Dom wall thickness?

[TrxR]

I am wanting to build a set of tube style running boards for a snowmobile project and was wondering what wall size would be strong enough for this project. The tubing size I was going to use is 3/4" DOM for the outer frame and 5/8" for the crossbars but not sure what thickness to use. As you all know these have to take all the weight of the rider.

Here is an example of what I am talking about.



Would I be better off finding someone to weld me a set of aluminum's to save weight or would the weight of the steel one not be that bad?

Thanks

 

[chuckorlando]

065 would hold you up just fine I would think. Especially with all that webbing.

 

[xalky]

My first reaction is that round painted tubing like the ones shown will be very slippery to stand on especially with snow under your boots or just snow flying up from the ride... Are you making tubing running boards to save weight? Or do you just like the way they look? I'd be more inclined to make them out of some aluminum grating on top.

 

[TrxR]

I like the looks but mainly for strength , width and snow clearing. I plan on putting some grating or some self tappers in for grip.

 

[samthedog]

I would think a tube frame and some galvanized dimpled sheet would be lighter and have much more grip.

Having spent time on ATV's when younger mud was slippery enough and required aggressive grip. Snow is even worse, especially when compacted to ice under boots.

Paul.

 

[xalky]

I have some 3/4" .062 square steel tubing that would work well too. I like the idea of square tubing to give you more surface area for grip. After I posted my reply I thought about putting grit in the paint for traction. You could paint just the top side of the running board with the grit paint. You could buy sandblasting media which is usually graded to a standard grit size, to use as paint grit.

Just throwing around ideas. )