Does anyone know of anyone that can fab this up?

[Moncha]

I want to "hang" my air compressor from the bolt that keeps the spare tire in the back door. I have a bracket that I designed but don't have the skills to make it up. Does anyone know someone that could. I looked at the emachineshop.com and it would cost somewhere around $500-$600 to have them do it.. Yeah right.. It doesn't need to be CNC'd just a flat 1/4 piece of steel bent at a 90deg and some holes put in... Look at my pics and see if you have any ideas..

Its 9" tall, 8" wide and 4.5" deep. The large hole at the top sits where the bolt holding the spare goes. The more advanced one has a recess that would fit into the hub of the spare wheel itself.

Simple Version -


More Advanced Version -

[IndianaVX]

does it HAVE to be steel, or could it be made of wood, with steel L brackets???
If it could be made of wood, I "wood" be happy to make it for you!
otherwise, i have a welder that could probably do it very cheaply.

[ZEUS]

I see what you're going for, Scott. Do you have the compressor already? If you like, you can PM me, and I can build this for you out of 8" wide, 1/8" thick steel... same stuff I used for my roof rack mount. I feel it would be a bit overkill, tho. I would weld the two flats together and add small gussets at the corners instead of trying to bend it. This design could also come to life in the form of an aluminum door kick plate and some light bracing. Much lighter and no welding. A couple of 2x4s and a clamp work as a makeshift brake for something like this. Strapping would make up the braces at the outside of the compressor. $50 max.

[Triathlete]

Look into your local 4x clubs/sites. They usually have a ton of garage fabbers. Or pretty much any 4x fab shop or welding shop. The latter would probably have enough scrap steel laying around to whip it up for pretty cheap. Or if you have any neighbors or co-workers that weld/fab...

This might help

[Triathlete]

Another option that would be light weight and could be done at home...fiberglass. Then it could be sanded and painted to match the Proton.

[Ldub]

When I initially started the metal skid-plate project (do a forum search for: skid plate pottsville), I specifically inquired about the use of lightweight "aluminum"

They informed me that "aluminum" is way too soft of a metal and will easily gouge/tear/bend when off-roading; otherwise you'd see it being used, but "aluminum" just doesn't work because it's not durable enough for the rigors of off-road. :

Dude...which side of the coin you on...

In post 14 of this thread.. http://www.vehicross.info/forums/sho...ht=skid+plates you refer to Marilns ALUMINIUM belly pan as "nice", & go on to say that it's good that VX'rs have a choice other than Kilbys.


............

[Riff Raff]

RiffRaff,
You talk a pretty mean talk. Why haven't purchased this total protection yet?
Peace.
Tom

Hi Tom--- Thanx for the recognition. Yup, the Kilby plates are absolutely next on my shopping list (before they get permanently discontinued). I just bought brand new wheels and put on brand new Grabber AT2's (ka-ching is right, big dolla, big dolla), so now I have to eat of few more bowls of ramen noodles and save up my pennies a bit longer. But, yeah-- the Kilby's are next without a doubt!!!

Moncha--- No harm, no foul. Yes, probably Mr. Parker at SBC would be an excellent source for your project. Please keep us posted as your project develops. Who knows, you might even start a trend of copy-cats following your lead.

Ldub---

[pbkid]

scott- my sincere apologizes for further TJ'ing your thread....

i completely agree with riff raff, that for a serious offroader, the kilby plates are the best of the best, i am sure that you could beat the living *&$# out of em and bash as hard as you possibly could and they would hold up to the abuse... and really $800 for a serious belly pan like that is just about the right price to be honest... its just not for some of us VX'ers because even though we like to fantasize that we offroad, we really dont spend that much time offroading, we just like to talk a big game

and as far as an alternative, i had a friend/shop build me a set of plates for $250... they are definately not as strong as the kilby plates, and i would not say that they would last for 10 years if i went to moab 5 times a year.... but they work well for my small adventures here in colorado and once a year to moab.... although mine are not plates, they are skid bars-
they have 5@1 1/2 steel bars protecting from the radiator to the first x-member (1st axle)
then the have 4@1 1/2 steel bars protecting from the 1st axle to the x-case cross member...
so basically they protect- engine oil pan, tranny oil pans, front half of x-case, steering...

oh, and i have the trooper x-case skid to keep the x-case in one piece...

i know there was a picture from this year in moab where you can see the full skid bars.... but they were taken by someone else and i cant remember who, so i cant find em (maybe cece and gill?)

[tom4bren]

Scott,

I still have my donut & the mounting hardware. I'll check with 'welder guy' & see what he thinks. Hope to have some news for you tomorrow.

Tom

BTW, what are the dimentions of the shelf portion?

[Moncha]

Yep, I have the compressor (MV50) already. Here's what it would look like with everything mounted.



I would like to go with a steel bracket as the compressor is actually pretty heavy and with shutting the door and other vibrations, I want it to last. I also want it to be of quality workmanship, so it looks good. I didn't know if maybe http://www.kilbyenterprises.com/ would do this kind of work.

Thanks to all that have replied so far.

[Moncha]

Ok, jack off. Hee hee! I mean, thread jacking off. I didn't mean to stir up a big 'ol deal with Kilby, I was just unaware of that deal.

I'm looking to do my project in 1/8" to 3/16" steel as with the weight of the compressor on a cantilever, there will be vibrational stress at the joint (Welded or bent). It will also be used to hold the spare in place rather than the little circle of steel that is currently used. I don't want to use 45deg straps to hold the cantilever up as the bracket would have to be wider than the compressor. Although very pretty if it were made of brass, a simple steel bracket will suffice.

This is a descrete job so all the hoses will be hidden as well as the wiring and switch. The plastic spare cover will be back in place.

Thank you for all the suggestions and Riff, if you will convey my apologies to Kilby, I'd appreciate it.

This whole mess about Kilby was my fault as I really was referring to Tim Parker from SBC and got cornfused. I was wondering if he would be able to fab something up since he had made the best window brackets.

[ZEUS]

Oh, I didn't realize you were trying to maintain the use of a spare holder. Still, the offer stands. I drafted up a quick example of what I could do to meet your needs...

It might be a good idea to affix the OEM wheel retainer to the new mount with some gasket maker, if the compressor dimensions allow for clearance at the gate cover. You may also have the option of mounting the spare in typical fashion and then mounting the compressor on top of that with a wingnut for easy removal... maybe.

I'm looking to do my project in 1/8" to 3/16" steel as with the weight of the compressor on a cantilever, there will be vibrational stress at the joint (Welded or bent). It will also be used to hold the spare in place rather than the little circle of steel that is currently used. I don't want to use 45deg straps to hold the cantilever up as the bracket would have to be wider than the compressor. Although very pretty if it were made of brass, a simple steel bracket will suffice.

This is a descrete job so all the hoses will be hidden as well as the wiring and switch. The plastic spare cover will be back in place.

[Moncha]

I may have a source for a one off, I wouldn't want to overload him if there were multiples of this made up.

The back is 9" tall by 7" wide and the "shelf" is 8" wide by 4.5" deep. I have an AutoCAD file for it if that helps anyone.

[tom4bren]

I'll dumpster dive the scrap bin before I talk to him & see if there's a piece that size already bent. If I can, I'll just get him to mount the spare plate I have to the upright on the shelf. If you don't like what I come up with, we'll just auction it off for a site donation.

[Moncha]

Oh, yes. I have to maintain the OE look.. The advanced plan I have incorporates the "hub disk" so the spare sits properly.

Here's a .dxf file that can be imported if anyone wants it.