TheSamba.com :: View topic

Thu Dec 10, 2009 10:28 am

Don't knock Fusers quality without seeing it first hand. I'm a happy customer of his and even though I haven't installed my roo bars yet, I've dry fitted them and they were spot on. No complaints from me.

Thu Dec 10, 2009 2:42 pm

I think they look great......... 8)

Thu Dec 10, 2009 2:51 pm

THEY LOOK GOOD CLOSE TO THE BODY but what good would that do? far away look kinda funny though. the one that looks good is madmax' shit ....notice it actually has gussets.

Thu Dec 10, 2009 3:26 pm

420GOAT wrote: THEY LOOK GOOD CLOSE TO THE BODY but what good would that do? far away look kinda funny though. the one that looks good is madmax' shit ....notice it actually has gussets.

His does look good don't they. When you say gussets are you talking about the little pieces welded to the bends? If so I liked that too. I like how the bends around the bumper are too. Quality work there. I wonder if your rear tire mount rattles Max? Mine did on my chevy blazer; drove me nuts.

L8tr, TH

Thu Dec 10, 2009 7:06 pm

the gussets are strangely placed however. when is the roo bar gonna see a load in that direction? The place that really needs it is the bend going around the bumper. aesthetically however that is probably the best looking bumper out there, but useless from a practical standpoint. That said, not everyone is going to be pulling folks out of the mud with thier roo bars.

please note I do not endorse nor warranty such behaviour! (not without cool pictures at least) the roo bar is purely cosmetic, but I did make the thing as strong as possible, within reason of course. Anyways I like the compilation of different roo bar styles, i forgot just how many there are, not to mention the plate steel ones as well. If anyone wanted a very stock looking repo, I'd make it, but no one asked, no one got one. I would love to do another run, out of work and looking for cash ya see! up next, jerry can and rear spare carriers!

Thu Dec 10, 2009 7:46 pm

You do that to many times you will be putting a new rev gear in your trany. :shock: Rev gears in bus are barely good enuff to back the bus up with out striping then out. :? but thats what keeps me in tranys to rebuild around here. :lol:

Thu Dec 10, 2009 8:07 pm

I'd be down for a jerry can holder. :wink:

Thu Dec 10, 2009 8:42 pm

Any pics of the jerry can holders?

Thu Dec 10, 2009 8:49 pm

That would be cool if there are 2 cans to the sides of the tire behind the bar, but then again if you get in a crash...that would be quite the explosion! :shock:

Thu Dec 10, 2009 9:14 pm

yeah, jerry goes on drivers side, away from my ehxaust. not that it would be that close, and the cage design I have is stronger than the body it will be up against, meaniing that if you get rearended hard enough to rupture the can, the cage around it will push into the body rather than cave in on the jerry inside. This however is still only on paper and in my head. too many other projects.

oh yeah, I had my finger crossed on the reverse gear. In the end I wussed out and 'winched' him the rest of the way out w/ a jack. all attached to the roo bar of course!

Fri Dec 11, 2009 8:05 am

Well, I got them for sale if anyone wants them...
Mine are not welded together so I can ship them cheaper to you... If anyone wants them welded I can weld them for you, but then your shipping is going to cost $100 VS taking them down to a welding shop and paying the guy $20 bucks and a case of beer. See the difference? But if someone has more money than time, hit me up... I'll weld it, then you pay for shipping.
As for not being painted, like anything. One guy will want Black, One Red, One Orange, One White, One Blue, One Pink... I choose to let you pick your own color.. Now if i painted them, I still recommend you to get them welded up once you get it... now you have burnt paint.. Understand?
Lastly, you guys compare all late model roo bars to my early model bars.. I guess I'm in the wrong playground to start with.

I'm just going to keep on waiting it out like some of you have said. Time will come around. I think its the time of year, X-Mas. Some of you are snowed in. I'll be around the shows in the Norther California area with these..
Thanks for the help fellas, some of you guys have some really good points!

Fri Dec 11, 2009 9:33 am

littlebuggie:
I hear you on the welded bit, granted its actually not horribly expensive to ship an assembled one, I would think it would still be cheaper to just take the thing to a local muffler shop and ask them to weld it up for you. I thought about priming mine before shipping them. Painting makes no sense, because of course its going to get scratched in shipping/unpacking/assembling, no matter how careful everyone is. I was going to prime it just to avoid rust, but when I asked everyone who was buying a set, no body even cared if I primed it. which is cool by me, because they get to avoid the horror show of finding out their paint is not compatible with teh primer I used.
also I am very curious how you set up your mounts under the body. I assume you used the stock bolt holes, but how did you tie it into the roo bar? I am going to sell my roo bar sometime this winter and build a rock solid brush guard style bar, kinda like the bumpers you see on baja bugs, and am trying to collect ideas for a solid lower mount. I am going to try to tie into all four frame members under there, and maybe even to the beam, just to be sure.

Fri Dec 11, 2009 9:36 am

I love mine, although I dont think its for protection, really.
:wink:

Fri Dec 11, 2009 2:29 pm

love it enough to point your mirror at it apparently :lol:

Fri Dec 11, 2009 3:55 pm

Well played Sir. :lol:

Fri Dec 11, 2009 5:12 pm

Mine mounts from the underside. The Bumper bracket is 1 1/2 wide, so that tubing is 1 1/2 round for the roo bar. Take out the 2 stock bolts for the bumper bracket(that mounts to the bus) and Use my supplied 2 bolts that are longer, goes through the roo bar tubing, through the bumper bracket to the bus frame.
This is a picture from my proto type... Just a proto type!!! Its the same concept as my final design, but it bolts up with 2 bolts and has no extra holes. (for the keyboard happy people that can't work on their cars but can nit pick people on the internet)

Fri Dec 11, 2009 5:53 pm

littlebuggie wrote: Well, I got them for sale if anyone wants them...
Mine are not welded together so I can ship them cheaper to you... If anyone wants them welded I can weld them for you, but then your shipping is going to cost $100 VS taking them down to a welding shop and paying the guy $20 bucks and a case of beer. See the difference? But if someone has more money than time, hit me up... I'll weld it, then you pay for shipping.
As for not being painted, like anything. One guy will want Black, One Red, One Orange, One White, One Blue, One Pink... I choose to let you pick your own color.. Now if i painted them, I still recommend you to get them welded up once you get it... now you have burnt paint.. Understand?
Lastly, you guys compare all late model roo bars to my early model bars.. I guess I'm in the wrong playground to start with.

I'm just going to keep on waiting it out like some of you have said. Time will come around. I think its the time of year, X-Mas. Some of you are snowed in. I'll be around the shows in the Norther California area with these..
Thanks for the help fellas, some of you guys have some really good points!

I'm sorry I missed that. Are you saying your bars are for splittys or just early bays? As far as paint or powdercoating I was just referring to marketing ploys if you were going to try to get a bigger bite on a niche market. You would definitely weld them up first then paint or powder coat them. If I could do what you guys do I would focus on a whole line of stuff thats related. Like different models and features. Like fusername was saying a rear tire carrier with a jerrycan. Matching items are even more desireable when dressing out your ride.

I am disabled and I would love to find something I could make for Vdubs that I could make in my shed so I could work from home. If i had the equipment and the talent you guys have I would be tickled pink to start a whole line of products. I don't have a clue what I can do yet but, I will find something eventually. I used to have a friend that rewound starters and alternators. He made a good living and never left his shed. I just don't know how to do it. Much like I don't know how you guys do it. Just food for thought. Good luck!

Here are a couple of drawings(crappy) of what I was thinking of for my bay:

I did those with my paint program so they are a little square and screwy. I was thinking more rounded curves but, I think you can get the general idea.

I was thinking of a rear one that would hold a tire that was angled backward that you would have to remove the tire to open the engine hatch but, once the tire was removed you could place a wooden or wire seat on it so you could sit and work on the engine. Sort like a sling or hammock style. I have a bad back and sitting on the ground sucks and all the bending over or riding my knees kills me.

L8tr, TH

Fri Dec 11, 2009 6:17 pm

Tree Hugger,
If you can learn to weld, I think this would be an awesome item for Bays.
See the link. I am going to build one with my body man for my 68 Westy, but I have no inclination to do it as a cottage biz.
http://www.gowesty.com/ec_view_details.php?id=4251&category_id=&category_parent_id=

Fri Dec 11, 2009 6:41 pm

peaceful warrior wrote: Tree Hugger,
If you can learn to weld, I think this would be an awesome item for Bays.
See the link. I am going to build one with my body man for my 68 Westy, but I have no inclination to do it as a cottage biz.
http://www.gowesty.com/ec_view_details.php?id=4251&category_id=&category_parent_id=

Thanks but, weldings not my bag. I was thinking of maybe a heater or cooler cabinet for between the seats that I could make inside my shed. I have a buddy that his family use to do upholstery and he still has all the tools and sewing machines and a rudimentary knowledge(and his Grandma and Dad are still around to give him pointers) of how to use it all. Maybe a couple different designs with and without seat backs and with the VW fabrics and vinyls to match the buyers interiors. He needs work too so, it would be mutually beneficial. Still working on it. But this is not the forum for that now is it?

L8tr, TH

Sat Dec 12, 2009 4:05 pm

TreeHugger63 wrote:

I am disabled and I would love to find something I could make for Vdubs that I could make in my shed so I could work from home. If i had the equipment and the talent you guys have I would be tickled pink to start a whole line of products. I don't have a clue what I can do yet but, I will find something eventually. I used to have a friend that rewound starters and alternators. He made a good living and never left his shed. I just don't know how to do it. Much like I don't know how you guys do it. Just food for thought. Good luck!

Here are a couple of drawings(crappy) of what I was thinking of for my bay:

I did those with my paint program so they are a little square and screwy. I was thinking more rounded curves but, I think you can get the general idea.

I was thinking of a rear one that would hold a tire that was angled backward that you would have to remove the tire to open the engine hatch but, once the tire was removed you could place a wooden or wire seat on it so you could sit and work on the engine. Sort like a sling or hammock style. I have a bad back and sitting on the ground sucks and all the bending over or riding my knees kills me.

L8tr, TH

Very cool ideas. I hate to say however there is no real money in this. hopefully littlebuggie will do better than i did, but I really did it for the fun of it. once the walrus gets his stuff mounted, if I go to a show in the northeast, and I see a roo bar in the lot, I made it. That is a cool feeling. I think I mentioned I made NO money building these bars, possibly even lost money when you account for consumables (welding gas, wasted tubing, cut off wheels etc) But I like doing this stuff.
tree hugger, I like your ideas for a front bumper, and back when I had the money to afford the tubing I was actually going to do hat to replace the stock bumper and protect my lights from tree branches. no i have no job. so if you ever want to build one of those, email me and we can work something out. I love having a tubing bender!

peacful warrior wrote: If you can learn to weld, I think this would be an awesome item for Bays.
See the link. I am going to build one with my body man for my 68 Westy, but I have no inclination to do it as a cottage biz.
http://www.gowesty.com/ec_view_details.php?id=4251&category_id=&category_parent_id=
and at only 500 bucks, and only works with there bumper, they really let you know how far to bend over! :shock: That is probably 30 bucks in materials, although the poweder coating is worth every penny.