Designing a small high-clearance receiver rack

[The Adam Blaster]

I did all of the above in under 2 hours this afternoon while my son was sleeping. I guess the chop saw wasn't loud enough to wake him up, a good thing to know.

Tomorrow I will cut up some of the angle iron to help position the cans. I also need to start making the "cages" to fit around the jerrys to keep them secure, and prevent the fuel from getting siphoned out by any unscrupulous individuals.
I think I'm going to drill some holes in the bottom of the ammo can to secure it to the rack, and I may run a vertical piece of 1" tube up the back to act as another support for it, but I haven't made my mind up about that just yet. If I do go this route, I'm going to try and find some specialized nuts that you couldn't use a set of vise grips to get them off.

I also want to add some sort of handle to the lid of the ammo can.
It's a bit of a pain for me to lift it off and put it back on because holding by only one side handle, it's tricky to line it up with the top of the can.

Also, I think I'm going to add some sort of rubber bumper to the backside of the ammo can. On the back of the XJ you can see that one piece of black plastic molding over the license plate, it sticks out about 2" from the surface of the lift gate and will be the first thing that the ammo can will ********** into when it bounces around on the trail.
Any ideas on this issue, please share.

I decided not to buy a welder as this is the first project that I would have needed a welder for, and after this is finished I can't foresee another use for a long time. A good friend of mine has a 220V welder that will handle this job just fine, and he's willing to let me use it. Only problem with that plan is I have no clue how to weld, and while he has had that welder for at least 3-4 years, he's never actually used it. lol
We'll probably practice quite a bit, or I'll be cutting up quite a bit more of my steel. Wish me luck! :xxrotflma

 

[The Adam Blaster]

Well, yesterday I cut up the 2"x2" angle that will be welded to the 1"x1" tube frame and used to position the cans.
My friend with the welder had to bail so I puttered around in my garage and didn't get much else accomplished.
I did get pretty set on how I want to design the "cage" around each jerry can, but I just drew a couple of sketches, I haven't cut any of the falt stock for it yet. I "think" I can use my receiver on the Jeep as a point where I can bend the pieces into shape, that is currently my only option as I don't have a vise yet.


Progress is pretty much at a halt right now until I can start welding these pieces together, and I have a busy week between my night classes starting up and my parents coming for a visit this weekend.
I probably won't have any updates for a little while...

 

[theMec]

It's probably too late but here's some ideas
Hinge:
http://www.fasttrackracks.com/p-104-surco-fold-up-rack-adapter.aspx

Hi rise adapters are also available to improve your departure angle:
http://www.etrailer.com/dept-pg-Tow_Bars-sf-Adapters-pt-Hitch_Adapter.aspx

and another cool idea for a swingdown mechanism w/o a hinge. Look close at the "tube sleeve" in the bottom photo:
http://thurenfabrication.com/swingdown.html

 

[The Adam Blaster]

It's probably too late but here's some ideas
Hinge:
http://www.fasttrackracks.com/p-104-surco-fold-up-rack-adapter.aspx

It's not too late, right now I just have a bunch of chunks of metal laying on my garage floor. lol
After reading your post, I've been thinking for several minutes how best to describe what I'm now planning on doing, but I don't think I can articulate it properly... :smilies27

So, I'm just going to start typing, and if it makes sense, cool, if not, you'll just have to wait for the pics.

I'm going to base it all off of 2" insert tube that will go into my Jeep's hitch receiver. The starting piece will be about 10" long. I will weld some 2.5" OD tube inline to the end of the 2" tube that sticks out of the Jeep's receiver. I will then have a receiver sticking out that I can use a Warn receiver shackle bracket (WRSB for short) for a rear tow point, like this:
http://www.tmrcustoms.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=123_151&products_id=915
I already own one from years back, so might as well use what I got.
On top of the 2.5" tube that will hold the WRSB I will weld a small (6") section of 2.5" tube that will sit in a vertical position and act as a receptacle for the 2" down tube that the 1" tube frame of the rack will be welded to.
The top of the vertical piece of 2.5" will sit just below the top of the rear bumper, so I won't run into problems pulling large objects out of the back of the Jeep when the rack is folded out of the way.
I was thinking about just making the top 1/2 of the rack lift out of that 2.5" receptacle, but the idea you posted above makes me think I could cut one wall out of the 2.5" tube and make it a "U" that the upper portion could swing into and be secured. This would also allow me access to the inside of the tubing and make it possible to weld the inside and outside walls to the horizontal piece of 2.5".
It could be bolt through a lower hole, and an upper hole have a quick release pin. There would be enough metal below and behind the "U" that the rack could sit on that and be stopped from swinging all the way down to the ground.
The downtube of 2" would probably need it's bottom end cut in a circular fashion to allow itself to hinge down and not just butT up against the inside wall of 2.5" tube, but I can play with that a bit and make sure it works fine before I weld the whole rack together.
Thinking about how heavy this rack and it's contents of recovery gear and gasoline will be, it would be a real PITA for me to try and lift it off every time I wanted to access the rear hatch with only my one good arm. I don't think I can get away from a hinge.
So, thanks for the idea!

It looks like I will have some free time this Saturday to get back in the garage and drill some 5/8" holes with my $30.00 drill bit while my wife and her sisters make homemade salsa. Talk about a win-win for me!
So, if all goes well, I should have some updated pics for you guys by Saturday night.

Oh, and just a little tip to anyone else out there that will be doing metal work in their garage and driveway:
If you get metal shavings on your driveway, and don't sweep them up before it rains several days in a row, you end up with a wide spot of rusty cement that appears to be quite difficult to clean.
The wife wasn't too pleased when I told her what that orange spot was from... D'OH!!!