11-02-11

Sunday 10-30

I have been trying to figure out what to do with the axe and shovel that I carry in the jeep. They are always in the way.

After looking at all the possibilities, I decided that the best place for them is on the inside of the back door.

I cut up some of those flat rubber bungee's,

modified a couple of tie down hooks, screwed them to the door

and strapped the shovel and axe down.

 

It looks like it will work just fine.

Monday, 10-31;

I have been wanting to put a receiver hitch on my jeep for a while now but the add on ones that I see in the jeep catalogues look kind of wimpy and the ones that come with a bumper attached are kind of pricey, so I felt that the best way to get a good bumper with a receiver at reasonable price was to build it myself.

The plan is to base the whole thing on a piece of 2” X 3” X 56” thick wall rectangular steel tubing for the bumper. I’m not sure how the receiver is going to be attached or what I am going to use for the hitch but the bumper is the starting place.

I went to the local salvage yard to see if they had what I needed but I was disappointed. I only needed a piece 56” long. The salvage place had only 20’ lengths and a minimum sale of 10’. I didn’t have my saw with me and I didn’t really want to buy 10 ft piece any way. I left the salvage place and went to our local retail metal dealer. I new that the cost would be high but I figured that it wouldn’t be as much as a 10 ft piece at the salvage yard. That 56 inch piece of tubing was just under $60. Maybe I should have gone home and got my saw after all.

The first thing  that had to be done was to remove the bumperetts from the back of the jeep.

Then the bumper tube had to be lined up to mark the holes.

I took a break for lunch and while I was at it I decided to go over to Harbor Freight to see what they had in the way of hitch stuff. I got lucky and found just the thing that was needed for the receiver. It is called of all things a “Standard receiver tube”. Now how about them oranges. One end of the tube has the receiver socket (the female end) which will be welded to the bumper. The other end is the male end and will be used to make a “D” ring rescue hitch. The best part is it only cost me $17.

After lunch I clamped the bumper to the frame to get the holes marked. Then clamped the bumper in my drill press and started drilling.

Once the holes were done I cut the section of the receiver tube that is to be welded to the bumper. I set it in place to see what it will look like.

As well as welding the tube to the bumper I will weld a flat triangular plate under the receiver and to the bumper to strengthen the whole thing.

That’s as far as I went with the project today.

Tuesday, 11-01

This morning I welded the receiver and plate to the bumper

Then I went in search of 7/16” X 3” grade 8 bolts. I ended up going to 3 stores to get 8 bolts. While I was out I bought a socket and plug for the tow lights.

The next job was to make a 1” hole in the bumper for the tow light socket.

The next thing was to drill and tap a couple of holes for the screws that hold the socket.

Next I welded on and ground down the end caps.

 

The last thing I did on the project today was to put a bracket on the bumper to mount the CB antenna. I put the bumper on temporarily to line things up.

The antenna is going to be on the right end of the bumper and will go up through the rear door open stop. It is a tight fit. I eyeballed everything and thought I had this made. I removed the bumper and welded the bracket in place;

then put the bumper back on and attempted to hook up the antenna. Oops! The bracket is off by about 1/4 inch so the antenna won’t clear the sides of the door stop. Okay, so I guess my first job tomorrow will be to grind the bracket off of the bumper and try again.

My youngest daughter, Felice came by for a visit this evening.

Unfortunately her Cancer has returned. She is undergoing bio-chemo therapy at Kaiser in Riverside, CA.

Wednesday, 11-02

The first thing I did on the bumper project this morning, was to remove and reposition the CB antenna bracket. It turned out that the best place for the bracket was turned 90 degrees on the end of the bumper.

 

While looking the whole thing over I noticed that I didn’t provide for safety chains. I really didn’t plan to tow anything on the highway with this rig but I guess it better have some kind of safety chain connection, so I welded a 1/2” rod on each side of the receiver.

Next comes the paint job. I set up three jack stands and put the bumper across them. I primed it and painted it with some “epoxy” appliance paint.

While the paint was drying I started making the rescue “D” ring mount. First I cut 2” off of a piece of 1” X 1-1/2” steel scrap. The next was to drill a 7/8” hole in the block,

then cut a piece of 1/4” X 2” steel to fit the end of the receiver tube,

then weld it up and paint it.

After the paint dried I mounted the bumper and connected the CB antenna.

The last thing I did was to wire the plug for the tow lights.

Here is the finished product.

Now I am ready go to drag trees out of the woods.

I probably should have published this project as a daily post. Maybe next time I have a project that lasts this long I’ll do that.

Well It looks like Harvey is benched for the season. I hope he learns something from this experience.