Fergie
Expedition Leader
This project is finally out of the fabrication phase, so I thought I'd post some pics for people to gander at.
I started the project with a hoop that I had made for an old FJ80 TLC. It was a bit too wide, so I cut it down and welded it back together with some angle iron splices. Instead of a radiused lower hoop, I just ran a straight bar across. The size of the barrier is such that if all the mount come loose or break, it will still not move past the seats.
I went to the local metal shop to figure out some barrier screen options, and they had some left over 1.25"x1.25" steel screen that I got for cheap. Since I'm doing some other projects in the back on the Gato, I bought the entire 4'x7' sheet. I cut out the correct sized section and started welding it to the frame. I realized pretty quickly that I wanted some larger opening, so I cut out every other bar, and welded all the intersections so it would not rattle.
For the lower mounts, I pulled the cargo cover tracks and used some 1" tube in place. I used some 1" EMT as spacers. I added some bent 1" flat stock to the end to mount the frame to.
Then, I pulled the 3rd row grab bars and used some flat stock in place. I cut and bent the flat stock to get the desired mounting angle, and bolted it up.
Here it is assembled outside of the vehicle, ready for cleaning, prep and paint.
After doing this project, I understand why companies like Speski Offroad get as much as they do for their barriers. Good quality, well fitting barriers are not something a shade-tree fabricator can do easily.
Hope this help some of you with your ideas.
G
I started the project with a hoop that I had made for an old FJ80 TLC. It was a bit too wide, so I cut it down and welded it back together with some angle iron splices. Instead of a radiused lower hoop, I just ran a straight bar across. The size of the barrier is such that if all the mount come loose or break, it will still not move past the seats.
I went to the local metal shop to figure out some barrier screen options, and they had some left over 1.25"x1.25" steel screen that I got for cheap. Since I'm doing some other projects in the back on the Gato, I bought the entire 4'x7' sheet. I cut out the correct sized section and started welding it to the frame. I realized pretty quickly that I wanted some larger opening, so I cut out every other bar, and welded all the intersections so it would not rattle.
For the lower mounts, I pulled the cargo cover tracks and used some 1" tube in place. I used some 1" EMT as spacers. I added some bent 1" flat stock to the end to mount the frame to.
Then, I pulled the 3rd row grab bars and used some flat stock in place. I cut and bent the flat stock to get the desired mounting angle, and bolted it up.
Here it is assembled outside of the vehicle, ready for cleaning, prep and paint.
After doing this project, I understand why companies like Speski Offroad get as much as they do for their barriers. Good quality, well fitting barriers are not something a shade-tree fabricator can do easily.
Hope this help some of you with your ideas.
G
