thicknesses welded together

 

[beakie]

Making them would be easy, id consider a well made homebrew set of stiffeners superior to many products I've seen on other sites (for example robz's)

If you were to do them yourself go pick up an angle finder from a hardware store (not a roofers triangle) its the plastic handle with the metal end that slides out and pivots. You'd hold it to the frame where an angle is, tighten it down and use it as your template for the stiffener angle.

Doing it this way would require a definite measure twice cut once skill, or you could tape together a bunch of cardboard strips and trim it to the frame as needed, just as easy.

Also, doing it yourself.would result in one continuous strong piece of metal, not a couple different pieces and thicknesses welded together

I'm not sure what tools the OP has at their disposal... but bending 1 continuous piece metal about 5' long, with 2x 45* bends in it about 1" from another is not a simple procedure. a piece of 3x3 angle iron will work, but then you have the 45* gap...which unless you spend a ton of time capping at the ends, and elimination all holes in the frame rails, will eventually fill with dirt/mud and start rusting the frame rails away.




I originally used the TNT stiffiners, in my opinion, get the cheaper ones on here, the 10g or 1/8th thickness ones. much easier to form (C clamps and a floor jack would get them very snug) and a very good base to build off of in the future. plenty of plug/rosette welds (TNT had to drill my own...) and when it comes time to do the front/back parts that the bought ones don't cover, then grab some 1/8th, some card board for templates and cut out your own.

 

[foxwar71]

making stiffeners is simple, took me longer to weld mine then it did cutting/drilling them. my middle ones are 3x3x3/16 angle iron and my rear ones are 1/8 plate cut to fit the sides and bottom. I agree that stiffeners over just one plane arent that great, most of my plating is three planes. take a look in the first few pages of my build thread for pics of it.

 

[Breezio69]

I'm not sure what tools the OP has at their disposal... but bending 1 continuous piece metal about 5' long, with 2x 45* bends in it about 1" from another is not a simple procedure. a piece of 3x3 angle iron will work, but then you have the 45* gap...which unless you spend a ton of time capping at the ends, and elimination all holes in the frame rails, will eventually fill with dirt/mud and start rusting the frame rails away.




I originally used the TNT stiffiners, in my opinion, get the cheaper ones on here, the 10g or 1/8th thickness ones. much easier to form (C clamps and a floor jack would get them very snug) and a very good base to build off of in the future. plenty of plug/rosette welds (TNT had to drill my own...) and when it comes time to do the front/back parts that the bought ones don't cover, then grab some 1/8th, some card board for templates and cut out your own.

Making them is more simple than even trying to figure out what your talking about.

 

[beakie]

Making them is more simple than even trying to figure out what your talking about.

making stiffiners with angle iron is simple... it just read like you wanted to make some that followed every little angle of the rails. But when cross cut, they look more like a U then a l_l

 

[Breezio69]

Oh no, Haha, I was just referring him to a tool that he can lock the angle down on, on say, the front end where it angles up. Use the tool to set the angle then you can make the cuts/bends on the ground and check the angle with that, instead of the ol' cut and hold it up technique

 

[desertjr]

Ordered up the Hd offroad centers. Will be making my own single plane for the front & rear. As well as bracing/stiffening the stock leaf mounts & control arm mounts.