Hood Tree Limb Riser Mod.
 

I was looking at ordering a set of limb risers the other day after a trip into the woods. While riding an ingrown trail my wife and I spent half our time redirecting and breaking tree limbs.

A couple of days ago while on my weekly trek into Princess Auto and Home Depot I picked up some items and decided to make a set of limb risers myself. I wasn't too sure what exactly I would need and whether the items I bought would work. There was a second trip made to Home Depot after a couple of items didn't work as planned :blush:.

In the end I used the following items (please excuse me if the names are not correct):

- 12 feet of nylon coated 1/8" aircraft wire (had a bit left over)
- 2 turn buckles
- 4 1/8" saddle clamps
- 2 shackles (I think they were 3/4")
- 4 1/8" thimbles
- 1 4x4" brace/bracket (exact name?)
- A 25' package of 3/4" galvanized strapping
- Electrical tape (already had)

I've attached the pics below. I neglected to photograph the entire process but I did try and take pics of the "main points". Sorry for the crap quality. These were taken with my Iphone as they are quick to upload.

The following pics are of the strapping I used to make a "C Clamp", the nylon coated wire which was nice to work with as it doesn't fray, the 4x4" bracket which I used to make the hood latch brackets. The other two pics show where the bolts to remove the top part of the latch are found under the hood (use a 10mm wrench) and a pic of the top latch removed.

So I clamped the 4x4" bracket in the vice and using my Dremel and cutting disc I cut the two sides off. After the sides were off I figured out where the two hood latch bolts would need to be. Basically I just put the bottom flat part of the pieces flush with the lip of the hood and used a sharpy to mark the holes through the hood. Then I used a center punch to mark the holes. I used a 1/8" drill bit and drilled my pilot holes, then used a 15/64" bit to finish the holes for a snug fit with the bolts. After the drilling was done I cleaned the pieces with alcohol :dontknow2: and dried them. Then I wrapped the bottom half of them that would be beneath the hood latch with electrical tape. I'm not too sure if it will help but I figure it may reduce friction on the hood paint. After they were taped up I punched holes through the tape to expose the holes I just finished drilling. Then I mounted the latch to the home brew bracket.

More to follow....

Once the latch was installed on the bracket I traced around the edges of the latch with a razor to cut and peel away the exposed electrical tape. This was purely personal preference on my part and not a requirement. After this I put the latch back on the hood and using a 10mm wrench tightened the nuts back on the bolts under the hood. Here are some different angles to show you the finish.

More to come...

Now, I had a hell of a time finding the clamps I was looking for and while at Home Depot I came across the galvanized strapping. I bought the 24 gauge stuff and it's pretty strong especially when folded over :thumbsup:. So I figured out how long of a piece I would need to wrap around the light bar pillar on my Gobi rack and doubled it. Then I folded over the end tab and then folded in the remaining piece to meet the tab. All this did was allow me to make the strap twice as thick and ensure both ends had a finished look. The last pic shows how I chose to use the strapping.

More to come...

After the strapping was sized and folded I wrapped it in electrical tape in an attempt to keep the powder coat on my rack from scratching off and to blend it into the black powder coat. I left the end tabs exposed and used a shackle to connect the two tabs. The riser cable will connect to the shackle and run down to the brackets shown previously. Here is an after the fact pic of the shackle connected to the strapping.

More to come...

Nice Writeup. I was thinking about making up something like this once i get my roof rack

After the hood latch brackets and the strapping brackets and shackles were installed I ran the nylon coated 1/8" aircraft cable over the thimbles and added the saddle clamps. After I had one end complete I loosened the turnbuckles and connected the two. Then I ran the cable to the shackles to figure out how much cable I would need. After this I added the thimbles and clamps, rechecked the length and then cut the cable. I did this on both sides and then tightened the turnbuckles. Done.:clap::thumbsup:

Easy mod, total cost of materials was about $30.

Here's a few more pics.

:beer:

Great design. Youll have to keep us posted on how well this work out for you. I thought I might need something similar to go over my rack when I buy my rooftop tent. My fear in this design is catching a big branch that would damage my hood latch.

After handling these items and and the latch I think the cable would break before anything else. Even though I have these I still plan to take it easy and watch whats coming down the trail at me. Next week I plan to add an second connection point over top the rear doors on the side of the roof rack. This will allow me to disconnect the risers from the hood latch bracket and move them out of the way when not in use or on the trail. :thumbsup: I'll update with pics when this is done.