ATV frame

[calweld]

It's been a while since I've posted up any repairs, of any kind. This one come up, I thought it was unique enough, and maybe somebody could get some ideas themselves.

Note, this isn't one of them tutti-fruity racing or recreational vehicles. This is a working machine, out of a sheep ranch in Nevada. Country is so rough, and so high, they bring water/food/provisions to the sheepherders, the high summer ground, by pack-mules Just scroll back in time, 200 years

I simply took a couple pieces of 1/4 x 1 flats, pre-formed them to fit, tacked the center section, on the bottom, then heated/hammered/clamped going forwards and backwards. Ending points both front and back, are in relatively low stress areas, very little possibility a new crack will start there. Then went back, welded every important point, plus every few inches in between.

I didn't waste a whole lotta time welding cracks in the existing tubing, but on the crossmembers, I did. Looking at the beating and distortion, last thing I wanted to do was put more material under the crossmembers, that might allow it to be caught on a rock, and perhaps just rip it out.

First two pics, as it was before I started. Note the bottom right hand corner, this was a huge chunk of steel, done as a emergency repair. Cut it off, didn't even bother filling the holes, the new metal wrapped right around it, it isn't even an issue.

Second two pics, the job as done. Note the new skid plate on the front, had a half-round 7" radius, 10 gauge, a little welding and hammering, fit perfect. Hopefully able to ride over the rocks, while trying to head off the sheep herd or trying to catch up with the coyote.

[whateg0]

Looks rugged now! I would have been tempted to skidplate the entire underside, but in the end that would probably have made maintenance difficult. Doesn't look like the weight would've been an issue, though.

[Sandy]

That poor thing gets hammered for sure. I think the flat bar was the answer plus it was quick and more economical that a bunch of piece out work.

[calweld]

Looks rugged now! I would have been tempted to skidplate the entire underside, but in the end that would probably have made maintenance difficult. Doesn't look like the weight would've been an issue, though.

Advantage of using 1" flats, they can be welded both sides to the tube, all along. Not changing the original engineering, just putting the strength back in. Full skid plate would be fine, except you can't weld the tubes from both sides, you absolutely would not be able to make full contact all the way, and as you mentioned, it would create maintenance issues down the road.

[calweld]

That poor thing gets hammered for sure. I think the flat bar was the answer plus it was quick and more economical that a bunch of piece out work.

Sandy, you should've seen the horse trailer, they haul the mule in, for the first ten miles. Fixed it last year. Sheepherders, try to go 200 feet more, every year, toe-in on the tires was so bad, from dragging the axles over boulders, twenty-mile round trip, three times a week, for three or four months, required four new tires every year. All off-road miles, btw.

Point is, hope everybody noticed, I started this flatbar at a rigid point, butt-welded tubes in front (under the new skid-plate), ended also at a rigid point, curved the flats up to the heavily gusseted points where the rear axles attach. No stops and starts, no cross welds, no stress-points in between. Just one single, smooth, continuous bar, from beginning to end, on both sides.