Super beefy tunnel extensions anyone?

[Pebs]

I just made one. It was about to fall off so I drilled out all the rivets and replaced everything with 1/4 inch grade 8. The braces for the extension is cut out of a genuine state speed limit sign. Drilled thru the bumper and went directly into the tunnel and braces with 5/8 bolts. I can jump up and down on the very end, or hang it all from a cherry picker haha. Yeah it weighs more but i think the pros outweigh the cons. Maybe I should put grip tape on top of the tunnel and ride it like a old school jet ski? Brilliant!!

 

[the fix-it guy]

ever heard of rivets? 5/8 bolts, are u planning on pulling a **** spreader or hauling a payloader?

 

[MARV1]

Could have gotten away with 3/16" bolts and half as many.

 

[ullose272]

looks heavy

 

[knee deep in it]

I had a tunnel extension that did the same thing, the rivets I used were not the best. I replaced some of them with bolts and it held up well.

The total weight of the fasteners is probably just a few ounces more than rivets.

 

[H2SNOW]

spray on some silicone or Pam or something looks like the snow will tend to pack up pretty goo d on those bolts ..just a thought

whats that on your bars ??? grocery list LOL

 

[irondave86]

thats one way to carry spare bolts.

 

[Blk88GT]

Why?

 

[Pebs]

That list on the handle bars is all the stuff I gotta do to it before snow hits the ground. It's really not noticeably heavy. Once it's buried and packed with snow I'm not gonna curse myself for not using rivets, aint gonna matter. I've crumpled an extension before from landing on the tail and I've seen other people break off the rear coolers too. Rivets get wallowed out and dont get as tight as a nut/bolt combo. The only attention this extension will need is an occasional re-torque on the hardware.

 

[blackcloud2k]

Can you say overkill? ahah. It wont be breaking anytime in the near future...but if anything were to happen I would think it would tweek the whole tunnel now instead of just the a$$ end.

 

[eazyduzit509]

Well, it wont fall off... Sometimes bolts are just what needs to be used. Mabey not 70 but, ive had plenty of experiances with chit fallen apart with rivets and needing more strength.

 

[NoSecondChances]

Can you say overkill? ahah. It wont be breaking anytime in the near future...but if anything were to happen I would think it would tweek the whole tunnel now instead of just the a$$ end.

I was thinking the same thing - the nice thing about the cheapo tunnel extension is that if you bend it, you don't replace the whole tunnel. Now you've eliminated the weak link, so you're going to bend the next weakest link (somewhere in the structural tunnel??). I can't say for sure, maybe not. All I know is I'd rather drill some rivets and replace a tunnel extension than a whole tunnel.

If it works for ya though....good on ya!!

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