[Curmudgeon]

OK, I know this is one of those post that's practically worthless without pictures but I wanted to say thanks to Bill (Nethawk) and was afraid if I waited till I had the pictures it would be too late.
Some of you will remember I was looking for a way to hinge the top on my XP so I could get it under a standard garage door while it was on the trailer. The goal was to hinge the front of the cage forward, and get it under 60 inches tall. After some back and forth on the design, Bill built me a set of hinges that we both think will get-er-done. I got the hinges yesterday and Bill did some outstanding work on these. Super nice, extremely well built with good solid materials. Came matched, assembled and even have notes on them for the welder to be sure they are set up right. Professional work all the way.
I hope to take enough pictures to make for a decent before & after type post, but most importantly, and right now, I want to thank Bill for working with me and supplying the supper awesome hardware for this project.
Dang these hinges are nice……..
More when I have it.

 

[em42]

Sounds great, waiting for pictures.

 

[JDJHNTR]

From what I've seen......Bill does some top quality work!! You should be well served with them. Looking forward to seeing them and in use..........

 

[Ranger Dave]

Thanks for the post

 

[Curmudgeon]

The welder is not comming until late this week so I thought I'd set the stage with some promo footage.
Here is what I have now. Pre cut top with post and pins. All 6 post are cut and pined the same way. If you are really serious you can get the top off, but you need help, a big rubber hammer and a place to store it. It's extreamly akward. It was like this when I bought it and it was done so it could fit in an enclosed trailer for a ride to Wyoming from Texas.

Here is one of the two front hinges from NetHawk. Each side is 4 inches long. There are 4 back hinges, each is the same as the front only with just two pieces, not 3 like the front. The back hinges will not be bolted, but pinned for easy release.

Another to show the quality of the work.

More as I have it.

 

[Stolle]

Are you going to add bushings to keep it from rattling? Do you think those hinges are going to be strong enough to hold if you flip it? I like the idea of being able to flip it down. Reminds of the wake board boats that have the rack that fold down so you can get them in a garage.

 

[RANGERJACK]

Bill does some nice work from the looks of your pictures. Thanks for sharing with us.

 

[Curmudgeon]

I plan to leave about 1/4 inch of the inside sleeve to keep it from rattling. Right now the pins are loose and do rattle (a lot) but the new pins shouldn’t. I know the front hinges won’t rattle with the nylock nuts.
I believe it will be as capable of providing protection in a rollover as it is now. The hinges are 1/4 steel and about 6 inches long in total. I wouldn’t do it if I thought it was taking a risk. That being said, feedback from others with knowledge in this area is always welcome !

 

[Chiefmorton]

You probably already know this but after you get those hinges tacked up good you might want to remove that nylon lock nut. All the heat from welding might not be good on it and then again it may not even effect it. Just a thought.


Brian

 

[Curmudgeon]

Welding is done !
It turned out awesome and it works exactly as expected. Top flips forward and clears the front rack and body. Total height of the Ranger is 46 inches when the top is flipped over. I still have some grinding, prep and painting to do, but here is the project so far...
I'll swap all the bolts out with knobs, they were just to hold the matched pieces together. I decided to make it a little easier to view the pics and just posted the whole photobucket album url.

http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z8/Curmudgeon01

 

[mike65072]

Awesome! Nice welding, BTW.

 

[Curmudgeon]

The welding was done by a Family member who does High Pressure pipe welding. He showed up with his rig, spent about an hour and was gone. He will be sitting right next to me on opening day of duck season. He earned his spot big time.

 

[jaybey]

Looking good. Can't wait to here the report from after your round trip to Wyoming.
Joe in Tucson

 

[nethawk]

Hey Richard looks like it came out nice. Good pics too[]. Put a nice radius on those front hinges with a grinder and some paint and you are good to go.

 

[Roadrunner]

Awesome! Great looking welds. Those hinges appear top notch

 

[Curmudgeon]

I've already ground the fronts to a nice radius, but it was after I put the camera up. I'm debating whether or not to strip and repaint the entire cage. I do have some factory finish comming off on it's own so I'm not sure how good it is for a base coat. Ideas ??
As for the hinges, that's some of NetHawks work and the welds were from a certified welder. So far it's been a first class project, I just need to not ness it up !
Ordered 3/8 knobs for all the hinges last night. More when I have it.

 

[cisco kid]

nice ;-)

 

[Curmudgeon]

Thanks for the positive review Bill, but all I had to do was not mess up what you started. Are you going to put 'Hinge Kits for Ranger Cages' in your profile now? I've seen more than one posting on the subject.
FYI, the welder ask what I had you build them out of and I said 'steel', he said what kind of steel and I said 'Huh'. He asked because he noticed they were made from very hard, high quality steel and wanted to know if I even knew that. Thanks for building them RIGHT, even though I would never have known. A sign of character for sure.