hauled home a 20' stick of light angle iron home, with the classic lean it on the roof of the cab. well that got me a nice small dent when i tied it down.

one of many things that have spearheaded this project.

its not finished yet, i have a few things to add to it.

4 gussets
2 tractor work lights point rearward.
hooks on the risers to tie objects too.
clean rust off with wire cup
weld on a tab on the right top vertical riser for CB antenna
make allocations for a beacon and oversize load sign... (occasional pilot car work)
las but not least PAINT! most likley be a gloss black.


steel used so far

2" x 3/16" flat stock
1" x 3" x 1/8" tube
1/4" plate, cut for gussets.

welder: MillerMatic 130XP
Wire: radnor .030 fluxcore

reason im not filling in the area between the 2 risers is my tool chest is a 0 clearance lid so the whole box is up againt the front of the bed. i do not want to move the box forward cause ill loose that much more space. its plenty strong as it sits now with out the gussets, but like said im not totaly done yet. hence the Build Up Thread.

time for pics:



projects are fun....i get to buy more tools.


1" x 3" x 1/8" 20'


prefabricating some parts







weld pic







MILLER TIME!!!


more Progress pictures to follow.

 

nice. I did mine out of 2x2x1/8....in a similar design.

 

very cool

 

i'm hiring you to do mine.

 

sweet!

 

did some more work today, got 2 of the 4 gussets welded in. got a tab welded on for my CB antenna. and i got a flapdisk and polished most of the welds down flush. it looks as one part now. nice n smooth

bought a new kickass ruler today, magnetic tiped. wide tip too. big bold increment lines. nice very nice. i like projects, gives me reason to buy more nice tools. atleast good measuring tools.

Pics:









more progress to follow in coming days.

 

Looking nice. Are you planning on putting on leuvers or possibly expanded metal??

 

no im not. one i like to beable to clean my window easy, and the way my tool chest sits it has a zero clearance lid so i cant have anything in the way of it. not a true headache rack but meh, just a different flavor one. ill get a picture of how my clearances are with the toolchest lid. to give visual of why im not filling in the open space.

in the 4th picture down just to the right of center on my 3rd brakelight you can see the small dent in my cab from the steel i hauled home.......that dent made me build:)

 

Not to shabby. I am not crazy about the work truck rack look, but you did a good job.

 

function over looks....is what ive been told. other reason i needed it im trying to land a full time job doing pilot car work with my truck.

put a "oversize load" sign on and a blinking light YAY! lol

dont have enough money for a killer LED light bar so this is next best.
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/w...6830_200336830

 

Justin....you brought up a really good point. I ask this to myself.....how the helll am i going to clean the back window??? Pull the tool box and headache rack off all thetime!?!?? lol. I'm wishing i just built another one...a better one, rather then buying a aluminum one.

this is my protech:

 

Try galls or ebay for lightbars. Galls has all kinds and ebay has great prices sometimes.

 

LED ones are hella pricey. It'll be amber right? Ever thought about making some beacon mounts?? That's an idea.

 

the beacon will be made removeable, ill show y'all after its built lol. as for the widow deal if i had a long bed ranger i wouldent be so **** about loosing bed space. and id fill in the open space with some sorta of protection, and design it to be removeable. but since what i have built has such great lateral suport, i dont need to fill in the open space to make it strong.

and if something were to break my window, then its either being careless loading items in truck or stupid and careless secureing the load in the bed.

ok thats all for now, time for me to go on my date:)

 

does she like your rack? how's her's? lol. Sorry...couldn't resist. Mods, edit me all you want. lol.

 

Damn, using thick enough steel?

 

bah lol..... nah she is an old friend. movie and ice creme, was all.


lol clay nah it could be solid steel with V groves welded with a E6010 root and E7018 fill and cover nah i like overbuilding. to an extent, also i had the steel layin around so all ive got tied up in thie project is 5 bux for some pre cut gussets and a tab for the cb. and maybe 25 bux in new tools

 

Lol i hear ya i wanted mine to be solid but not that heavy i used thin 2 inch square tubing and 2 inch flat stock i think it weighs about 45 pounds. Its solid though :)

 

yea mines not very heavy at all. 50lbs atleast. not insain yet not tin.

 

Ya yours looks not as bulky as mine.

 

well its wide lol. sleek from the front to back views but side views its wide.

 

Looking good though, make sure you follow the body lines as i was told i didnt on mine

 

meh mines as close as it will get lol. yours is still kickass, i still cant belive i start slowley on mine then you pop up with yours. not many pictures of ranger or mini truck with headache racks, so i and i asume you also built them blind.

 

Well im a metal fabricator and all of our welding trucks have headache racks to haul the steel. My friend built one kinda like mine except its 3 inch tubing and its turned on the sides looks really good. But its on a 07 Dodge 3500 4x4 so it doesnt look huge. I figured i should make one smaller than his and a little different and see how it turned out. So Saturday i started at 5pm and ended at 10pm my buddy helped me. I think it turned out alright once i get my bigger tires and Cragars on it, it will look pretty tough imo. Plus it puts all the rednecks so called "Roll Bars" to shame at school this one kid built one all out of 4 inch and put it on a single cab Chevy truck looks ridiculous lol. Everyone was asking if i could build one for them i just said i dont have the time or material.

 

yea....clay. your's sucks! it dont match the truck at all.....it's too tall. i dont like it. you need to scrap it and hire someone to build it. lol.