Germany fabrication help...Please?

[burn_e]

The good thing is, the there is a good DIY culture in Germany and therefore you have access to lots of quality material.

If you are talented with saw, welder and grinder you might just get your material in shop which are called

"Eisenwarenhandel" "Schlosserei" "Metallbau" etc.

they will sell you usually standardised materials like pipe, bends etc in all qualities and shapes.

And last but not least: If you really want to enjoy Germany brush up on some language basics. Its alright to make your way in the bigger cities, but gets a bit more difficult outside of them. And despite the rumours "WE" appreciate everyone who tries to learn German.
Have a great time there.

[jeepdreamer]

Hey Burn E,
Thanks for the pointers. I agree that one should learn at least some of the local language of the country they are visiting. I am trying but honestly I'm not one that picks up languages very easily. Most of the German words/phrases I know now (feel free to laugh) have come from TV and movies over the years...haha!
I was wondering how I should go about looking for the manes you gave me? Is there a buiseness phone book in Germany or should I google it? I will try the simplest route, asking around, first and hopefully I can turn up something...Thanks Again!
Ted

[Holger]

Mate, I am German an come from Nuernberg, I am 100% sure somebody is able to help you in Grafenwoehr or the surrounding villages, otherwise either in Nuernberg, or Bayreuth. Every little village has somebody to fix the tractors and so on. The' Gelbe Seiten' (yellow pages) tell you where.

First thing I googled:

Eismann Karl-Heinz Bauschlosserei

Parksteiner Weg 7, 92655 Grafenwöhr

Tel/Fax: (09641) 39 09

Otherwise 'Taubenreuter' is the ARB inporter for germany, they are in Bayreuth (half an hour away). They are fully equipped and fully deck out 4x4. They surely can help.

But if you ask for Schmied, Schlosser or Schlosserei you'll find somebody locally for sure.
Otherwise PM me and I find you somebody in Nuernberg.
The advantage of going to a small local shop is that they normally try to help you out, and do it for chep, while the big company's charge hourly rates ect.

[jeepdreamer]

So i had a not so busy day today and drive through Grafenwohr. I found the welding shop and had a chance to speak with the guy there a little bit. First off, considering his shop is I'n a residential area i was Shocked at the amount of equipment he had there! Holy Cow!! Huge old, well used Mills and shears and even a forklift! I had a mental image of a small, basic metal works place but this was incredible! So i explained what i was trying to do and he was very friendly and his English was good enough that even my poor description was understood. so i will sit down this evening and attempt to sketch out some basic ideas for him to work from. I'm not 100% sure exactly how my RTT mounts or what the best configuration of the rack is but if anyone has any input, I'm all ears! I am hoping to do 3 basic things with the design. As my Jeep is already over tall i hope to keep it pretty close to the hard top. That being said, i need the rack to be either "hingeable" or removable to allow me to still go topless. And obviously it has to be strong enough and able to mount the RTT. And it goes without saying that i must be able to afford it.
I had a really hard time looking at some of the stuff he had I'n his shop. Apparently he does a good bit of work with stainless steel... Ooooh! How cool would a never rusting rack be?!? But i imagine that would be WAY out of my price range.. Haha!
So the last thing i could use advice on is mounting the tent. Since the beast sits so high i was thinking of having it flip open to where the I'n supported side goes to the rear and acts as an awning when deployed. To either side I'd think i would have wobbling issues at least greater than I'n line with the Jeep. And going forward towards the hood seems like it would require anything else I'n/on the rack to be removed. So if anyone has any thoughts please feel free to chime I'n... And as always, Thanks everyone for the great advice!