Building tube fenders for a jeep

[LXCam]

Not bad at all even if I do say so myself. The only bad spot is one tail is proud of the other 1/16". Well within the dial in zone with a little hand tweaking. I'm a happy guy

And the little bit of roll between the two will go away after they're bolted on. When I clamp the flange to my table everything squares up pretty darn decent. Like I said I'll take luck anyday

 

[manwithtools]

BTW, don't let my relocation hi-jack this thread. You have awesome skills sir!

 

[LXCam]

Yep, I'm thinking Ramona. I've actually found an ideal place on 4 acres that I might actually be able to afford. I doubt it will still be there when I'm ready to move. But they did just reduce the price by 1.05%. They must be ******** desperate

BTW, don't let my relocation hi-jack this thread. You have awesome skills sir!

It's all good brother.............look!, a squirrel!!!


1% ya say. Well that almost covers your property tax for a year. What a giver

 

[zmotorsports]

Fenders are looking great Cam.

Sorry I have been away over the weekend. Couldn't get motivated this weekend.

 

[aka Larry]

Fenders are looking great Cam.

+1! Awesome work man.

 

[LXCam]

again you two.

Mike, I completely understand.


Yesterday went good but I wasn't able to get as far as I wanted. Luckily I got all the welding done with the exception of the detail areas after I roll the lip. And speaking of that damn lip age must be getting the best of me. I tried various techniques and gauges for marking it, but without going into detail none of it worked efficiently.

Wouldn't ya know my dog came up with the best solution. This damn animal luvs to grab anything she can and take it outside. I'm certain she does it just for the attention since I'll call her back in (when I notice) and scratch her ears for being a good dog.

As I'm wandering around looking for a better solution that little **** got one of my 4ft big boy cable ties off a shelf and out the door she went. The instant I grabbed that back was an Aaaha! moment.

Rolling this flat around the radius was darn near the perfect amount of revile. At least it was good enough for a quick mark, cut then provided contrast for my tired eyes to finish grind the edge.

If it wasn't for heading to another doc appointment here in a few I'd have been out here getting this done and off to PC. If I'm lucky I'll have time to finish today and take this over in the morning.









Yesterday I cracked a joke about what was just a few short hours before a perfectly clean and clear work table....but posted the wrong pic.

Tell me, how the hell does all this **** always end up in your way when you're trying to do something. I'm certain my damn dog had something to do with it.

 

[zmotorsports]

again you two.

Mike, I completely understand.


Yesterday went good but I wasn't able to get as far as I wanted. Luckily I got all the welding done with the exception of the detail areas after I roll the lip. And speaking of that damn lip age must be getting the best of me. I tried various techniques and gauges for marking it, but without going into detail none of it worked efficiently.

Wouldn't ya know my dog came up with the best solution. This damn animal luvs to grab anything she can and take it outside. I'm certain she does it just for the attention since I'll call her back in (when I notice) and scratch her ears for being a good dog.

As I'm wandering around looking for a better solution that little **** got one of my 4ft big boy cable ties off a shelf and out the door she went. The instant I grabbed that back was an Aaaha! moment.

Rolling this flat around the radius was darn near the perfect amount of revile. At least it was good enough for a quick mark, cut then provided contrast for my tired eyes to finish grind the edge.

If it wasn't for heading to another doc appointment here in a few I'd have been out here getting this done and off to PC. If I'm lucky I'll have time to finish today and take this over in the morning.









Yesterday I cracked a joke about what was just a few short hours before a perfectly clean and clear work table....but posted the wrong pic.

Tell me, how the hell does all this **** always end up in your way when you're trying to do something. I'm certain my damn dog had something to do with it.

Nice job on using the tie wrap for reference. Looks like it worked great and was the perfect thickness.

As for your bench, I think it was the dog as well. No way could you have gotten that many tools out in such a short time.

 

[ilovevocs]

These sure are looking good.

Didn’t you buy some of the rigid mag clamps that BD1 recommend? UPS guy dropped mine of yesterday. They are very nice, and the price right. I got 4 and I’m happy I did.

 

[ddawg16]

LX.....love what you are doing bro.....

Tossing these on here to give you an idea of how good a job you are doing.
A buddy of mine is tubing up this XJ for a guy....

 

[LXCam]

These sure are looking good.

Didn’t you buy some of the rigid mag clamps that BD1 recommend? UPS guy dropped mine of yesterday. They are very nice, and the price right. I got 4 and I’m happy I did.

Thanks IL and I did but they didn't get here until this past Saturday. I wish I'd had seen those before starting this project, it would had made some of the mockup so much easier.

LX.....love what you are doing bro.....

Tossing these on here to give you an idea of how good a job you are doing.
A buddy of mine is tubing up this XJ for a guy....

Thanks again D your buddies build is badass! It also just rang a bell and obvious design flaw for mine I didn't consider. As I've said before I'm concerned about over building these so if he nails some immovable object the damage is not transferred to the body....too much

But what I never thought of was the inner liners protecting the exterior from thrown up rocks. I'm going to have to do something about that. I'm sure your buddy did his design for maximum strength of both the fender and the body side which I can certainly appreciate. I think I'll line these with some self adhesive foil covered sound deadening to mitigate that.

This guy doesn't do ********* stuff anymore. He got that out of his system racing class 8 rides for years. But what he does do is a **** pot load of desert roads and we all know what that's like on this side of the country.

Thanks for posting those pictures bud, much appreciated

 

[zmotorsports]

Thanks IL and I did but they didn't get here until this past Saturday. I wish I'd had seen those before starting this project, it would had made some of the mockup so much easier.



Thanks again D your buddies build is badass! It also just rang a bell and obvious design flaw for mine I didn't consider. As I've said before I'm concerned about over building these so if he nails some immovable object the damage is not transferred to the body....too much

But what I never thought of was the inner liners protecting the exterior from thrown up rocks. I'm going to have to do something about that. This guy doesn't do ********* stuff anymore. He got that out of his system racing class 8 rides for years. But what he does do is a **** pot load of desert roads and we all know what that's like on this side of the country.

Thanks for posting those pictures bud, much appreciated

Cam, do you think that a good high build application of undercoating or Rhino lining would be protection enough to protect from the underside or are you thinking more of a separate inner lining?

Also, what are these mag clamps you speak of?

Thanks.

 

[LXCam]

Cam, do you think that a good high build application of undercoating or Rhino lining would be protection enough to protect from the underside or are you thinking more of a separate inner lining?

Also, what are these mag clamps you speak of?

Thanks.

It might and certainly worth considering. The undercoating I used to use when I developed the mini tub kits for the modern Hemi market would probably work too but you can't buy it in Cali anymore. I literally have to drive to Vegas to get it which isn't anything I have planned at the moment. Lol

A sacrificial metal layer with an air gap would've perfect but the two downsides to that throw it out of consideration as far as I'm concerned.


Oh I'm surprised you didn't catch these in the welding thread. I think normal list was around a hundy each but they have a sale right now for 40. I hadn't even taken it out of the backseat of my truck until you said something so you're almost seeing its unveiling in real time

So playing around with it I can tell you the magnet strength isn't as good as the cheap $20 dial indicator bases, but it's not all that far behind either. Plus the plunger set up allows you to dial in how much grip it has so fine tuning the position is really easy. For $40 it's a good purchase, for a hundy ummm not so much I think.










Here's a link to their site bud: https://mag-tools.com/


Triple edit. It wasn't in the welding thread so I don't remember where it was posted. I went to the site to see if it was still on sale but wasn't able to confirm that. What I did confirm however was normal list price is a buck fifty which I wouldn't even consider especially after playing with it.

Plus, it won't even stick to my stainless bench top, WTF!....

 

[zmotorsports]

Thanks for the information Cam. I had missed that conversation wherever it was. Thanks for saving me some money as well.

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

Tossing these on here to give you an idea of how good a job you are doing.
A buddy of mine is tubing up this XJ for a guy....

That's a great build so far; very clean work! Typically XJ's are hacked together. I'd say what Cam is doing is kind of a different animal where finish is of a different concern than what your friend is doing. Both guys are obviously skilled fabricators.

 

[zmotorsports]

That's a great build so far; very clean work! Typically XJ's are hacked together. I'd say what Cam is doing is kind of a different animal where finish is of a different concern than what your friend is doing. Both guys are obviously skilled fabricators.

Absolutely agree. Fabricators who know what they are doing, both of them.

 

[LXCam]

Thanks for the information Cam. I had missed that conversation wherever it was. Thanks for saving me some money as well.

The quality information passing gig on this board is one of the aspects I like the best. It has both prodded or had me pass on buying so many tools it's crazy. I've never hesitated to buy the best value when it comes to tools and at $40 this tool is worth it. But at retail, I'd hate to finally get a opportunity to shake your hand someday and the first thing you do is backhand me for wasting a buck fifty of your hard earned dollars

That's a great build so far; very clean work! Typically XJ's are hacked together. I'd say what Cam is doing is kind of a different animal where finish is of a different concern than what your friend is doing. Both guys are obviously skilled fabricators.

Thanks a ton BBG and no doubt these builds have a completely different kind of use in mine. This jeep has 200k on the clock and if it was cleaned up and waxed would look pretty damn good. There's no damage anywhere on it other then a few paint chips and one roll in the left front fender. All these stupid fenders are about is saving some more paint.

I was a K5 guy for many years but long before I had any real metal fabbing tools. Everything I did with my two blazers were all bolt on mods. One of these days in the near future I plan to get back into the 4X scene and do a full on build for myself. If we do decide to pack it up and move to northern AZ that day will come sooner then my wife suspects.

Absolutely agree. Fabricators who know what they are doing, both of them.

Brother I make this **** up as I go along. I'm just happy to have made enough mistakes in the past to have a general idea how to do this without too many F ups. I'm still learning how to splice sheet metal and not make a oil can out of it.


Well I was back at it yesterday for a bit. I got all the welding and soldering finished up and both front fenders cleaned up. Once I bolted them to the jeep unfortunately found out all the soldering work slightly shrunk the radius and I'll need to tighten that up before they go to PC. I'm glad I didn't drill the main mounting holes for the rear ones yet. So as long as then match I'll drill the mounts after PC.

Here's a little trick for welding the splice at the reveal that I know you guys that do this know, but for the uninitiated may not. Using a piece of brass as either backing or in this case the formed edge lets you weld right up to it without the weld going somewhere it's not supposed too





And here's a Pic of the soldered joint right after it cooled before any final cleaning



And the last two are the last two after a clean and burnish.



I hope this is the last of it after today and I can drop all this off in the morning for coating. I've reached that burnt out stage. It's been a major struggle for me not to detail every super minor flaw since I don't need too as the textured PC will HOPEFULLY hide some of my oh **** errors.

 

[zmotorsports]

That looks fantastic Cam. The solder should provide the filler to keep moisture out of the void between the tube frame and the sheetmetal yet allow the powder coating to go right up to and adhere to the solder. Great solution to the corrosion issue.

 

[jeepinerdeep]

That looks fantastic Cam. The solder should provide the filler to keep moisture out of the void between the tube frame and the sheetmetal yet allow the powder coating to go right up to and adhere to the solder. Great solution to the corrosion issue.

Agreed. I was just at the PA Jeeps show the other week, and my job was show field parking. I saw 2 JK's come in with rust at that joint on otherwise immaculate Jeeps. I'm sure road salt escalated the issue.

 

[LXCam]

That looks fantastic Cam. The solder should provide the filler to keep moisture out of the void between the tube frame and the sheetmetal yet allow the powder coating to go right up to and adhere to the solder. Great solution to the corrosion issue.

I think it's going to work out alright.

Agreed. I was just at the PA Jeeps show the other week, and my job was show field parking. I saw 2 JK's come in with rust at that joint on otherwise immaculate Jeeps. I'm sure road salt escalated the issue.

But what is this rust thing I keep hearing you guys discuss.


I'll be back on the jeep late next week. Two weeks ago we took a few days to go exploring new potential homesteads in AZ and while there the wife invited her friend over for a couple weeks starting next Wednesday. Well I had put off remodeling a bathroom and the wife really wanted it done so I agreed to finish it before she comes. What we both didn't know until I tore out the tile was we'd been having a leak for a while. Being on a raised foundation and not being aware of a lttle detail such as that has now created a full blown project.

 

[Duker]

I think it's going to work out alright.







But what is this rust thing I keep hearing you guys discuss.





I'll be back on the jeep late next week. Two weeks ago we took a few days to go exploring new potential homesteads in AZ and while there the wife invited her friend over for a couple weeks starting next Wednesday. Well I had put off remodeling a bathroom and the wife really wanted it done so I agreed to finish it before she comes. What we both didn't know until I tore out the tile was we'd been having a leak for a while. Being on a raised foundation and not being aware of a lttle detail such as that has now created a full blown project.

Wish we could have convinced you to move to Texas but at least you will be out of crazyfornia! [emoji51]

Don’t you love home project surprises.... I am in the midst of one of those myself as my wife and I decided to downsize and sell our house as well so I have been working on her todo list to get it ready to sell.


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[LXCam]

Wish we could have convinced you to move to Texas but at least you will be out of crazyfornia! [emoji51]

Don’t you love home project surprises.... I am in the midst of one of those myself as my wife and I decided to downsize and sell our house as well so I have been working on her todo list to get it ready to sell.


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Duke, no convincing needed we'd go there in a heartbeat. Problem, two grandbuddies here is Socal. Compromise, ~4hr drive from where we're looking.

Now if we had endless funding to include my own plane I'd construct a small air strip right next door to ya bud. But for some reason the winning lottery numbers allude me


This getting ready to sell thing *****. It's bad enough having to detail the joint but I know how this will go. A constant argument between the wife and I of what she wants verses what needs to be done to sell. It started yesterday with the bathroom layout. She decided "we" should totally rearrange it which would include moving the window. At first I wasn't totally against it because I thought I was going to have to rip out the bottom part of the exterior wall to replace the stemwall plate. Quite fortunately with a bit of surgical saw zall work and wall shoring ive yet to even crack the stucco.......yet

Here's where you guy are going to either shake your head or just crack up. I couldn't convince the wife nothing was gained by her new layout. Per HER drawing you'd have thought we'd gain 50,000 additional sqft of clear space in a spare 7' x 9' 3/4 bathroom. I literally took a red construction crayon and drew the perimeter out on our patio. Then cut out a crapper, a vanity and two sizes / shapes of shower from plywood so she could "walk around" the various layouts. I even put the toilet cutout on a large plastic tool box so she could sit on it just to argue knee spreading room next to the vanity.

No joke, this actually happened.

This exercise in futility brought back horrible memories of when I built the front yard, the entire half acre of it. It wasn't good enough to take upside down paint and rough out the driveway, walkways, planters and such. Oh hell no, I had to take full lengths of rebar and stake everything down to the inch....over n over n over again until it meet her approval.

Lesson learned ^^^^, never tell the wife it's your yard - whatta ya want.

 

[Duker]

Duke, no convincing needed we'd go there in a heartbeat. Problem, two grandbuddies here is Socal. Compromise, ~4hr drive from where we're looking.

Now if we had endless funding to include my own plane I'd construct a small air strip right next door to ya bud. But for some reason the winning lottery numbers allude me


This getting ready to sell thing *****. It's bad enough having to detail the joint but I know how this will go. A constant argument between the wife and I of what she wants verses what needs to be done to sell. It started yesterday with the bathroom layout. She decided "we" should totally rearrange it which would include moving the window. At first I wasn't totally against it because I thought I was going to have to rip out the bottom part of the exterior wall to replace the stemwall plate. Quite fortunately with a bit of surgical saw zall work and wall shoring ive yet to even crack the stucco.......yet [emoji481]

Here's where you guy are going to either shake your head or just crack up. I couldn't convince the wife nothing was gained by her new layout. Per HER drawing you'd have thought we'd gain 50,000 additional sqft of clear space in a spare 7' x 9' 3/4 bathroom. I literally took a red construction crayon and drew the perimeter out on our patio. Then cut out a crapper, a vanity and two sizes / shapes of shower from plywood so she could "walk around" the various layouts. I even put the toilet cutout on a large plastic tool box so she could sit on it just to argue knee spreading room next to the vanity.

No joke, this actually happened.

This exercise in futility brought back horrible memories of when I built the front yard, the entire half acre of it. It wasn't good enough to take upside down paint and rough out the driveway, walkways, planters and such. Oh hell no, I had to take full lengths of rebar and stake everything down to the inch....over n over n over again until it meet her approval.

Lesson learned ^^^^, never tell the wife it's your yard - whatta ya want.

Man does that sound familiar...I think our wives must be long lost sisters....

Just remember the two most important words in a marriage.... “Yes Dear...”

However, in turn I was quick to figure out that the compromise was that every new project requires a new tool!

I am also glad to see that I am not the only one whose 6 digit retirement plan is 6 lotto numbers!



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[LXCam]

Man does that sound familiar...I think our wives must be long lost sisters....

Just remember the two most important words in a marriage.... “Yes Dear...”

However, in turn I was quick to figure out that the compromise was that every new project requires a new tool!

I am also glad to see that I am not the only one whose 6 digit retirement plan is 6 lotto numbers

Hahahaha yup. My place is set up a bit different. The house is on the west half and the detached 3 car along with the 16 x 30 addition plus Dutch barn style second floor is on the east side as is my shop in the very back corner. Long ago we drew a line right down the middle. I do not dictate her side and for that matter my side either. Fortunately my side smells and she doesn't come into my shop so I get to have anything I can hide back there

 

[zmotorsports]

That is hilarious Cam. I love my wife dearly but she can not "envision" anything, it must be visible, PERIOD! This is why she struggled so bad when we bought our new home because she couldn't envision what I was trying to explain to her of how everything was going to be laid out.

I had a boss like that as well a few years back. He wanted a conference room and I took some measurements of a table that he wanted and added some space for chairs on both sides of the table and then a little "cushion" room to walk behind between the chairs and wall. He could NOT visualize it to save his ***. I had to get cardboard boxes and cut everything to size and lay it out on the floor so he could stare at it for a few days before giving me the go ahead to start construction.

My wife was the same way when I would drag home a wrecked car, I would explain what I was going to do to it and all she could see was a mangled mess of steel body panels. Once done she loved them all but it made for stressful conversations until the car began to take shape.

 

[BMW Rider]

After many years and several renovation and building projects, my wife has come to simply trust me when I say it will be good and will work. She too has no ability to visualize the outcome from drawings or descriptions. She is smart and talented in ways I am not, but spacial relations are not in her DNA.

 

[LXCam]

Welp guys I'm finally getting back to this project after a loooooong delay. The final mounts are done for the fenders.






But now I need to deal with some steps. I looked at just extending the existing ones down, but I don't like it. I do however have these of my Denali the boychild rolled. I was thinking of just shortening them up, whatta ya'll think?

 

[LXCam]

So here's what I'm kinda thinking. Outwards even with the fenders (6"). But I'm at a quandary on the returns. I first thought I wanted them inwards of the fender angles but it didn't work for me. Now I'm thinking basically the full length of the body. If that's it, that makes it easier to mount too as it'll align with the suspension brackets.

 

[bad_idea]

Honest opinion - I don't like the steps. I think they look like full size truck steps on a jeep. Steps on a jeep should double as rock rails to protect the rockers. My opinion.

 

[LXCam]

Honest opinion - I don't like the steps. I think they look like full size truck steps on a jeep. Steps on a jeep should double as rock rails to protect the rockers. My opinion.

Fair enough, that's exactly why I'm asking. These are cut to fit but I'm gonna sleep on it for now. It doesn't excite me but it also doesn't turn me off. I might just weld this up, cut the tread insert, temp mount and pull it outside for a better view.

After all it wouldn't be the first time I **** canned something if it's fuggly.

 

[Boosted1]

I tend agree the step bar doesn't look fitting.
The chrome is not helping imo.
Chrome makes it look like the step bar / rock slider bar is more fragile than your fender flares.

 

[LXCam]

I tend agree the step bar doesn't look fitting.
The chrome is not helping imo.
Chrome makes it look like the step bar / rock slider bar is more fragile than your fender flares.

Well the chrome will be no more if I do use these. They'll be finished just like the fenders and bumper....



Rust

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

Start from scratch!

 

[jeepinerdeep]

You are loosing me here Cam with those mall crawler bars.

Just an idea. Why don't you start with a bare rock slider from someone like A-Z Fab and add some matching tube work that goes with your fender flares and maybe a dimple die step plate? If he does wheel it, it won't push into the tub causing further mayhem.

 

[Duker]

I tend agree the step bar doesn't look fitting.
The chrome is not helping imo.
Chrome makes it look like the step bar / rock slider bar is more fragile than your fender flares.

Yep... have to agree with bad_idea and boosted on this one...

Now, that said .... I know that when I look at this pic and see bad *** custom fenders and custom tool box that you will tweak it and you will come up with something cool...

No pressure ...... we will only give you merciless hell if it looks ugly! [emoji51]


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[WoodsTruck]

Proportional size of the tube diameter is too large for your Jeep. They are "sized" for a full-size rig.

Have you considered small flaps off the bottom of the front fenders to keep your steps a bit cleaner? If so, how would the step transition from that point?

Do you actually plan to use the step to exit the vehicle? It appear too far from the body and looks like you will interfere with it and get your clothes dirty all the time getting out of the Jeep. If the Jeep is used in tight quarters, this wide point in the middle of the vehicle looks like a good wear point if left this wide.

Love the fenders.

 

[LXCam]

Oookkkk you guys win.

To answer your question wood, yes these are to be legitimate steps. The owner isn't a spring chicken and now that I added 6" worth of lift these have a function.

I'll admit I liked these from the standpoint that it was just a couple hours of easy work and done. Now I'm gonna have to work for it. Darn the bad luck.

 

[LXCam]

Looking at what's offered and having zero interest in buying something, what style do you guys like. I've got everything here (well pretty sure) to make any of these styles.

"A"



"B"



"C"



"D". If I did this style I could flip the recessed part of the tube I have now inwards and tuck it up tight and inwards to the body. Then build the step to match the tapered rectangular tubing design like I did for the bumper brush guard (b or c) or I could do it in round tubing too.



"E"

 

[Robert Haas]

I built some rock sliders on a long wheelbase 2016 Rubicon. Welded directly to the frame per the owners insistence.

these were 3/16" thick x 2" tube. heavy as hell but tough enough to slide along and over rocks. Even used as a jacking point with his high lift jack.

I later welded on a couple steps however they were "dynamically" removed on his very next outing.

 

[LXCam]

Nice job Robert. In this case it's really about creating a step and not so much protection of the rockers. This guy just wants to tool around and has no desire to do any ******** wheeling. He used to race class 8 and is old enough now to be over it.

 

[LXCam]

Well **** guys. As much as I hate digging into the rack of backache, having lengths of stock sure helps. So here's what's laying around. Let's see what form it takes. Btw, after talking to the owner yesterday he now wants a legit rocker guard, so that narrowed down the options significantly.