Need some advice for a bed rack rework

Kiriesh

Adventurer
Hey guys, I'm in no way a fabricator so I could use some advice from someone who is more knowledgeable. I trusted a buddy who is a professional fabricator to build me a rack, well he took my money and gave me half of what I wanted and half mediocre last minute work. The tray itself is well done, the tubing is bent, notched, and welded great. The mounting plates are the wrong spec, about .25" too wide on either side, and poorly made (there isn't a single square corner on any of the plates), its a miracle it fit at all. The maxtrax mounts are shotty at best, I was afraid I was going to see them go flying on the freeway.

Here is the rack in question:

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The issues:

  • Mounting plates are sub-par, not square, misaligned, and have bad cuts
  • Maxtrax mount is sub-par at best and one size has already broken

Basically to get this up-to-standards I need to rework the mounting plates and come up with a new mounting solution for the maxtrax and shovel (its mounted on the right side mounting plate). Is such a small change in width even manageable considering I'd need to cut the plate off? I don't think the maxtraxs will be a major issue, some angle cut C or L channel should be fine, but I'm concerned about the mounts. My experience is minimal at best, I have a welder and angle grinder but that's about all of my access to metalworking tools. Would this be a simple job for a shop or am I trying to fix a lost cause? Any advice from someone who knows more of what they're doing would be greatly appreciated.
 

NatersXJ6

Explorer
your photos don't seem to show detail of the "mounting plates" and how they are out of square. that would be helpful. did you give your buddy specifications, or just a general idea?
 

Kiriesh

Adventurer
I didn't include photos because its unrelated to what I'm trying to do. Not that it matters but I gave full specs accurate to 1/16". The larger issue is that the entire rack is about 1/4" too wide. It was sheer luck that it fit, as it was designed (or at least it was suppose to be designed) to mount on the inside of the bed rails, but it was close enough that we were able to fit it on the outer side of the bed rails, with some pressing and swearing.
 

NatersXJ6

Explorer
hmmm... without seeing it up close with you there to answer questions, I probably can't help you. in general, a 1/4" difference could be introduced in a prototype fab through lots of errors, twist, thermal stress, measurement error, etc... the question of whether or not you want to chase it out comes down to $$&. I can't recommend any specific shop, but in general, I think cutting something off and re welding isn't impossible
 

Kiriesh

Adventurer
At the moment the rack is gathering dirt leaning against my garage because I'm not willing to trash my powder coating even more. Plus I get nervous packing and unpacking gear since I managed to tear a jacket and almost slash my arm on the sharp edges as-is. I guess I'm just making sure I'm not forming unrealistic expectations for some rework.
 

NatersXJ6

Explorer
It is likely that both you and your buddy had different expectations going in. It seems like you probably had a vision of a commercial grade project, with cnc laser cutting, smoothed edges, precision bends, etc...

I've had those visions when I start projects too, and then I quickly start making compromises, in wood or metal, the build of the first one never goes as planned.

The commercially available projects we have all become spoiled by involve hundreds or even thousands of hours planning, trying, planning, test fitting, and trying, and planning and trying... You get the picture. That is part of why we choke on the thousands of dollars some fab companies want, when we only see the finish... A few hundred dollars worth of steel and some welding.

I note you said you specified to the 1/16" level. That would have been a red flag for me. Precision costs big money.

In the field, farm, construction, mines, most places I've worked, we've always had a saying- "draw with computer, measure with tape, mark with chalk, cut with torch, weld with stick... And sometimes... Install with hammer"

I don't know you, but if you don't want to spend a lot of time cleaning that up with a flap disc and file, you might be better off selling it and going with a commercial solution.
 

Kiriesh

Adventurer
It is likely that both you and your buddy had different expectations going in. It seems like you probably had a vision of a commercial grade project, with cnc laser cutting, smoothed edges, precision bends, etc...

I've had those visions when I start projects too, and then I quickly start making compromises, in wood or metal, the build of the first one never goes as planned.

The commercially available projects we have all become spoiled by involve hundreds or even thousands of hours planning, trying, planning, test fitting, and trying, and planning and trying... You get the picture. That is part of why we choke on the thousands of dollars some fab companies want, when we only see the finish... A few hundred dollars worth of steel and some welding.

I note you said you specified to the 1/16" level. That would have been a red flag for me. Precision costs big money.

In the field, farm, construction, mines, most places I've worked, we've always had a saying- "draw with computer, measure with tape, mark with chalk, cut with torch, weld with stick... And sometimes... Install with hammer"

I don't know you, but if you don't want to spend a lot of time cleaning that up with a flap disc and file, you might be better off selling it and going with a commercial solution.

The intention of this post wasn't to argue over my disagreement, that is long since done. But since you commented, I have zero doubts this was a rush job. If you want the full picture:

I live in a different state from him but I've seen his fit-and-finish first hand. Don't get me wrong, I have background in custom manufacturing, doing professional grade robotics with custom CNC'ed and precision machined parts. I wasn't expecting this at all, I expected the level of work I've seen him produce for others. I don't need accuracy to a 1/16" I just gave him measurements that accurate so he can plan accordingly. Presumably, if there is a maximum width, you would undersize the mounts and potentially shim to fit. Not overshoot the goal. It was suppose to mount on the inner face of my 1/8" bedrails. It barely fit over the outter face with some shoving, it was no where close to fitting on the inner edge.

We lived in separate states, but I knew I was going to be traveling by him on a trip so we agreed at the very beginning there is a fixed deadline of when I will be by.

A timeline:

We agreed 6 months out that he would build me some rock sliders.

We agreed 3 months out he would build me the rack (I confirmed with him this would be enough time, in fact I confirmed numerous times that he would have enough lead time and there wouldn't be an issue).

All was paid full in advance, with rough CAD drawings to show the general idea of the rack (no specific sizing on my part, but to give him an idea of what I wanted from the design).

He begun working on my bedrack ~2 weeks before the deadline. I never recieved photos of the mounting brackets at any point during this time. All I ever saw was the tubing shown forming the "skeleton" or whatever you want to call it of the tray.

He came to me with 3 days from the deadline telling me he would be unable to produce the rock sliders (no work was done whatsoever, the material was purchased but nothing was ever built. Nothing was even planned to be built).

He came to me 2 days from the deadline telling me our previous plan to powdercoat the rack was not going to work because of what he planned to build the tray out of.

He goes AWOL for 2 days, and meets up with my buddy and I 2 days after when he was suppose to meet us after numerous phone calls, with a rack that barely fits (and not in the way it was designed to), no straight cuts on the mounting plates, sketchy maxtrax mounts (a single ~2" wide strip of 1/8" steel that was clearly cut by hand and not square welded onto the mounting bracket per end, one of which broke off the next day within 30 minutes of driving and the other flexed any time I touched it). I dont need precision shaped edges, I just would appreciate if someone hit it with a damn file instead of leaving a jagged obviously hand-cut edge on it. There is a big difference between low precision and low quality.

It takes me nearly 2 months of him ignoring me and avoiding all forms of contact to get him to agree to pay me back at least for the rock sliders I never got and the powdercoating I never got.

Keep in mind, this is not a guy doing some fab work for fun as a hobby. He wants his own fabrication business and is currently doing his work out of his shop on his property.


AAAAANYWAYS rant over.

You could probably fix the oversized brackets for $30 and some sweat.

http://www.harborfreight.com/4-12-in-43-amp-angle-grinder-60625.html

and a couple packs of cutting wheels and a grinding wheel.

Not being facetious. You can trim up those mounting brackets to your satisfaction. The rest you'll have to pay for again.


I guess I'm probably not being clear with what it needs. I'm not afraid to clean it up and round off edges if need be, but the brackets aren't oversized. The whole rack is about 1/4" wider (side of the bed to side of the bed) than it should be so it doesn't align with my bedrails properly. Each bracket needs to be cut off, the support bars(? or whatever you want to call them) need to be narrowed, and the brackets or new brackets need to be welded back on.
 

Kiriesh

Adventurer
Sad business.
There is probably a lesson learned over this, but dammed if I know what it is.

A compentent 'fab-guy with minimal shop could fix all that before lunch.
Coating wont be so easy...

There are many lessons...

Get everything in writing...

Dont mix business with friends...

Im sure more I can't think of off the top of my head...

I'm not too worried about the paint. Once the brackets are dealt with, I may either powdercoat it or do a paint job myself. The limiting factor of powdercoating was that I was told it was going to have a perforated sheet of steel presumably welded/permanently attached to the deck, and the divots were too small and would be filled during the powdercoating process. Instead I got a bunch of small 2x2ft aluminum sheets that are flimsy as hell screwed in with self tapping screws. I'm going to remove the sheets and probably get a sheet of polycarb or similar bedlined and attached with countersunk screws. Its encouraging if y'all think the brackets can get fixed by a fab shop, I may have to start shopping around to see how much that'll be. I was beginning to think it was a lost cause.
 

NatersXJ6

Explorer
It sounds like you really got screwed. That sucks. The challenge in narrowing that by 1/4" is that you need to take 1/8" off each side. That is only the thickness of a cutoff wheel, give or take a bit. You might be better off to remove the entire mounting bracket and build new from the tube out. In either case, I think you are probably building new mounting ends. You will be better off to build them free, bolt them to the truck, and then clamp the rack in place while they are tack welded. That way you ensure alignment and fitting. It won't be easy, and probably not cheap. You might also consider replacing the deck material with flattened expanded metal, it is hard to see from the pictures what was used, but it doesn't look great, and you described it as aluminum sheet screwd down? Not very durable in my opinion.

Good luck with the project, it is probably save able.
 

Kiriesh

Adventurer
Yup lessons learned and trying to move on, but until I get the rack fixed or I find a replacement setup it really messes with my ability to carry gear so I won't be able to put it behind me until that's figured out. You're right on the money, I'm concerned that such a minor adjustment in width is going to be challenging. I hadn't though of trying to remove the whole bracket, that's got potential.

Flattened expanded metal is a good idea, you're right the current material is absolute garbage. aluminum sheet screwed down, the edges catch and bend like crazy and it makes getting the boxes up there challenging because they catch on the screw heads when you're loading/unloading. At least using the garbage sheets has proven that they're really just there to fill the gaps and make a nice flat surface, so I don't need something load bearing. I'm hoping for something lightweight and smooth so I can slide gear on and off of it easily. Thanks for all the input, you've got some gears turning on how to salvage this.
 

rayra

Expedition Leader
yeah, your description wasn't clear it appears to be mounted on your vehicle, with your gear attached. So it would seem that the tubing structures themselves work and that your issue was the crudeness of the footing / mounting plates. That's why I suggested trimming them up.

If the tubing rack itself is an acceptable size then yes, just cut the feet off and make new replacements. If the tube rack itself is too large then just cut it down the midline / in half, removing the extra width there, and bevel and butt weld it back together.

I'm confused by your seemingly thinking there are insurmountable problems. What can be made can be unmade and re-made. It's really not that difficult. Even if it seems it was too difficult to get it right in the first place. Your 'precision' experiences may be skewing your perspective in an unhelpful way. It's a shame you got screwed. As you say, move on and get busy working the problem.

maybe start with photos or a diagram of what exactly the trouble is, so you can garner better suggestions for fixes.


eta

"Flattened expanded metal is a good idea..."

"expanded metal mesh" or EMM is the proper term for one category of material that would be a good replacement for that weak sheet. The other is "perforated metal" which is something more akin to what was used on your build. And it's inadequate for a cargo deck surface, regardless of whether it is screwed, bolted or welded. It's typically too thin and deforms just as yours has. A much thicker sheet / plate is necessary.
 
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