You can do it Jim. By the way the driveshaft is good up to at least 57 mph without any shimmy. Until I get a windshield in it I don't feel like going any faster.

 

Great! But a driveshaft won't give you a shimmy if it's bad - more of a vibration.

I know I can do it, but if there's one in mass production it should be a lot cheaper than I can build it. Then the question becomes how good is it.

 

Isn't a shimmy just a more severe vibration? Anyway I didn't feel anything out of place. After I get the first 200 miles or so on it, and feel comfortable that the wheels aren't going to pass me up on the road I will try for a little more speed and distance. If you are coming throught my county on the way to the Bash call me and I'll send some more home made wine with you...

 

WOO HOO! That stuff is the elixir of the Gods! I'm nursing it like a 50-year Scotch! If LBL is open we'll be going by on 64, and I'll definitely go out of my way for a bottle of that. But don't let these other buffaloes know - they'll expect me to share.

 

I'm gonna go ahead and give some props to my home town boys... well within twenty miles anyway.
Rock Hard 4x4 Parts - Jeep
Their rear bumper is top notch all the way. You would have to call, but from the description and eyeballing my neighbor's, it appears as though the main bottom frame should be fairly air tight. Drill, tap and plumb.

 

That could be what we're lookinng for. Thanks!

 

Jim....if you don't want to build it, I know a guy that will.....with or without the gas cans and rack....I really like how the hi-lift is mounted....

I built the actual bumper....he did the rest...by my calculations the bumper is good for about 2 1/2 gallons of air.

 

What size tube is the bumper? I figured that 4 X 4 would be good for about 2 gallons.

Personally I like having the Hi-Lift inside - less chance of theft, damage and getting gummed up from exposure to the elements.

 

Jeep Dawg I like that gan can setup and need to figure out a way to haul a couple cans.

Mounting the high lift to the roll bar with 2 bolts welded on is pretty easy and keeps it inside. Making things lock can be pretty easy, buy a "set" of matched key pad locks and drill out your mounts for pad locks. It also keeps wing nuts from disappearing.

Finding one that's an air tank commercially made might be hard, I don't think I've ever seen a mass produced bumper with an air tank. I'm guessing it's a liability thing.

Price ranges for bumpers is huge. Shipping can be a deal breaker. I think a lot of them the tire carrier breaks down for shipping which could create problems later on. Open up your friendly quadratec catalog for some ideas.

a to z fabrication has a nice tire carrier hinge that should be waiting for me when I get back. I want to say it was $40 or $50, not sure if you could make it for that by the time you factored in materials, bearings, and lathe time.

 

Jim...the bumper is 2x6 3/16" rectangular

 

Guesstimating the length at 52" (4.5'), that would net a little over 2gal capacity...

I figured that 4 X 4 would be good for about 2 gallons.

Assuming similar construction (3/16" wall tube & assumed length of 52"), 4"x4" should net you almost 3gal (2.95)...

FWIW, I made my bumpers to serve as air tanks... just got lazy 9 years ago and never made it that far (rear is still uncapped 4"x4"x3/16" )

 

When I tell him that a commercially made bumper/tire mount/Hi-Lift mount is over $700, and it'll cost more to have me make a custom one, I suspect that he'll cool off quickly. But I haven't heard from the guy for over ten days, so he's probably not serious anyway..