Wrapping Stock Grab Bars/Making Rear Grab Handles

Hey y'all,
So I saw some (a lot) of people do this to their Jeeps and I thought it was pretty cool.

I poked around on here and found one guy who will do this if you ship it to him, (https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/paracord-grab-bars.373032/), and of course a few pictures some users submitted showing off their similar work. But, I couldn't find any threads devoted to this, so I figured I would start one. This is my how-to/show me what ya go: Para cord Grab Bars!

So first off, I wanted to do this for a couple different reasons. a) I like the way it looks. And b) para cord is a very useful item to have, you never know when you'll need it. The first thing I thought of when thinking about this is for medical emergencies. Get in a wreck, got a nasty wound, luckily you have several feet of para cord within arms reach to use as a tourniquet, who knows, this mod could save your life. But as the many well-educated people on the forum will tell you, the uses of para cord are virtually limitless. And with the way I did it, everybody in the car will have at bare minimum, one 6' strand within reach. at all times.

I used black 550 "para cord" that I picked up at Walmart. I say "para cord" because I got it from Walmart, meaning it's cheaply made, nowhere near mil-spec, and I highly doubt It will hold 550 lbs. BUT I am on a tight budget, this was quick and easy and only cost me $8 for 100 ft. In the future I will probably redo this with the real stuff (That's how easy of a project this is; I'm willing to redo it!).

So with 100 feet of para cord I was able to wrap:
Front Grab Bars: 13 Ft. x2


Rear Grab Bars: 12 Ft. x2


Grab Handles:
6' for the Core x2
15' for the Outer Wrap x2


I used the remaining 8 feet, cut it in half and partially wrapped the door handles.


And then gathered the scraps and made a cute little keychain


So no prep work needed really, just pop off the handles you want to wrap. By the way, as I found out with the first front handle, to get these off it isn't necessary to remove the pillar cover, just undo the two bolts and pull sharply. The handle should release from the rest of the pillar. For the back just pop the covers to the side and take out the two bolts. I should note that it is NOT necessary for you to have to remove the handles from the truck, you can wrap them with them on, but removing them makes it a whole lot easier to work with.

After that, you can bring them inside and begin wrapping them. I just followed this video(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXfVRZ_hF8g), and after I figured it out, it took me about 5 minutes to wrap each handle (The hardest part is the beginning). You'll note that in the video, he demonstrates at the end that to deploy the para cord, you don't have to unwind or cut the cord, just pull away and it will come off, which is extremely useful.

Then I decided to do the rear grab handles that go behind the seat. I followed this video to do so(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywU9qKaK0R0). On this video, he talks ALOT and it's for a Jeep so not a lot of relevant information for a Tacoma driver in the intro. Skip to 5:20 if you don't want to listen to him gab as much. Also note that I did my grab handle quite a bit longer than he did. Mine is 18", which is what I wanted. I also wanted mine a bit more flexible, so I did not do my knots going down the handle as tight or as bunched up as his. If you want yours more stiff, tighten the knot and push each knot tight against each other like he shows in the video. Also, I did not bother with rotating the orientation of the end loops. I had one going "vertical" and one "Horizontal". So I stuck a carabiner in the vertical one and used that to attach it to my headrest, this way I also have 2 carabiners handy as well.

To do the door handles, I just did the first technique, the key chain was the 2nd.
And that's pretty much it! There are other ways of doing this but this is how I did mine! Hope you enjoyed and of course, please feel free to show of your work below!

 

Very cool mod and something I may consider!

 

This is a great idea! I plan on doing my door handles to keep them clean. I usually have dirty hands when I'm at work and drive a lot. This is perfect for that.

 

Pretty cool.....

 

Ordered 100ft of cord today. Look forward to wrapping the areas that get dirtiest.

 

I have a friend that wrapped the sides of his steering wheel. He is a burn victim and his hands are extremely susceptible to heat and cold making it difficult to drive at times. The 550 cord gave him that freedom back without having to wear heavy gloves.

 

I did this a few months back with color matched paracord lol

 

Great thread to get all info in one spot! Surprised more people haven't made a comment

 

Some of the zipper pulls I made for the rtt

 

Pretty cool looking if you like it. I’ve got some key fobs I’ve made and a rifle sling, it's great for zipper pulls, dummy cording stuff and I have used it to replace boot laces in the past but speed hooks will wear it out pretty quickly (I use the Kevlar reinforced now as they are more abrasion resistant).

Paracord and other thin materials are far from ideal for tourniquets though. If you are worried about needing a tourniquet then learn when and how to use one, buy one and stick it in your first aid kit. The newer CAT models are well researched and designed to work while reducing surrounding tissue damage and increasing the chances of saving the limb. Direct pressure, real pressure- not just holding a dressing in place, will actually stop most bleeding. Your belt or other wide material will work better as a tourniquet if you need to improvise.

Also, most of the commercial paracord is nowhere near the quality of actual MIL-C-5040H Type III, especially the really cheap stuff, and should not be used for securing heavier items and especially not for lifesaving purposes. There are plenty of stories out there, and some actual testing, where folks have had the cheap stuff break at far less than the claimed 550lbs. Here’s a link to one source for real paracord. Note that in the picture the sheath is tightly braided, there are seven strands, each made of three strands and one is different colored.
http://www.theparacordstore.com/camo-green-mil-spec-paracord.html

Yes, actual paracord is useful for all sorts of stuff including parachuting, all manner of bushcraft including tying things such as tarps in place, making pole structures, etc. or keeping you occupied making various crafts but it has no use in actual climbing (I did keep my camera dummy corded with it when I used to climb). I keep a 100’ roll of the stuff in my truck for various small tasks.

 

Yea i get that, and I actually just bought one that I need to put in my first aid kit. But I think you'll agree with me when I say that more often than not, in a true emergency, the ideal option is often not an option. If in the case that I can't reach my first aid kit, or I took it out of my truck for some dumb reason (I wouldn't put it past me), or God forbid I need more than one; it isn't ideal but it may have to do.

Yea this is FOR SURE. I actually just watched a video online yesterday where they compare mil-spec 550 with craft store "550" and they are entirely different. You definitely get what you pay for. I wanted to use 550, and I plan on redoing all of this with the real stuff, I just didn't feel like having to order it at the time, waiting a few days, and pay twice what I already did, especially when there's the chance I do the mod, hate it, take it off and throw it all away. This honestly was just bought on impulse; I saw it at Walmart and bought it, knowing it was not going to be real 550 but if figured it'll work for what I needed. I think over the summer, I'm going to redo all of it, including the grab handles behind the headrest, making them a little shorter, and use the real stuff. I think I'll buy an extra 25 of 50 feet and keep it in my truck somewhere as well.

 

@SDkoncepts808 here bro

 

subd

 

I wouldn't even worry about redoing the front A-pillar grab handles. Over time, sitting in the sun is going to degrade that cord/sheath, to the point that if there ever was an emergency situation where I needed some 550, or it was all I had, I'd rather grab a fresh coil of it out of my truck than spend the time unwrapping degraded cord off a grab handle.

In my opinion wasting money on legit 550 just to do grab handles is unnecessary. If you really want to buy 550 for "emergency" purposes, just keep the good stuff stowed away, and the stuff you have on display just for looks/grip.

If you are using it to wrap a hand tool, where "something is better than nothing" for survival, then that is a different story. Anything regularly exposed to the elements is a waste, EVEN with mil-spec 550.

 

Thats a real good point, I didn't even think of that....