Side Protection Bars

[Jurgen]

Hi All,

Has anyone fitted home made Side Protection Bars to their Hilux's - like the ones found on game drive vehicles which follow the wheel arches etc. The ones you buy are very expensive.

I am thinking of buying some elbows and straights and making my own, but I reckon it would look better if bent with a good pipe bender.

Does anyone have advice or pics? Has anyone done it?

Thanks
Jurgen

[BenHur]

Try custom exhaust shops or place that make roll-cages or a even certain engineering shops. You should be able find someone to bend the pipes for you at a reasonable price.

[pietpetoors]

See viewtopic.php?f=1&t=207

You can weld elbows an and it can still look nice if you finish it properly. We sanded it with those sanding papers you put on the baby grinder and the filled the little holes with body putty and sanded again to get it extra smooth.

But you can also go to an exhaust shop, they are normally quiet during in the week and most of them do not mind helping out. The exhaust shop route would be quicker, BUT find out what thickness material they use. No use going for a 1.6mm wall thickness.

[Family_Dog]

I've been wanting to go this way as well, but the exhaust shops are reluctant to bend anything thicker than 2.1mm wall thickness, 63mm diameter. While that's certainly better than nothing, I was originally thinking along the lines of 3.2mm thickness & 75mm diameter - or is that an overkill?

-F_D

[BenHur]

Eric

Ek dink even 50mm gaan al bonkerig lyk oor jou wheel arches :? Wat van dikker wand 38mm pyp.

[pietpetoors]

If you go smaller diameter pipes also try Hydraulic shops. The have benders for their hydraulic tubing. If they do agree to bend it I suggest you buy your own pipe and take it with because standard hydraulic tubing will be very expensive.

I did read in Adendofs brochure the other day that the small pipe bender can only bend a MINIMUM of 4mm wall thickness. I do not know why that is. But anyway, for R995 you can buy your own bender that can bend from 12.5mm to 50mm and you have a tool for the rest of your life. You build one set of rock sliders for a buddy and pay off your bender.

You can check at http://www.tooltime.co.za/ but there site is extremely slow

[Family_Dog]

Eric

Ek dink even 50mm gaan al bonkerig lyk oor jou wheel arches :? Wat van dikker wand 38mm pyp.

Nee man, ek praat van "Rock Sliders!".

Sorrie!


-F_D

[BenHur]

I did read in Adendofs brochure the other day that the small pipe bender can only bend a MINIMUM of 4mm wall thickness. I do not know why that is. But anyway, for R995 you can buy your own bender that can bend from 12.5mm to 50mm and you have a tool for the rest of your life. You build one set of rock sliders for a buddy and pay off your bender.

They also have the larger one that can bend up to 80mm pipe for R 1295, but with both these the state that you can not do thin pipe only pipe from about 4mm wall thickness. I wonder why this is? Its a pitty because if I were to buy such a unit I would need it for to bend thinner pipe as well

[Family_Dog]

I haven't looked at these Adenforff thingies yet, but to bend an 80mm diameter pipe that has a wall thickness of 4mm requires one hell of a bending machine! All that for R1295.00? Worth buying at double the price *if* it does what they claim.

Where is my Adendorff catalogue when I need it?

-F_D

[Cookie Monster]

I know a Guy in P.E. who may be able to help PM me

[Scooter]

Where is my Adendorff catalogue when I need it?

F_D, go to http://www.tooltime.co.za it is the Adendorff website and has all their prices etc, no need to look around the house in all those "safe" places we put the catalogue so the dogs or kids don't get hold of them.

[Zantus]

To me protection around the front wheel arches is pretty pointless.
Firstly, I have done some absolute insane things in a 4x4, and I've NEVER damaged the front fenders while 4x4ing.
Secondly, those bars like the ARB ones, actually offer very little protection in my opinion, and due to the shape, running from the rock slider to the top of the bullbar, it will never support the vehicle's if it had to slide sideways into a tree or something like that.

It will probably be affective as part of a full external roll cage, as you can attach it to the A-pillar upright of the cage and run an almost straight pipe to the bullbar.

I'd much rather try and protect the rear corner of the vehicle. At the front you can easily steer the front end out of trouble, but the back pretty much does it's own thing, and that's the part I've damaged in the past.

BTW, you require a specialised bending machine to bend thin walled pipes to prevent the pipe from collapsing.

[BenHur]

Barto

Do you think it will work to fill a thinner walled pipe with sand before bending it?

[Zantus]

I haven't done it or seen it happen, but my uncle reckons that's what he used to do.
He says the sand needs to be wet and compacted, and the ends of the tube welded closed.

[BenHur]

Mmm Another item to add to my "Must have tools list" Maybe I must sommer add it fairly high up as this would allow me to tackle quite a few future projects a lot sooner.

1. New Spraygun as mine is getting long in the tooth.
2. Air tools. ( I need a air impact wrench but I am sommer considering one of these 5 piece combo air tool kits with the impact wrench, reversible drill, pencil grinder etc.)
3. Pipe bender
4. Inverter/Tig welder as the duty cycle on my arch welder is staring to pee me off.
5. New solid steel work bench
6. Air combo staple/nail gun
7. Decent Trolley Jack
8. New Socket Set
9. :? :? :?

[Zantus]

I've also been eyeing that pipe bender, but as soon as I decide if I'm keeping my lux, I'll get one to build the external roll cage

[frik]

Hi All,

Has anyone fitted home made Side Protection Bars to their Hilux's - like the ones found on game drive vehicles which follow the wheel arches etc. The ones you buy are very expensive.

I am thinking of buying some elbows and straights and making my own, but I reckon it would look better if bent with a good pipe bender.

Does anyone have advice or pics? Has anyone done it?

Thanks
Jurgen

Build these ones myself from 60 mm s/s

Frik

[BenHur]

Groter prentjie seblief

[Zantus]

Small pic, but I only see rocksliders, not side bars over the wheel arches as per what Jurgen is referring to.