jeepguy553

The others are a little smaller actually...I think. Honestly I have never seen one of these things in person until I built this one. I saw a couple of different versions out there then came up with my own design that seemed to fit what I wanted while still doing it on the cheap. I didn't have a tube bender so I just butt welded two conduit elbows together then trimmed the open ends down to keep the dimensions all the same. The front to back measurement on the hoop is about 7 inches making the inside front to back about 6 inches and side to side about 13 inches. The main bar is 46 inches long. That allowed me to mount the thing without smacking the tombstone tweeter housings on my dash. The smaller two bars are welded about 3 inches from the main bar and they were each just a little over 15 inches long. The ends of the smaller bars are tied to the main bar with small pieces of the 3/4" flat stock. After I got those little pieces zipped in, I rounded the edges and corners off with a grinder to make them look pretty and to keep the sharp corners from causing an inadvertent bleed-out from a nasty cut.
BTW...this thing can and will restrict your field of view while driving if you aren't tall enough to see over it. We discovered this tonight when my 4' 11" tall wife climbed in the beast to take it to work. I jacked the driver's seat all the way up and that seemed to solve the problem for her...for now. It sits about 2 inches up off the dash. Looking back, I probably should have made it sit closer to the dash to prevent this from happening.

Sgt Mack

I'm following this and would love any more pics you have.

1230frstap

Very cool project. Excellent job, quality, etc.
This is quickly becoming one of my favorite sections on jk-forum...thanks to all who have gone the extra step to custom fab.

jeepguy553

More pics as requested...
These are close up shots of the mounting brackets and one top view.





















Notice the cool song playing? I love the Margaritaville station on Sirius XM.

Sgt Mack

Just pick up some supplies today. I'm gonna go with 3/4" and some metal mess for the rack. They didn't have any flat steel in stock so I planned on some conduit mounts I'll bolt to the dash.

jeepguy553

Looking forward to seeing how yours turns out. The flat stock is usually kept on the rack with the angle iron.
I drove my rig around a bit today and didn't notice any interference issues with the compass or the GPS.

Sgt Mack

Started this. Using a cheapo 50 amp welder with some Chinese welding rods I found in Afghanistan. Needless to say, this will be strong enough for application but will not win a beauty contest. Difference between a good welder and me? Other then my lack of skill, how well I can hid my crap welds.













That'll do pig.

jeepguy553

My welds didn't look all that great at first until I really got the heat and wire feed dialed in. But hell, if they hold, that's what counts, right?
Lookin good Sarge! Keep the pics coming!

v8zracer260z

Really looks good, but how about welding steel mesh to the frame to elimate the zip ties. I think if you did that and lowered it a bit you would be happier with the result and the wife wouldn't have to raise the seat as much

Sgt Mack

Welder has two settings high 70a and low 50a. I bought 1/8" wire mesh I'm gonna make into a basket type thing and tack it. I'm also using conduit holders on some all thread to hold it up and tight.