- 1,425
- 768
- 113
- Location
- Quantico VA
Any person who has a HMMWV that has wanted to fit a cargo or troop cover where there wasn't one when it came into his or her possession has had to either look locally and hope for a set of bows or order them and pay extra shipping fees due to the oversize package restriction. In some cases Less Than (full) Load (LTL) truck freight might even be involved, at a hefty price.
I have been learning to bend 3/4" steel light wall tubing as part of building HMMWV Soft Slant Back kit frames. I've also started making 4-man cargo covers in sailcloth for folks that have gone aftermarket on their tops and want a cargo cover to match. Some of those customers have asked me if I sell bows, which I do not, partly because sources exist and because sourcing, storing and shipping 7' wide bows is a PITA. So, I have been thinking of developing an alternative design or designs for HMMWV cover bows.
Based on my experience with thin wall steel tubing (Electrical Metallic Conduit, EMT, mostly) I am also aware of many commercial fittings available for this type of tubing. I use a few in my SSB frame already.
It seems to me that I could bend the 90deg portion of the bows pretty easily, but instead of doing it out of one piece, or welding or whatever, I could make it modular.
The idea I have is to make the bends in a piece about 4' long, and make four of those, and have the whole mess joined with some straight pieces using EMT couplings to get to full size. This would not be as strong as integral 15' long tubes of course, but all the bows have to do is hold up 20 pounds of canvas. If someone wanted more than the set screw that couplings come with, it's easy enough to put a couple self-tapping screws in there. Some of my customers like that, and I include 4 of them with SSB frames already.
I think the shipping box would be about 4' long and 9"x9" square. That is still over 36", and will have some oversize penalty, but far less than 7' wide 4' tall bows.
After all the bending and cutting and mockup, adding tie down straps and drilling holes for the fender brackets (and buying fender bracket kits to have in stock if needed) I think the price would probably be the same as military surplus bows, the difference would be in the shipping costs.
I wonder if folks think this is worth fussing with or just adding a choice to an already crowded market. I could probably sell some with cargo cover purchases, when the customer doesn't have them anyway, but I'd rather be in position to tap into a larger market of people just looking for bows and less expensive shipping options that my design should give.
Thanks in advance for your feedback!
Alex (Bulldogger)
I have been learning to bend 3/4" steel light wall tubing as part of building HMMWV Soft Slant Back kit frames. I've also started making 4-man cargo covers in sailcloth for folks that have gone aftermarket on their tops and want a cargo cover to match. Some of those customers have asked me if I sell bows, which I do not, partly because sources exist and because sourcing, storing and shipping 7' wide bows is a PITA. So, I have been thinking of developing an alternative design or designs for HMMWV cover bows.
Based on my experience with thin wall steel tubing (Electrical Metallic Conduit, EMT, mostly) I am also aware of many commercial fittings available for this type of tubing. I use a few in my SSB frame already.
It seems to me that I could bend the 90deg portion of the bows pretty easily, but instead of doing it out of one piece, or welding or whatever, I could make it modular.
The idea I have is to make the bends in a piece about 4' long, and make four of those, and have the whole mess joined with some straight pieces using EMT couplings to get to full size. This would not be as strong as integral 15' long tubes of course, but all the bows have to do is hold up 20 pounds of canvas. If someone wanted more than the set screw that couplings come with, it's easy enough to put a couple self-tapping screws in there. Some of my customers like that, and I include 4 of them with SSB frames already.
I think the shipping box would be about 4' long and 9"x9" square. That is still over 36", and will have some oversize penalty, but far less than 7' wide 4' tall bows.
After all the bending and cutting and mockup, adding tie down straps and drilling holes for the fender brackets (and buying fender bracket kits to have in stock if needed) I think the price would probably be the same as military surplus bows, the difference would be in the shipping costs.
I wonder if folks think this is worth fussing with or just adding a choice to an already crowded market. I could probably sell some with cargo cover purchases, when the customer doesn't have them anyway, but I'd rather be in position to tap into a larger market of people just looking for bows and less expensive shipping options that my design should give.
Thanks in advance for your feedback!
Alex (Bulldogger)