opinions on stiffeners?

[iroll919]

im thinking about buying some stiffeners but i don't know which ones to get

im leaning towards the hd offroad engineering they are only 130$ shipped and are already pre drilled 10 gauge thickness

other options tnt 119$ before shipping read mixed reviews about having to drill your own holes but according to their website its not necessary 3/16" thickness

ruffstuff 3/16" thick predrilled 175$ before shipping

which ones does everybody around here run/have experience with

which ones should i get?

thanks :cheers:

 

[.40CalPatriot]

like you said the HD's are nice because they pre drilled.

I have the TNT ones and only had the edges welded. No complaints here.

 

[eflores]

like you said the HD's are nice because they pre drilled.

I have the TNT ones and only had the edges welded. No complaints here.

I concur

 

[YELLAHEEP]

Go with stiffeners that provide the most coverage - meaning the long ones. There are short ones out there that don't do anything to help stiffen up the front part of the unibody and all those will do is increase the leverages placed to the unsupported unibody...... which means nasty cracks to the cowl area behind the fenders above the door hinges......

Ask me how I know........

 

[jimgrms]

I have a need for a body part stiffiner :>{)))

 

[eflores]

Now where is Troy with his endless supply of pictures when u Need him

 

[mcantar18c]

I'll build you some. Less expensive than RuffStuff, TNT and HDO, and I'm local.
Mine are 3/16" thick, predrilled, and run all the way from the leaf hanger box to the LCA mounts.

PM me.

 

[KRONIK]

just go buy some viagra! hahahaha
just kidding!

 

[KJurasek]

Put me up for a pair of the stiffeners pictured above. I think you might have a marketable item here. There isn't a real difference between the 2 dr or the 4 dr is there?

PM Sent.

 

[KJurasek]

Does anyone make a stiffener that goes from bumper to bumper?

 

[SC Rednek]

Does anyone make a stiffener that goes from bumper to bumper?

HD offroad has front, rear, and main frame stiffeners, I just checked you can buy them as a set.

 

[mcantar18c]

Put me up for a pair of the stiffeners pictured above. I think you might have a marketable item here. There isn't a real difference between the 2 dr or the 4 dr is there?

PM Sent.

To market em I need to be a vendor, to justify becoming a vendor I need to sell enough to be making a decent profit off these, to be selling enough I need to market them :weird:

No difference IIRC, at least not in the framerails.

PM replied to.

Does anyone make a stiffener that goes from bumper to bumper?

And PM sent.

 

[KJurasek]

Well, you have to start somewhere. Maybe you can post on here?

 

[pyrotyro]

we just installed some tnt stiffeners on my dads xj. when we went up to pick up tnt stuff, they said not to plug weld on the unibody, as it is not strong enough to support it. so we just welded the edges.

not sure if that is accurate, but it makes sense, and the perimeter welded was still ALOT of contact. it was a real easy product to fit up and get welded on.

two thumbs up for tnt stuff still

 

[SC Rednek]

Professional welders, feel free to correct me. But I would think it'd be the other way, I would rather also plug weld onto the weaker frame then only along the edges. More distributed contact area, so less chance of cracking. I did take multiple passes to fill each plug to avoid getting it too hot.

 

[mcantar18c]

When I put some on my old jeep, I plug welded the holes AND stitch welded around the edges. Worked great, I could open and close my doors while flexing with no issues. Used em as sliders a couple times and they held up... I'd say its strong enough.

 

[eflores]

lemme just tell you that when you go from this

to this

it is a huge PITA to drill through thos things again

gawd that is one project i dont ever wanna do again...

 

[pyrotyro]

Professional welders, feel free to correct me. But I would think it'd be the other way, I would rather also plug weld onto the weaker frame then only along the edges. More distributed contact area, so less chance of cracking. I did take multiple passes to fill each plug to avoid getting it too hot.

im not claiming to be a pro, but when the metal is that thin, isnt it bad to do that much welding on it? because the metal on the 'frame' rail would heat up much faster then the 3/16 plate of the stiffener... so it would be a bad weld?

thats just my understanding of it. which is why they dont drill holes into the stiffeners...

 

[SC Rednek]

my stiffeners are 1/8" (HD offroad). And like I said I did multiple passes to avoid overheating it. I'm not claiming to be a pro either, but I would like to hear what a professional has to say about

 

[SC Rednek]

it is a huge PITA to drill through thos things again

gawd that is one project i dont ever wanna do again...

I know the feeling

5 layers per bolt, I had to go buy an extra long drill bit to get through it all. (Yes I know I need a skid plate don't remind me)