HARDTRAILZ

Pretty ingenious idea right there!

Nice audio setup!

At that price it seems like getting a license would be more cost effective although in the midwest it is not as common and you generally stay pretty close together so CB is ok.

Truly Sad.

Good lookin Jeep

Thanks for some good ideas and info. Reminds me that I need to repack my bag. A couple things that I may add to the discussion... A good knife and knowing how to use it and keep it sharp can save your life. I carry several in the rig, but always a couple in the BOB. It may also be a good idea to have a laminated list of what is included in case someone else needs it or finds you and it somewhere. Can be clipped right to it. Also helps when you go through it to remember what nees rotated or replaced.

Absolutely great write-up. Thanks

Powdercoated and working well... Temporary plate relocation until the bracket gets here.

They are heims. After lots of searching and looking I found a few posts on Expo with people using them and it seemed to be an original way to save a few bucks and have some long term adjustability. Plus with dual swings the weight would be split so they seems like the thing to try since this is a prototype piece. The heims have some sort of self-lubricating polyurethane insert which should help. The heims are bolted on with a Grade 8 5/8 bolts. The two ares have the nuts welded to a plate which was then welded in the arm...Seemed easier than drilling and tapping esp when we did not have a fine thread tap. He did say that future ones will use a traditional spindle for simplicity unless someone wants to pay a bit more; as the heims work perfect, but created a bunch more work. I will get some pics of the hinges once I get it back, but that is basically what we did. As said, this is the prototype for him to bring a new product to market for us Trailblazer and Envoy guys. He did all my front bumpers and as nice as they are, this is a work of art. We did the design on the fly with just basic mental concepts and a pile of metal and tools. Things were added and subtracted but the the results seem well worth it.

From BartonMD... "Not done yet, but here's a sneak peek... Still needs some gussets on the tire carrier, and little stuff here and there, but a teaser pic: Real class 4 receiver that I wouldn't have a problem towing a car trailer or camper with, and/or using a load-distributing hitch with: Progress on making the radii Add 1" to the center portion, and this would look good as just a standard step-bumper, without the tire carrier: And with the 35" tire... Glass still opens with the tire in the "closed" position: Yeah, and I don't think the shackle mounts are going anywhere... Tripple-pass welded at 210amps, all around the back side, directly to the 3x3x3/8" angle frame mounts... All the stuff that sets off this one... The details... Make it a GIANT PAIN IN THE ASS. This one -literally- had like $430 in PARTS COST (before powdercoat), let alone the literally 40 hours I have in it (total, probably 8 of that is sitting looking at it, doing the "design" on the fly), at this point in time (plus the ~25 or so that Kyle has been there helping)... As an aside, a lot of the reason for splitting them on this one, was so he didn't have the full length of arm out there, just to get into the hatch. Kind of cuts down on being able to put stuff in if you've driven-thru a parking spot, or have parallel parked and there's somebody behind you. With the way we're mounting the jerry can holder on the other arm, without a jerry can in it, the lift gate will still open with just the tire swing open. The gas struts, which aren't on yet (tonight), are over-center when closed, so they should hold the gates closed just a little bit, then you pop them over center, and they open the gates up. Because of this, Kyle should be able to unlatch the tire side and swing it open, while the jerry can side will stay closed by itself... We'll see how well it actually works, but that's the plan. Because the tire is so large, though, and the mount offset a bit, he'll still be able to mount a 2' wide table on the tire side, similar to James'. We're also putting a tab on the tire side, and a mating tab on the center latch post, so that he can put a padlock behind the arm, there, so somebody doesn't just come up and open his tire-carrier in a parking lot or garage. Also adds a little bit of security for the latch, even with a carabiner through it, since this style of latch doesn't come with a secondary safety-latch that you pull with your index finger like the straight latches can come with... Mike" Additional post... "Got 'er all finished up and in the truck to go to powdercoat in the morning... Been working on it since 4 this afternoon. Here's a video I uploaded to show the swing-outs in action: Mike" ---At the video time I had another day and he had another 2 days in the build...Should get it from powder tomorrow!

Thanks. Pretty much had supplies for a whole bachelor party worth of drinks and food and tables and chairs and guns and ammo and tents and sleeping bags and....loaded there. Worked out well and let me test a bunch of supplies and loading ideas. Was nice to be able to get some of the bachelor's city friends out in the country and loan them camping stuff. I think I got a few guys more interested in camping/shooting/n such. Going to be working on the rear bumper build this weekend. Going all steel with dual swings for jerry cans and a tire. Hoping to add some led reverse/camping lights as well. Still dreaming of a sas, but with a lil one and trying to sell our house and life in general it may be a year or two. I am happy on how the lower gears/locker and bigger tires are working out. Could still go lower, but all in all not too bad if I do say so myself.

Dark Freedom NightBeast SPRSIZE Vader

Oprah......cause it is BBB. Big black and bitchin

Nice pic!

Looks like a great start!