Its all fun and games until...

 

 

So seriously... any clues what happened to this guy? I'm pretty bummed we never even got an update... especially with all the interest there seemed to be.

 

Being that he said he was active duty, he might have gone on tour? Also I am interested if he does show up on the forum again

 

We could find a different fabricator...

 

Must have

 

If he isn't dead or deployed he is a ****ing moron to pass up all the business he would have gained.

 

Alright... I apologize for the length of time its been since I updated this thread. I won't get into all the details but some issues prevented me from moving forward with this project. Just a bunch of stuff all fell apart at once and pretty much stopped my life up till recently.

Also, I mentioned an issue with the bender I was seeking. It turned out to be a case of too good to be true.

I'm in the process of building the Gottrikes style bender than uses pro tools 105 dies. once that is finished I'll start cranking these doors out as best I can and sell them on one by one basis since it would be nearly impossible to complete the volume of orders that could start. I also recently got some design software to help finalize the design that becomes most popular.

I've got a design shown here that a friend and I came up with just spit-balling ideas. Its a design I've never seen before personally and I really like it. The idea is to put a steel/aluminum skin (or some kind of fabric/netting) where that smaller inner structure is to leave the gap in between for airflow but also still provide a good amount of protection from bushes or trees. At this point I plan to add tabs to attach the skin but I don't plan to supply the skin as well. I'm sure there will still be some that want the more standard looking tube doors and if that becomes the majority then I'll design another simpler door.

I wanna hear your opinions on this design and if I should make any changes. If you guys thinks I should include the skin for it let me know. Of course if I do add it that will increase build time and also increase the price tag. I figure cutting a sheet of metal and drilling a few holes to mount it is within most people capabilities. This is just a rough design so keep that in mind.

 

I like the design as far as it being different, but if you are building these to sell, there's an awful lot of labor and material there. Time is money, and with the amount of work in that coupled with basically double the material of other designs, your costs would rise quickly. By the way, it looks like you are enjoying Bend-Tech pro...wise investment.

 

Yes, I love bend tech pro. By far one of the smartest investments I've made. It takes all the guess work out and that's why I wanna build this design. I think with the program I can make parts fast enough with high accuracy. I think this will keep the build time about the same as a standard tube door design without bend tech pro.

I agree with you that these doors will be more work and be a little more expensive for sure. The reason I went for this design is simply because it is unique and different. A guy I met recently has the Warrior Products tube doors and I was floored by how simple they are. Also the normal tube door design is a bit Ho-Hum to me. I see all the cool and unique designs that JKs or other newer jeeps are offered and I feel its time XJs have that too.

I know cost will go up, but the steel supplier I go to gives me a discount and then if I buy 100+ft of this tube at a time I can get a bulk discount as well that is pretty good. I'm planning on .120~ish wall welded seam tube (not sure of the exact wall thickness yet) since this is not a roll cage and is still pretty strong stuff. Me and a friend used it making a frame for a land yacht and it holds a 220+lb person all day long.

Most likely I'll raise the selling price a bit and eat some of the cost too. I'd rather offer something cool like this than something that can be confused with another door at a glance.

 

I like the look & being able to attach a piece of sheet metal is a cool option. I think you're on the right track.

 

YAY we are still getting tube doors!!... so anyways... count me in for a set somewhere down the line. I like the design, but I definitely would like to have just a diagonal bar (or something) go through instead of the sheet metal. I don't want half doors I can cut those myself...

 

Ok, I hear you about the other design basically being a half door. I guess it is bordering on being a tube door really, kinda just a half door made form tube. Here is another design I put together, still strong and keeping closer to the general conception of a tube door.

What do you guys think?

 

A cool looking half door is a great idea don't get me wrong... I just wouldn't buy it...

That design looks pretty good... I'd like to see it where the 2 diagonals go the same direction. Lower towards the front and go up towards the back.

 

I'm not sure by your description what you are getting at? Is there some why you can make a paint picture of what you're talking about?