Thank you very much Skeptic. I am only rocking the Grand Cherokee because I have experience with it, and frankly, it was what I could afford!
98 Jeep ZJ "SHTFV"
- Thread starter Recce01
- Start date
Thank you very much Skeptic. I am only rocking the Grand Cherokee because I have experience with it, and frankly, it was what I could afford!
Auxiliary Lighting! (Roof Rack-BIG BAR)
As my journey to complete the auxiliary lighting continues, I set out to put down the long range light through a Rigid Industries 40" E-Series combo light bar. Like the 20" model on the bumper, this light bar has boith the spot and the flood feature build in. I decided to mount this one permanently in one position, right in the center of the front of the roof rack. When I build the rack I left what I consider to be the perfect amount of space for this light bar. I was happy to see that it looked as though it would fit nicely once I was able to afford it. I placed the uprights on both corners in the front of the rack at a distance that would allow me to weld some tabs straight to them. These tubes were .095 wall to hold the extra weight, where many of the other uprights and straights were .065. First things first, time to break it out of the box!
I quickly discovered that the ghetto photo studio was to small for this bad boy, so out to the driveway I went.
I am very excited about this particular piece of equipment, as the wife and I tend to leave late at night and do quite a lot of night off-road driving. I then rounded up the tabs for mounting. I purchased the Rigid mounting tabs as they are slotted for adjustment. I simply trimmed about an inch off of the front face to bring the front of the bar forward to almost the front of the rack for appearance and space in the front of the rack.
With the light tack welded in place, I was forced to finish some items that I had left lingering when I built the rack in the first place. I did not have a proper mount for my OG GPS antenna nor the CB antenna. I took the time to make some sheet metal plates to mount these items while I had the welder strung out again.
I started with the GPS antenna which I decided to mount in the front passenger corner.
Thankfully I had the hole pattern from my temporary mount which made it easy to duplicate the holes on this mount
I then moved on to the CB mount. I have a large magnetic mount antenna, a Wilson 1000 to be exact. I decided to just make a surface to stick the magnet to in the center at the front of the rack. I also decided to drill a hole in it later to mount the Ham radio antenna until I decided what I was going to do with the CB system in the vehicle.
a little clean up and some bends, and it was ready to weld on.
I hate welding in the wind. It blows the gas away and causes perocity. I was forced to wait til the wind died to finish welding!
The GPS mount went a little smoother thankfully
Now just add a little flat black, and the rack is ready to go!
and a shot with the components mounted up!
This should put out some serious light!
Well, at last the wiring was done for the Aux lamps, and they were ready to take out at night for the first test
I have to decide what to do with the front bumper bar and the roof rack aux light positioning once it is dark and I test them, but for now, I can close the book on this mission
As my journey to complete the auxiliary lighting continues, I set out to put down the long range light through a Rigid Industries 40" E-Series combo light bar. Like the 20" model on the bumper, this light bar has boith the spot and the flood feature build in. I decided to mount this one permanently in one position, right in the center of the front of the roof rack. When I build the rack I left what I consider to be the perfect amount of space for this light bar. I was happy to see that it looked as though it would fit nicely once I was able to afford it. I placed the uprights on both corners in the front of the rack at a distance that would allow me to weld some tabs straight to them. These tubes were .095 wall to hold the extra weight, where many of the other uprights and straights were .065. First things first, time to break it out of the box!
I quickly discovered that the ghetto photo studio was to small for this bad boy, so out to the driveway I went.
I am very excited about this particular piece of equipment, as the wife and I tend to leave late at night and do quite a lot of night off-road driving. I then rounded up the tabs for mounting. I purchased the Rigid mounting tabs as they are slotted for adjustment. I simply trimmed about an inch off of the front face to bring the front of the bar forward to almost the front of the rack for appearance and space in the front of the rack.
With the light tack welded in place, I was forced to finish some items that I had left lingering when I built the rack in the first place. I did not have a proper mount for my OG GPS antenna nor the CB antenna. I took the time to make some sheet metal plates to mount these items while I had the welder strung out again.
I started with the GPS antenna which I decided to mount in the front passenger corner.
Thankfully I had the hole pattern from my temporary mount which made it easy to duplicate the holes on this mount
I then moved on to the CB mount. I have a large magnetic mount antenna, a Wilson 1000 to be exact. I decided to just make a surface to stick the magnet to in the center at the front of the rack. I also decided to drill a hole in it later to mount the Ham radio antenna until I decided what I was going to do with the CB system in the vehicle.
a little clean up and some bends, and it was ready to weld on.
I hate welding in the wind. It blows the gas away and causes perocity. I was forced to wait til the wind died to finish welding!
The GPS mount went a little smoother thankfully
Now just add a little flat black, and the rack is ready to go!
and a shot with the components mounted up!
This should put out some serious light!
Well, at last the wiring was done for the Aux lamps, and they were ready to take out at night for the first test
I have to decide what to do with the front bumper bar and the roof rack aux light positioning once it is dark and I test them, but for now, I can close the book on this mission
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jeepdreamer
Expedition Leader
Just pure.............sickness! Love it!!!
SP Jon M3
Observer
Looking good Scott!
With all that investment in lights, you might want to get a set or two of these.. http://www.rigidindustries.com/product-p/rgdsec20.htm
I think someone was tampering with the light-bar installed on my truck, and I think those saved it from walking away.
With all that investment in lights, you might want to get a set or two of these.. http://www.rigidindustries.com/product-p/rgdsec20.htm
I think someone was tampering with the light-bar installed on my truck, and I think those saved it from walking away.
JakeC
Member
Don't know if your SHTFV just stands for human error, or possibly undead apocalypse but all of the lighting reminds me of this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nO5W4s11l9c
(Couldn't find a picture, just a video)
Very Cool.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nO5W4s11l9c
(Couldn't find a picture, just a video)
Very Cool.
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Thank you!!
A little at a time, and before you know it, it is almost done! Thanks for coming in and commenting, I appreciate your compliments
Looking good Scott!
With all that investment in lights, you might want to get a set or two of these.. http://www.rigidindustries.com/product-p/rgdsec20.htm
I think someone was tampering with the light-bar installed on my truck, and I think those saved it from walking away.
Good Call Jon, I will order some as soon as I have some extra $$. I will be paying off my latest additions for a little while!
Don't know if your SHTFV just stands for human error, or possibly undead apocalypse but all of the lighting reminds me of this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nO5W4s11l9c
(Couldn't find a picture, just a video)
Very Cool.
Jake, I just spit Coke all over the keyboard... :coffeedrink: Thanks for posting man!
Spare Fuel
My wife has all but denied getting in the SHTFV with me for a road trip again until I set the vehicle up to carry some spare fuel. For some insight as to why she feels this way, please read this thread:
http://www.expeditionportal.com/for...No-problem-One-will-present-itself?highlight=
I have been keeping my eyes peeled for some scepter cans, as the cans available in California with this CARB filler just plain suck. I also like the idea of the vented plastic cans versus the metal cans. Not that there is a good reason or excuse for that, but I just like them. I finally found some for sale on this forum and pulled the trigger. I was pleased to see that these cans had never held fuel before, especially because they had yellow straps, indicating they were meant for diesel. Here are a few shots for ya:
I paid $75 each shipped to my door!
I decided to mount 2 of them on the swing out tire carrier. First things first, I measured out the dimensions of the can, and decided to mount them long ways just left of the tire when facing the back of the vehicle. I also decided to use some .090 aluminum to build a tray or a box to hold them, then mount that box to a frame to try to keep the weight down. I layed out the dimensions and fired up the plazma to rough cut the shape
Once the shape was cut, I decided to file the edges and clean it up before the bending process for ease. I then loaded it in the sheet metal brake and bent it up in the desired shape
I have to be careful what order I add the bends as to not find myself unable to complete the next step
Once the shorter brakes were done I had to do the main sides
And here is the basic shap I had in mind. I just had to fine tune each angle to 90 degrees as I went
And a quick test fit with the cans...
Next i busted out the TIG welder and welded up the seems
Not the best welds, but they will work. I am a little rusty in the aluminum welding department
My next step was to mock up the tray on the carrier, so I clamped it in place
Then I welded a single tab to the carrier so I could bolt the tray in place
I wanted to preload the angle of the cans slightly, so I decided to change the angle on the back cut of the can box. So, back to the plazma for mods!
The next step was the slotted holes to strap the tanks down, some simple eyeball measurements, and I was in business!
Back to the plazma once more to finalize the slots
The slots seemed to clean up ok, and should work fine, I hope
a little test fit with the strap
Next time, mounting the fuel can box!
My wife has all but denied getting in the SHTFV with me for a road trip again until I set the vehicle up to carry some spare fuel. For some insight as to why she feels this way, please read this thread:
http://www.expeditionportal.com/for...No-problem-One-will-present-itself?highlight=
I have been keeping my eyes peeled for some scepter cans, as the cans available in California with this CARB filler just plain suck. I also like the idea of the vented plastic cans versus the metal cans. Not that there is a good reason or excuse for that, but I just like them. I finally found some for sale on this forum and pulled the trigger. I was pleased to see that these cans had never held fuel before, especially because they had yellow straps, indicating they were meant for diesel. Here are a few shots for ya:
I paid $75 each shipped to my door!
I decided to mount 2 of them on the swing out tire carrier. First things first, I measured out the dimensions of the can, and decided to mount them long ways just left of the tire when facing the back of the vehicle. I also decided to use some .090 aluminum to build a tray or a box to hold them, then mount that box to a frame to try to keep the weight down. I layed out the dimensions and fired up the plazma to rough cut the shape
Once the shape was cut, I decided to file the edges and clean it up before the bending process for ease. I then loaded it in the sheet metal brake and bent it up in the desired shape
I have to be careful what order I add the bends as to not find myself unable to complete the next step
Once the shorter brakes were done I had to do the main sides
And here is the basic shap I had in mind. I just had to fine tune each angle to 90 degrees as I went
And a quick test fit with the cans...
Next i busted out the TIG welder and welded up the seems
Not the best welds, but they will work. I am a little rusty in the aluminum welding department
My next step was to mock up the tray on the carrier, so I clamped it in place
Then I welded a single tab to the carrier so I could bolt the tray in place
I wanted to preload the angle of the cans slightly, so I decided to change the angle on the back cut of the can box. So, back to the plazma for mods!
The next step was the slotted holes to strap the tanks down, some simple eyeball measurements, and I was in business!
Back to the plazma once more to finalize the slots
The slots seemed to clean up ok, and should work fine, I hope
a little test fit with the strap
Next time, mounting the fuel can box!
Mounting the fuel cans to the tire carrier
Now that I had the box just about complete, I decided to work on mounting it to the swing out carrier. I already had the forst mounting tab in place, all I had to do was level it side to dide, and preload it front to back. I did just that and started slinging tubes in place. This particular job had to feature hardware that would not make contact with the cans, as I didn't want any holes being rubbed into the cans. It also had to be mounted where I would be able to slot the holes and move the box further away should I go to obversize tires in the future. For now I selected this position to keep the box from obstructing the view of the tail lights.
I started by running a vertical tube at the edge of the box
Once this vertical tube and tab were mounted I set the permanent angle of the bottom of the box, and placed a tube that was mitered to hold it up and level.
Then I added the other tubes to hold the bottom of the box in place, all mitered
Once the frame was sorted, I added a tube at an angle on a different plane to lock the angle in position
Now that all the tube work was in place, I just had to add the tabs in a place where they wouldn't allow the hardware to rub on the cans
Then alll I had to do was paint the frame, make the holes, and check fitment of the box
Everything fit just fine, so I painted the box flat black and bolted it in place!
All that was left was to add the cans when they were full and make sure we don't experience any sagging, and issues closing the gate. That is an extra 80 lbs hanging out there in the wind, so I was nervous about experiencing sag in the carrier!
Just as we had hoped, there was no issue at all with sagging, even with full fuel tanks. The gate continued to close perfectly every time. We are very pleased with this tire carrier, it is doing a great job for us!
For now we will just be using a strap system as pictured here. We may end up doing something a little more secure down the road
Finally, another project crossed off the list! Oh, and the wife will now travel with me again
Now that I had the box just about complete, I decided to work on mounting it to the swing out carrier. I already had the forst mounting tab in place, all I had to do was level it side to dide, and preload it front to back. I did just that and started slinging tubes in place. This particular job had to feature hardware that would not make contact with the cans, as I didn't want any holes being rubbed into the cans. It also had to be mounted where I would be able to slot the holes and move the box further away should I go to obversize tires in the future. For now I selected this position to keep the box from obstructing the view of the tail lights.
I started by running a vertical tube at the edge of the box
Once this vertical tube and tab were mounted I set the permanent angle of the bottom of the box, and placed a tube that was mitered to hold it up and level.
Then I added the other tubes to hold the bottom of the box in place, all mitered
Once the frame was sorted, I added a tube at an angle on a different plane to lock the angle in position
Now that all the tube work was in place, I just had to add the tabs in a place where they wouldn't allow the hardware to rub on the cans
Then alll I had to do was paint the frame, make the holes, and check fitment of the box
Everything fit just fine, so I painted the box flat black and bolted it in place!
All that was left was to add the cans when they were full and make sure we don't experience any sagging, and issues closing the gate. That is an extra 80 lbs hanging out there in the wind, so I was nervous about experiencing sag in the carrier!
Just as we had hoped, there was no issue at all with sagging, even with full fuel tanks. The gate continued to close perfectly every time. We are very pleased with this tire carrier, it is doing a great job for us!
For now we will just be using a strap system as pictured here. We may end up doing something a little more secure down the road
Finally, another project crossed off the list! Oh, and the wife will now travel with me again
jeepdreamer
Expedition Leader
Looks great (not surprising for you! haha) and of course I have a question...
Why not add "speed holes" to the can holder part or at least the bottom to allow water to drain out? If you had dimple dyes you could make big strong holes with little/no loss of strength...
Last thingy... would some sort of rubber door edging help keep the cans from abrading against the holder?
Why not add "speed holes" to the can holder part or at least the bottom to allow water to drain out? If you had dimple dyes you could make big strong holes with little/no loss of strength...
Last thingy... would some sort of rubber door edging help keep the cans from abrading against the holder?
K2ZJ
Explorer
Finally, another project crossed off the list! Oh, and the wife will now travel with me again
Nice job, but I might have waited a few trips before installing that!
Haha! You caught me slipping! Ya, I spaced on the holes. I realized that when we were on the road in the rain. Thankfully, or really not, it was 107 degrees just after the rain, so the water evaporated. I don't have any issues with the cans chafing on the aluminum, I did manage to get the dimensions just right. I'll take your advice on the dimple dies, if I can just remember who I loaned them to? I may just drill holes for now, as you probably know hole sawing aluminum usually doesn't provide the "roundest" of holes lol
good to see you in here again man! How is your bumper project coming along?Thanks Rad1! Now go work on your 80!!!
Lol, my wife is a trooper, and likely the only reason I don't get lost. I can build and drive, she navigates
We would both be lost without our wives. Mine too is my navigator and co pilot. Shes a trooper too and she puts up w all my shop/build time and me always throwing around ideas for the zj. We r lucky. Ive got to say awesome job on the fuel can mount. I have a milspec fuel can w carrier mount and 2 gi water cans I acquired prior to getting out of the army. I use them quite a bit. Im looking to pick up 2 more carrier mounts for my trailer.
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