Hey guys, as the title suggests, I am new to this, so please bear with me. I am new to the forum, and well my wallet already hates me from the fabrication section alone...

I am starting with something simple and moving to a little more complex things. as of now I have a roof rack and front bumper in progress, with plans to add new rock sliders within the next few weeks.

My roof rack is a basic safari type rack, but I wanted to make it a little different and build a tool box into the cage of the roof rack for the rear 1.5 feet. The tubing is square 1 x1 with dimensions of 6.5' x 4' and the tool box will be made of 16 ga steel plate. Here is my progress so far




At the same time I am also working on a front bumper made of 1.5" OD x 1/8" think steel pipe. So far it looks like this...



These are whats been started thus far. My question for you all is what do you think of the tool box/ does anyone know of a great way to waterproof hinges?

And also with the bumper, if built and mounted properly can a tube bumper safely hold a winch?

Thanks in advance for any and all comments!

 

yes

 

IMO I don't think a tool box built into the roof rack is ideal. I'm 6'1 and my XJ is only on 3" and 33's atm and I have to stand on my rear tire to get good access to the contents of the roof rack.

Good looking rack and bumper though! Looking forward to seeing them completed

 

Rack looks good so far.. But the mounting brackets you're using gave me trouble.. They didn't get tight enough, and slid back & forth. Even popped off the driver side front, bending the drip rail. Thought this may save you some grief later.. Good luck with your build.

 

Thanks for the tip mikefrost and dbmetalworx. I hadn't really thought about where i would stand to access the rack itself.

As for the mounts, thanks for the heads up. They are the gutter mounts from JCR. They seem pretty solid to me once mounting them, I was careful to get a good weld around there, but it was difficult to make sure the whole rack was level at the same time. It's definitely something I'll keep my eye on.

 

I ended up welding mine to the roof, so it wouldn't move.. lol we were goin out for the weekend. Then ripped the whole thing off in a rollover. Some pics here.. Before pic @ the bottom.
https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f33/we...e-pics-142460/

 

Damn man thats wild. I thought about welding the rack on there, but decided against it in favor of not having to paint it and also to make sure it stay water tight for now.

 

Yeah, I don't recomend welding it to the roof like I did. I was just in a hurry to get to the dezert.. lol

 

How big you need it. If I can't sell my Jeep, or before I do, I am thinking of making a tool box out of that area behind the rt. rear tire in the fender. I lot of folks use the space from inside, but I was thinkking it would be a perfect spot to make an outside acessible storage box. Probably could get some locking parts from Nissan or Dodge from, probably even gasket seal ideas.

 

What im actually considering is building a tool box into the roof rack itself. Basically just by putting up steel sheeting to sides of the back 1/3 of the rack, adding a lid, and making the thing waterproof of sorts.

 

Sounds li,e something with length? Perhaps around 48" long.

My idea probably couldn't be bigger than 16" across (wide). 16" tall (but partially angled/curved around the tire) and about 6" deep before intruding on the inside cargo area.

 

I was thinking the same thing when i got my rack. I ended put an 81mm ammo can I n the roof. It has plenty of storage and is already built. I do have to recommend that you figure out the access though. I stand on my bumper, which works, but I am currently designing a ladder to make it easier. Just my 2 cents and good luck looks very goods so far.

 

I would be very interested in seeing how the ladder turns out! Please keep us updated on how it goes. THanks for the advice though

 

Good job on thinking out side the box

 

Here's the progress I've made so far on the bumper. All I have left now is mounting and paint.



In the future I am considering adding a winch. If no winch i would like to try something different and put aluminim diamond plating in all the openings and keep her all shiny looking.

My debate is I have to decide now before I mount the bumper so I can take into account the extra reinforement needed for a winch.