THE PORTAL HUB - Pinzgauers, Haflingers, Volvo 303s and more!

I am making new rub rails for my 710. Mine are in bad shape and I am not confident they are original. Does anybody know if the counterbores for the screws were plugged from the factory?

Don't think so. If they are plugged it will be very annoying to get at the screws that hold them on. My understand ing is that they are a sacrifice piece
for the side of the vehicle.

There may be washers stuck in the holes.

I had rub rails made identical to the OEM. Mahogany with an M6 35 mm hex cap + washer. Got the screws at Ace Hardware.

Pinz710m2 wrote:I had rub rails made identical to the OEM. Mahogany with an M6 35 mm hex cap + washer. Got the screws at Ace Hardware.

Did you have them made in tongue/groove sections like the original, or one "long" rail? If you've got a source that wants to make some more, my 710M could certainly use some.

Jack Russell Racing wrote:
Did you have them made in tongue/groove sections like the original, or one "long" rail? If you've got a source that wants to make some more, my 710M could certainly use some.

Tongue/groove?
Please explain
Thanks,

My rub rails, although they appear to be one long rail, are actually about 5 sections of wood with a tongue and groove joinery between them. I assume (uh oh!) they were made like this to increase the strength of the rail, instead of one single piece which could warp/crack more easily.

I'm not near the truck now, but I'll get some pictures when I have a chance. Mine is a 1978 710m (THUN), FWIW.

Speaking as a former carpenter, finger jointed wood is generally considered to be a poor replacement for dimensional lumber (which is scarce). I cannot imagine a single benefit of finger jointed lumber over a single non-joined board.

It does not have the same structural capacities, the joints allow ingress of moisture leading to joint failure, and it's ugly to boot (no offense intended JackRussellRacing, just my opinion).

I have never noticed finger jointed rub rails on a Pinz before, and I'd highly doubt that yours are original to the truck. Then again, ya see something new every day...

I sent the info via PM. Joseph Woodworking
near Chicago can make just about anything.
Mine are Mahogany so they can take some
abuse. They guy visibly cringed when I told
him they get 2 coats of primer, 3 coats of paint
and one coat of satin clear paint to make them
match the finish of my truck. Super nice guys.
Ask them and they'll make anything. ( He was
talking about making a wood hard top! lol)

I made mine from metal channel 3/4 x 1 1/2
The wood got sacrificed years ago on some very unforgiving rocks.

I want metal rub rails something fierce!!

Is that a table hanging off the rails? More pics if so please..

Yes it is.
When I made the rails I did not want them against the body of the pinz so I used 1/8 thick washers to stand them off so water did not get behind and cause rust conditions.

I thought about what else could function in that space and I purchased aluminum plate and had it bent to form a table about 10 out x 15 wide for morning coffee when traveling.

I had another plate made for keeping the stuff from sliding out of the bed when going up hill as I saw on a trip when the rear door came open on a particularly steep incline. It seemed funny at the time
to see stuff strewn all over the trail but really it was agony for the owner of all that stuff.

I'll post some pics tomorrow as I have none in my archive at the moment.

Originally the metal rails were intended as a base for a top rack. but it never happened.

I've made them up using clear well-seasoned treated southern yellow pine. Luckily, the local lumber yard always stocks good clear 2x12's for use in stair stringers, so they're even long enough for 712's. Being well-seasoned, they don't want to warp any more and seem to hold paint very well. They work well as rub rails as it's pretty strong and aren't easily damaged, plus the price is very attractive (costs about $10 for both rails).

The worst part is having to lay out and bore all the countersunk holes, but good jig in the drill press helps speed things up.

Metal "U" channel is pretty much indestructible and I really like the look of my truck with such rub rails. However I am about to change them and I am in the process of sourcing some "D" profile rubber bumper strip of suitable dimensions (used for truck loading berths, usually) to install instead.
The reason why I want to change them is the weight and the fact that no matter how much I paint them, (POR15 plus rattlecan-applied topcoat, plus LineX on the underside to protect from road grime), I end up with rusty marks around the screws (which are stainless). I guess that lighter profile with better quality steel would give better results.