Protecting vehicles from unforgiving ground requires repeatable strength
Above: A 1979 Toyota FJ Cruiser fitted with a 40-inch-wide front bumper by 3D-Offroad.
Protecting vehicles from unforgiving ground requires repeatable strength
April 2016 - Off-roading conjures up different driving scenarios depending on where you’re located. In Chicago, for example, potholes seem to rival the cavernous, unexpected craters plotted along the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, near where fabrication shop 3D-Offroad builds roll cages, bumpers and motor swaps for drivers venturing off pristine pavement.
Armoring vehicles to withstand the rigors of unpredictable terrain has become a steady business for Matt Thompson at 3D-Offroad in Colorado Springs. “Not every metal bends the same and I needed a way to adjust how I was bending tube for roll cages and other parts to make cars ready for off-roading,” says Thompson, owner and a skilled fabricator himself.
Thompson first saw a TubeShark being demonstrated while at the Easter Jeep Expo, held each March in Moab, Utah. “At the time I had a different bender—it was air over hydraulic that just wasn’t repeatable,” he says. “What I liked is the TubeShark angle gauge because you can adjust it to account for springback depending on the type of metal you use. I also needed repeatability.”
A 1985 Toyota truck cab with painted rear cage by 3D-Offroad.
Made in the United States, the TubeShark is a portable tube and bending machine that bends vertically, which works especially well in small shop spaces with tall ceilings like Thompson’s. “It bends straighter,” Thompson says. “The bends are repeatable, down to less than a degree. The air over hydraulic is easy to use and has a lot of power to it.”
3D-Offroad constructs roll cages using drawn-over-mandrel (DOM) Chromoly and mild steel. TubeShark provides customers with custom tooling, as is the case with 3D-Offroad. “If the requirement isn’t common, we make custom tooling,” says Char Walker, sales for TubeShark, developed by GRB Innovations LLC, Bend Oregon. GRB stocks a large variety of dies and “has the ability to have almost any type of custom application or product manufactured by ISCO, which is our in-house manufacturing shop.”
The TubeShark will bend tight angles and radiuses with a wide array of available dies. If Thompson wants to try a different bend, he calls GRB to design the die and ship it to his shop. GRB also takes Thompson’s made-to-order oil pan and sheet metal orders for other jobs. But it’s the TubeShark that has had the most significant impact on his business, bending 1.5-inch square tubing using square dies. “I call GRB Innovations [and order] the die I need for the machine and they send it over,” Thompson says.
A 1985 Toyota gets an aftermarket installation of a roof rack, popular with off-roading enthusiasts.
The mobility of the TubeShark was also a selling point for Thompson as he often has to move the bender around his shop. “If we’re doing a full interior cage, the measuring takes the longest amount of time, not the bending—if you’re using the right piece of equipment,” Thompson says. “Once the measurements are made and marked, I just line the tubes up and start bending. As long as my marks are where they need to be, each piece of tube will be identical.”
The TubeShark portable tube and pipe bender has a large presence in the automotive aftermarket off-road products industry, especially among those fabricating road cages and chassis. The benders has also been adopted by customers that make wake board towers for speed boats, lumber racks, farm products, food processing plants and in other industries. It can also bend squares, an added benefit. “That gives the bending machine added versatility that many [customers] look for,” Walker says.
Rock sliders and racks
3D-Offroad will bend tubes between 1⁄2-inch and 2 inches in diameter with wall thicknesses from 1⁄8 inch to 3⁄16 inches. Thompson has three employees but the shop does work for giant brands like Toyota Motor Manufacturing Co. as well as one-off requests from consumer hobbyists in need of customized gear for their vehicles. “I’ve had requests from people coming in asking for a roof rack for their huge van, or someone with a camper that wanted to add a bike rack to it. We had another want us to create a tire carrier for their truck. We’ll pretty much make whatever it is a customer needs.”
The TubeShark is a portable tube shaping and bending machine that bends vertically, which works especially well in small shop spaces with tall ceilings.
Accuracy is essential as roll cages are outfitting trucks used by outdoors enthusiasts scaling rocky landscapes. “We do rock sliders on Toyota Tacoma trucks. Someone comes in after getting too close to hitting their truck body on a rock and decide to invest in some rock sliders,” explains Thompson. “I get the drawing done, build it and outfit the customer’s car. Then I take that drawing and present it to Toyota and see if they’d like to order a few of them to have on hand to sell at area dealerships for customers looking to buy a truck already set up with a rock slider.”
The tube notcher on the TubeShark can cut precision notches in a number of different metals, ranging from 1⁄2-inch to 3-inch diameters. The notches are gap-free from 0 degrees to 60 degrees in thin- or thick-wall tubing and pipe.
Another accessory offered by TubeShark is the ITS system that allows users to bend thinner wall material on a tighter radius. “By adding this accessory you will be able to bend these types of projects without collapsing or kicking the material,” says Walker. The mandrel inserts retract as it bends and maintains a round, smooth bend. “It’s an add-on that not everyone might need but when needed, it’s a good addition,” she adds.
3D-Offroad installs an unpainted rear cage onto a 1985 Toyota truck.
Repeatability and durability have allowed Thompson to bend over 10,000 feet of material through the TubeShark using the original dies. He is only now starting to think about ordering a new set of dies from GRB. “That’s the beauty of this machine, I buy a few parts and it’s like new again,” Thompson says. “Anything that can wear out is easy to replace.” MM
