Thread: DIY Rear bar and swing away carrier

Hi

An acquaintance of mine has a short run engineering business with a big cnc laser cutter. He does a lot of work for the mining industry.

I might ask him if he would do a short run and if so at what cost.

I have a rijidij kit sitting in my garage, I was going to make a bracket and keep the existing bar, but your design has made me think again.

Thanks a heap for all the work you have put into this

Steve

More photos.

And more.....

Some pitfalls along the way

The tailpipes need to be flanged and removable so the mounting bolts can be drilled and fitted. The standard exhaust hanger also needs to be ground off.

The mounting plates should be clamped or bolted to the outside of the chassis before tack welding the centre section of the bar to the mounting plates. I just relied on measurement and ended up 2mm too small. Had to grind the surfaces back to get a neat fit.

The hubs on the swingarm couldn't be fitted without removing some of the rubber trim to give clearance. I'll draw the pivot centreline closer to the rear of the bar.

I can't do much on the cad files until work gets quieter. Maybe a month away at this stage.


Troy N.

Originally Posted by rangerdanger

There's definitely a market there, but if you add in labour costs this will probably cost as much or more than current commercially made bars. Lots of fiddly bits in there.
I wonder if there is a market for a cut and folded flat packed kit out there, with instructions to finish the job.

For the moment I'll be concentrating on just putting photos and files out there for the benefit of all.

Troy N

G'day Troy,
Fantastic looking bar mate, I bet you're happy with how it came up.
I know what you mean about, "Lots of fiddly bits in there". There are 169 individual components in a single swing away carrier for a Defender, let alone a whole rear bar with twin swing aways. It's a big project to take on in your spare time.
Flat packing rear bars and carriers is something I've been wanting to develop for a long time, but as a one man operation I just haven't been able to find time to do the design work. I've been flat out keeping up with the individual components and Defender carriers etc.
I do manage to design the odd new item now and then, for example, a jerry can holder in kit form, but the time required to design a whole rear twin carrier is very hard to find.

Excellent job.

Cheers, Murray

Hi Troy,

I hate to be a pain, but I destroyed my rear bumper "skirt" last weekend so am even more keen for a rear bar now.

I was hoping you may have tweaked the autocad file to your satisfaction

Regards
Steve

I've got to apologise. The cad software is at work and the quiet patch didn't eventuate. I've fixed up the basics of the file so all I need to do now is put all the plate developments in a logical position and put some notes on for plate thickness and pressing angles.
I'll get back onto it over the next week.

Thanks mate, I am probably a month or so away from attacking the project anyway, there always seems to be something to do !

Seems like it is possible to convert an Autocad file to g-code for a GNC cutter, so that may be the go

Steve

OK Folks, I now have basic AutoCAD and DXF files ready to be uploaded for the Rear Bar, Wheel Carrier, Rocksliders and Front Recovery Points and Bashplate.
Refer the attached .rar file, containing both formats.

Some photos of the bashplate and rocksliders are attached as well

There's enough detail to replicate what I have done, with a few minor refinements to minimise cutting and drilling to suit.

Note: It will still need some thought and a bit of trial and error fitting, so best of luck.