2nd gen dobinson snorkel

Hello TW, just received my dobinson snorkel I ordered directly from them.
I notice the template doesn’t have the marking for me to center my cut for the 4 1/2” hole I have to cut.
For the owners that have done this mod, do you guys recall if the template has the markings for it?

 

I just finished installing mine yesterday, same issue with the template.

My template was not correct! Definitely call Dobinsons before drilling!

I made a 2nd template using the snorkel and overlayed it onto the original template.

My holes where off by 1/2-3/4" for the studs.

I also ended up using 3M tape on the pillar rather than the pop rivets as the air bag is way to close to drill into it.

 

Pretty disappointing! Emailed them about the marking for the center of the hole I’ll have to cut. But their response was not much help. I guess I’ll just center the hole saw on to the template and try to mark the center by doing some measurements.
Sam here, does the 3m tape hold it pretty well? I was going to go with double sided gorilla tape, but looked too identical to duck tape. So I went with another brand of double side tape that will withstand outdoor weather.
Stumbled upon a video where his snorkel took som trail damage and it messed up his mounting pillar as well

 

It's only been a day but the 3M tape feels pretty solid. It would probably come off if a tree branch catches it but that's probably a good thing haha

 

Dobinson's should be ashamed of themselves that a cheapo aftermarket snorkel like this one I bought on ebay($130) had a very well laid out template. All of the holes on the template were dead on. I added the emblem to increase it's value

 

I was pretty disappointed when I saw that the template did not have the center marking for the hole that I’ll have to cut. I was leaning on an ebay snorkel too for the price of it. But just went forward with dobinson bc I assumed dobinson would have a more accurate template. Guess I should have just wet with ebay lol

 

This has been a problem since they hit the market. Me and and @Chase8059 bought and did ours together. The stencils back then were just as bad and didn't line up. Use the golden rule... measure twice cut once. If I were you I would tape the whole area, trace the stencil and put the holesaw up to the stencil, trace that, and mark the center holes through the where the arbor connects. Measure after to make sure your close to dead center. Hope this helps, good luck!

 

That’s what I had planned to try to get it as centered as possible. Just hopefully everything lines up nicely. Just figured they would’ve provided a center marking for the big holes I’ll have to be cutting up for me

 

To be honest you dont even really need a holesaw. You could drill a hole with a step bit and use a sawzaw to cut away most of metal, then clean up with a dremel. One of our buddies went that route.

 

What tires are those? Are those real beadlocks? Nice rig BTW

 

My template had all the markings on it.

 

I thought about that too, but I don’t have a sawzall. I do have an angle grinder though lol but figured I pick a holesaw for $11 for cleaner cuts.

 

How along ago did you do this mod? I was expecting all the markings, but pretty disappointed. But I’ll just have to work with what I have

 

Yea I would avoid using an angle grinder lol. Just measure a shit load and once you feel comfortable make the cuts. Make sure your stud holes line up though... My stencil was off a noticeable amount. The best thing to do is cover the fender in painters tape and trace everything out and hold the body of the snorkel up to it to be sure.

 

Tires are Atturo Trailblade XT 35"(absolutely love these tires)and rims are real beadlocks. KMC km229 17"

 

Lay the hole saw on the outlines with the arbor side against the template. Draw the arbor hole. Now find center.

 

My advice would be to put painters tape on the fender and some wet paint on the studs of the snorkel. Press the snorkel where you want it to make the spots you need
Idk if that helps…just a thought

 

Does anyone have a good template?

If I can get a picture of it I can try to make a printable PDF for anyone looking to do this in the future

 

I also installed the dobinson snorkel, and my template was shit. Home marking were way off and I had to enlarge the holes to get it to fit. Stupid.

 

Honestly very disappointing to here that! I was leaning on getting an eBay snorkel bc it’s a lot cheaper than safari or dobinson. Only leaned in this bc I assumed the template would be a lot more accurate. Going to attempt to do the install today, will update everyone.