So work was slow today and me and my boss decided to design our own trail gear to get quoted instead of buying someone elses design and paying for "shipping" and such. One of our manufactors told us that they would cut us a deal on the weld and paint work, so let the designing begin.
I'm looking for feed-back however on the things you wish were "out there" ut no one is doing. I have a Yellow FJ and he has a 2005 Jeep Rubicon with 6" lift and 35-1250's. I need a front and rear bumper, skids and rails; he needs a front/rear bumper and rails.
Just looking for suggestions and any "ideas" or features you wish the mainline companies had designed into their gear but didn't.
Rock Rail Design (2" Pipe, 1/4" thk)
(still working on the fit features, but this is one concept)
the design center
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"from His mud, and by His Blood"
"It's better to have it and not need it, then to need it and not have it"
So work was slow today and me and my boss decided to design our own trail gear to get quoted instead of buying someone elses design and paying for "shipping" and such. One of our manufactors told us that they would cut us a deal on the weld and paint work, so let the designing begin.
I'm looking for feed-back however on the things you wish were "out there" ut no one is doing. I have a Yellow FJ and he has a 2005 Jeep Rubicon with 6" lift and 35-1250's. I need a front and rear bumper, skids and rails; he needs a front/rear bumper and rails.
Just looking for suggestions and any "ideas" or features you wish the mainline companies had designed into their gear but didn't.
Rock Rail Design (2" Pipe, 1/4" thk)
(still working on the fit features, but this is one concept)
the design center
id say on the rock rails angle the platform up a bit so it pushes away debris and rocks
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Chefj's Little known facts: Thugasaur tracked down, strangled, and gutted the Snuggle fabric softener bear because he once had a towel that was...well...not so soft.
UBFM member #00 enforcer
"Church" V2.0
2007 Voodoo 5AT 4x4
______________________
AFE cai , kenwood excelon 889 , xm2go, piaa extreme super whites , demello front skid plate and rock rails and aero flow lens covers (THANKS GUYS!) , all-pro front sway bar links
Nice designs- I saw a roof rack I liked even better though-Can't figure out how to upload from My Pics folder- I want to build my own skid plate for the front too that's tougher than the stock one I already trashed- any designs yet??
should start on the skid plate tonight. I measured the frame/door area and the bars that hold out the rock rails alos need to angle down to clear the corner of the frame/body and then angle up slighty to move the stuff out, tweeking it now, and trying a few other designs. We might be pulling off the front bumper this weekend and designing an old school dual pipe "tank" bumper, lol
__________________
"from His mud, and by His Blood"
"It's better to have it and not need it, then to need it and not have it"
Those look a lot like the trail-gear sliders, which I think still cost $299 shipped. I would just buy them and put your creative juices into making something that isn't currently available and then selling it to people like me. Some good examples: decent looking, decent priced rear bumper with tire carrier, sway bar disconnects, a decent priced shovel/axe holder for the roof rack, a CB mic holder that doesn't look out of place, etc.
Not trying to knock the design or your effort, but that would be a lot of work to end up with something very similar to what you can just buy already. If you decide to make these sliders, gusset the tubes to the frame plates. This is the weak point and the gussets will add about 5 times the strength.
By the way, I had the same Z-line desk and bookcase up until last year. I still miss it, best and coolest desk I've ever owned. I know this makes me a dork, but I have a thing for office furniture . . .
Autodesk Inventor, yeah we liked the Trail Gear ones, but we can probably get them made for about $150 (including paint), and without shipping, but I'm working on a more stylish one. That attach point was a concern. I don't know how they are making theirs, but my design has a through hole for the tube in the mounting plat and the tube is weld witha "fill" fillet weld on the out side and also on the back but ground flush on the back... but I am adding some gussets at all 4 anchor points
__________________
"from His mud, and by His Blood"
"It's better to have it and not need it, then to need it and not have it"
Not raining on your parade AT ALL - but those do look a lot like the Demello sliders (yeah, ok, and the Trail Gear sliders). When you're thinking about doing something and it looks very like something that the experts have worked out previously it doesn't mean you're copying. It means that there are some good designs out there and yours is too. Think about adding skids to those sliders to protect the cross beams against rocks (check out the ARB slider skids or Man-a-Fre slider skids to see what I mean). It keeps the slider mounts intact.
Before you get ramped up designing skids, look at the BudBuilt skids. I don't work for him or get a comission, but use them and they're really good. -- but so are the Man-a-Fre skids and the All Pro Skids.
Just trying to be helpful - that's all. I like what you're doing and your thought process. You're right on the money.
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There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unaltered, to find the ways that you have changed.
Actually I've got a tip on skid design that I'll give. I have the buds and bent them pretty good this last weekend. This was a product of my sh!t driving and in no way reflects the quality of the skids (they take an absolute pounding). The fairly long flat section under the transfer case is basically just one big flat plate that's unsupported for a decent stretch. This is the part I bent, and I think I wouldn't have bent it if there were some vertical supports running along the top of the skid between the skid and the transfer case. This wouldn't have to be much, just some angle iron welded on would do it. Anyway, I'll have to snap some pics to show you what I'm talking about. It's good to see someone designing something himself. I've used Inventor quite a bit, but your interface looks different than the one I use, but I only use version 10. What version are you running? Do you have any FEA capability?
__________________
Chefj's Little known facts: Thugasaur tracked down, strangled, and gutted the Snuggle fabric softener bear because he once had a towel that was...well...not so soft.
UBFM member #00 enforcer
"Church" V2.0
2007 Voodoo 5AT 4x4
______________________
AFE cai , kenwood excelon 889 , xm2go, piaa extreme super whites , demello front skid plate and rock rails and aero flow lens covers (THANKS GUYS!) , all-pro front sway bar links
) , all-pro front sway bar links 
Re: Designing my own rock gaurds and skid plates
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