[laurie]

i am planning to make my next bull bar/ winch bar
i am using 42mm gal pipe and 10mm plate steel for mounts
i will keep this sierra a long time and its no show pony
my question is is the bar better off bolt on or a permanent fixture (weld) ?
and why? planning it to be level with the body line.
thanks laurie

[atari4x4]

bolt on would be the best option.

[shep]

we made mine bolt on so that it is a bit easier to remove/ replace if ever necessary.

[lilwagon]

when i put in my back bar i was told its better to bolt on cos if you hit something hard anuff its a weaker point that will give way instead of bending the chassy badley??

peaceout Bren

[PJ.zook]

Definately bolt on. Also depending on design, 10mm is a bit excessive if you want to save some weight.

[paulv]

Wow. Serious Bulll Bar. 42mm pipe and 10mm plate.

I would go bolt on. you never know when you are going to need access to things, and you don't want to have to grind to get it off.

[laurie]

i am planning to weld on brackets of 10mm plate.
that will go over a pipe thru the front tube in chassis.
shep and ball style then bolt the bar brackets to them.
but welding straight on will cut the plate needed down by half.
plus no bolts. and as the bar won't go above the bottom of the body.
i will still be able to access all components body bolts ect.
i'm using 10mm as its strong and i got 1/2 a square metre for free.
laurie

[v.w.dave]

so what happens one day you are backing up in the bush and a big rock or stump kicks up and wedges it self between the wheel arch axil and bull barand if you go any direction you loose your radiator? ? ?
Well the first weekend I had my sierra down at Yalwal I had to unbolt my bar to get my self out of that very situation.
If you hit something hard with you 10mm thick plate instead of braking the bolts it will bend your frame.
Don't weld it on there is a number of different reasons.

10mm plate is fucking huge.... you will be doing endos every time you hit the brakes.

[stuzuki]

i will have to agree with everyone else.
as its been said if you hit something hard enough it will be alot harder to fix without being able to remove it.
plus after you make it you will find that you should have done this or that. if you bolt it on you will be able to remove it and sell it to fund the perfect bar for your truck.

[joeblow]

laurie wrote:

but welding straight on will cut the plate needed down by half.
plus no bolts.

sorry to say....very, very stupid idea.

[laurie]

joeblow wrote:

laurie wrote:

but welding straight on will cut the plate needed down by half.
plus no bolts.

sorry to say....very, very stupid idea.

i realise that bull bars are not usually welded on.
but any bolts strong enough to recover off will be strong enough to transfer a large amount of force back to the chassis in the event of a big hit anyway
i am seeing it as a chassis extension anyway.
like the stock front setup behind bumper x3 vertical

so why very very stupid and not just a bit stupid

as you know what you are talking about i would like to hear more joe
thanks laurie

[ball]

Don't weld it on.

I think shep's mounts were 8mm plate. The extra 2mm for the amount you use isn't worth worrying about weight wise.

I have seen far too many bull bars with insufficient mounting and they become useless when you need to rely on them to pull you out of a bog.

It doesn't matter if you use the standard bar mounting points or beefed up ones, if you hit something hard enough to damage the bar and the mounting then it is going to make a mess to the front of the car anyway.

I would prefer to have a bar you can rely on and know isn't going to rattle itself of due to inadequate mounting.

[v.w.dave]

Laurie.... Stuzuki makes bull bars in his spare time he has a lot of bars at his place looking for a zook to be on. He isnt that far from you. mabey it could be a good idea to have a chat?

[ZookiMonsta]

On my bar, I welded brackets onto the chassis and then bolted
my bar to the mounting points. 4 high tensile bolts per mount
is heaps... I bounced into a tree doing around 40ish Km/ph
and it didn't even budge & my mounting brackets were only
6mm plate. But don't weld your bar on.

[v.w.dave]

The other thing to think about is do you want the bull bar to continue around over your wheel arches and down to your rock sliders?

[laurie]

i dont want to buy one! dave. thats no fun.
my last one is on ebay now it was cut and shut from a 70 series.
no i dont want it to go down the side front only.

[shep]

even paying the mega expensive Katherine prices for steel mine only cost
$38 for both parts of both mounts.

[Jamie]

definately bolt the brackets and the bar onto your chassis. the moment you start welding to the chassis, especially a suzuki one which is quite thin, 3mm if i can remember, you will get heat fractures and the steel is not that great. some grade 5 bolts or even class 8.8 will be fine and wont give out. if you torque the bolts correctly when you install them, the bolts will be ok, much stronger than the actual chassis.

most of the guys above have given you the right info, and some very notable comments. knowing my sh!t when it comes to steel, bolting is definately the way to go. my bar is made of 50x25 RHS (2 mm wall) and that has hit many a wombat without any major breaks. 42mm tube will be an overkill. 6mm brackets will be more than enough, make the weak point the brackets not the chassis, cos it doesn't cost so much when you hit a roo.

[laurie]

thank you very much for all your comments
very quick too
the plan is fit 42mm pipe into front tube. weld pipe to 10mm plate brackets.
bolt those to chassis in standard holes. then bolt bar brackets to them.
making bar out of three pieces of pipe and bracing.
time to learn how to use a bender i think
and yes stuzuki after i make anything i think i should have done this or that
differently its s.o.p for me
laurie

[shep]

mine is 41 or 42od with 8mm mounts with mounts welded to the chassis.
laurie wants to do his mounts like this and i guarantee that it is stronger then
just bolting.

this part goes over and is welded too the crossmember and the top off the bodymount.

then a bracket is made to bolt to the first bit and the bar is made around the
bracket. very very strong and overcomes the failings of bars that just bolt to the holes in the chassis.

[MacDaddy]

stuzuki wrote:

i will have to agree with everyone else.
as its been said if you hit something hard enough it will be alot harder to fix without being able to remove it.
plus after you make it you will find that you should have done this or that. if you bolt it on you will be able to remove it and sell it to fund the perfect bar for your truck.

Hiya stuzuki,

So you are the man to see about a front bar
I am just wondering if you could make a front bar for my 89 SWB Vit, and ship it to W.A., cheaper than me buying an ARB bar for $1400 ?