swtwomyn wrote:
Hello all! I have been researching the different styles for some time. Today I will get them built and put on. I am using a much stronger rail that any one else produces, I am using the 2X2 Sq. tubing with a 1/4" wall. I will take pics as we go along. One of my buddies that is a welder is helping me. He fabricated my rear hitch and my gas tank skid also. If time permits today I am making brackets to weld to the front Reese Hitch that will allow me to put my brush guard back on. The brush guard and front hitch (and front tow hooks FYI) all mount in the same front frame spot. SO the hitch was more important as for a pulling point, but the brush guard looks great on there...wish me luck! Please check out my CarDomain pics!
Have a great Holiday, Thank you VETS!!!
Tracy
Sounds beefy but 1/4" wall is overkill on the rail size. A 3/16" wall rail won't bend against any rocks and will support the weight of a KJ and is lighter too. The mounting is more inportant than the main rail size and you need to make sure the rails are tied into at least three spots on the "frame" and then multiple locations on the rocker seam/ pinch weld.
The area that concerns me most on the mounting of rock rails is at the front rocker mounting area. I have bent my pinch weld at this location when the weight of the Jeep was resting on the front part of the bar. It allowed the rail to contact the bottom of the rocker and dent it. I have seen that also happen on other brand bars too. The forward mounting point at the "frame" also was to blame as the frame sheet metal flexed enough to allow this to happen.
See pics for more details.
If you look above the forward end of the bar you can see the dent in the rocker.
Hard to make out, but you can see where the frame sheet metal (at top of mount) flexed inward allowing the bar to move upward.
This pic shows a wrinkle in the pinch weld mounting point which also occured at the same time.
I am not blaming the bars for this as I hit them real hard and the impact was right at the front of the bar w/ a lot of weight against them when this happened. As I said, I have seen a similar dent above other brands of bars too. I think the fix for this might be to plate the frame before installing the bars and maybe extend the pinch weld mounting for the full length of the bars or at least as far as possible along the pinch weld.
BTW, FWIW, this hapened on a pretty gnarly section of Holcomb Creeks last rock garden where my KJ slipped off a nice big boulder and crashed down onto another one. If I had cheaper bars or none, My rocker would have been completely destroyed. Also, these bars are made from 3/16" wall tubing and there are No bends in the main bar or frame suppots, just the "frame" and pinch weld bent.
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