Closed - Internal Stiffeners

You're good

Hope that above data points helped, regarding my incorporated bottle opener

But here's a piece I cut out and compared to having it cut out on a $100k+ laser system

5" tall and less than 2" wide



Mine of course was on the right

The dross wasn't knocked off (easily done with a wire wheel) but I wanted to directly compare the two systems on a specific test piece side by side

I'd love a laser setup, but can't afford it so instead I have a plasma setup

 

Yeah, a laser would be perfect. I just finished up helping to pack up and move to storage the makerspace that I am a member of, we've been packing for two weeks or I would ABSOLUTLEY have used the Glowforge laser cutter and done a prototype in 3mm plywood. Of the F-Bomb tie down as well as the rest of the stabilizer to see if it fit on my 3rd gen.

If the F is cut in the right spot, I think you would get body color showing through, so if we paint or powder coat them, the F would show up pretty well. The fins allow hooking with cargo hooks. I think they would be big enough for a typical strap to pass through also. And your design with the fins gives a great spot to cinch a loop of rope in that little notch, so a slipped half hitch would grab hold and you don't have to feed the rope through.

In the piece you cut, it looks like there are artifacts that may be dependent on direction of cut, or something. That feature in the top, the two half circles are different from each other - very curious.

 

Always thought laser cutters were cool, even the smaller ones meant for cutting thin wood. You can get some remarkable detail out of those.

As for the plasma piece above, that metal was 3/16" with many of those small details such as the half circles are coming in at .059" radius



The kerf width of a 60 amp nozzle is .043"

Running even at my fully dialed in speeds (with rules implemented for such small angles/etc) because of how plasma works, it is practically impossible to achieve anything better than what I posted above on my setup.

This is before we get into high-definition plasma of course, which would cost over $60k for a machine itself, and normally run on a higher-end table with different movement style (and motors) costing over $30-50k.

But even on my same plasma cutter, I could absolutely benefit from a nicer table. I already know what table I will upgrade to but that'll be some years from now.

Gofundme?

 

Im extremely interested.

I can’t find a solution that isn’t low profile.
And im too attached to my swing case, so maintaining the bracket for that is a priority for me.

Some people like a slim look nearly OEM or as if nothing was there.

 

What would you need for 2nd gen measurements?
I have to replace my tail lights anyway. How can I assist?

 

I'm attached to my fridge/cooler slide lol. Too lazy to remount it to make room for sliders. I too should have measured and made room for them but...oops. I too am in for these, either in 1/8'' or the cads. Tell me where to send beer moneey!

 

Could inside edge be rounded?

 

That was a thinking out loud moment as I believe the stiffeners work for both generations.

But if something comes up I'll be sure to ask.

 

As in, sanded/grinded down?

That'd be some manual labor just to do that even on one set - a finger sander or die grinder would remove too much material too quickly, and a hand file would work best but take a bit to accomplish

Lots of items out there retain that metal lip without issue, I was just referring to a radius cut out that's all

Is that what you meant or?

Here's an example of another item I cut out, also 3/16" thick





The lip isn't very sharp, but it exists unless manually grinded down

 

One issue I've read about regarding the 4WP stiffeners are how the nuts aren't centered over the holes



I wanted to alleviate this with a super simple little jig so I cut this out of stainless steel



I toyed with placement of the nuts right over the holes, leaving enough room for a bolt to go through



However, this can be an issue when lining it up with the large L bracket based on how it sits within the tail light housing



Simple solution would be a slightly larger hole too on the L bracket, but I feel better just having all the nuts centered evenly over the holes so I'll be welding bolts to the stainless steel plate for my jig

Just need to go out and buy some bolts for that



The square nuts you see there are weld nuts I normally use on projects, so I'll have to price those out otherwise I can stick with standard hardware found online

 

You could also use weld nuts. There's a pilot part to them. I am planning on using these to mount my skid when I do a crossmember chop

https://www.mcmaster.com/93560A180/

 

Oh I've used similar, but keep in mind whatever costs I accrue affect the end result here and buyers will need to spend more

I won't be using the cheapest hardware, but the solution doesn't warrant some crazy hard stainless steel application either (or something like your link shows)

4WP used cheap nuts on their setup and put two small tacks per; I'll at least make the tacks larger

At more than $1 per nut you show there, that's an automatic $10 added to the cost of the stiffeners (before tax and shipping for said hardware)

 

Yep I get it, just wanted to make sure you knew about these as an option for this or another project you got goin on

 

I just got around to finally installing the 4WP version. I mounted the portion visible in the bed pointing up. Pointing towards the cab conflicted with how I load the bed for camping (every fraction of an inch of space matters and has been optimized for). It would be nice to have the same option on yours, but I'm obviously not in the market now, so take my opinion for what it's worth.

 

Picture?

Just because you own a set, doesn't mean I can't make just the tie down portion as a one off if you needed.

Just depends what all else you're wanting to change as I can orient the mounting holes to match your current ones without needing to re-drill.

Or even send a blank set and you just drill into the plate itself to match the holes on your existing mount.

 

It could be rounded a little, but keep in mind that the steel is going to be between 1/8 and 3/16 thick, that's not much of a round over. It would also add considerably to the post processing, the plasma can't cut a rounded edge.

I'm already designing a 3D printed insert that would slide in which would protect rope from the edges.



This is all still early, and the Tie down point has not even been finalized, so things are still changing.

 

The right tools make all the difference

 

Loving this! I had no idea this style existed but it's SO SO much better than the standard ones we see (and which I already have on my truck but are often annoying).

I'd love to commit, but I'm also picky. Specifically, I don't need or want a bottle opener, nor any funny graphics or anything like that (no offense to anyone who enjoys that stuff, just not my cup of tea). Most important to me would be a sleek, but robust, tie down point. I'll be keeping an eye on the thread to see what the final design looks like and may be all in on that. Otherwise I may just draw up my own piece for the tie down and use SendCutSend then weld 'em up myself.

Either way, great work here everyone, this is why the Tacoma community is so awesome!

 

When the final product is announced, I will then post up and make a batch with the two or three most asked for styles

Not everyone wants a tie down, or a bottle opener, or both, and since it's a small piece I can cut those nested separately from everything else

A lot of people want to pre-order, so that'll be difficult to get to (as in, first run will be limited) but contributing members will be included in the first batch

 

Ready for tomorrow



Mainly just ensure there's room for the holes and angles are correct

Then hoping to cut a few parts in 3/16" later in the day