MountaineerGreen's Sliders

[MountaineerGreen]

Week after next, before Christmas, I have a few days off and am going to make some sliders.

I am going to buy a used chop saw on ebay and should have it before I get ready to start.

I have read many, many slider threads and have the general idea of what I want to do, but am debating on what materials to use.

Round?
Square?

Cold Rolled?
DOM?

I am leaning towards some heavy wall approx 2"- 3" round tubing to try to keep a factory running boards kind of look. I will remove my factory steps and put these in their place. I looked at a 4 door X today with factory tube style steps, and I think I will mimic that general style and spacing.

I am new to this whole sliders thing, so your input would be much appreciated- thanks!

 

[IZwack]

I dont think you should ask us or else we'll "taint" your creative mind. I say you go with what you feel works, build it, and then post pics I'm sure you can come up with concepts that are unique. Just dont spend the extra $$ on DOM and save it for the X-mas presents

 

[MountaineerGreen]

Christmas is all bought and wrapped-

So just heavy wall mild steel will work?

 

[IZwack]

So just heavy wall mild steel will work?

Yeyeah

 

[Blee1099]

I'd go with 2x3x1/4" wall rect tubing for the bars and then 2"x2"x1/4" wall square for the arms and 1/4" plate for the mounts to the frame.. Just look at my old truck's slider thread.. Those suckers worked great..

 

[IZwack]

If you really want to get fancy with this, you can add some UHMW strips to the bottom side of the sliders -- this protects the metal from rocks and allows the vehicle to slide over rocks a lot easier (from a rock's point of view, UHMW is more "slippery" than metal).

http://item.express.ebay.com/__Plas...1QQptdnZPlasticsQ20EquipmentQQcmdZExpressItem

 

[MountaineerGreen]

IZwack - I can get that stuff through work free or very cheap

Blee, I read your thread when searching for ideas- Ill go back and reread

 

[IZwack]

IZwack - I can get that stuff through work free or very cheap

Hey fantastic Send me you're left over afterwards

 

[RockRanger]

I'd go with 2x3x1/4" wall rect tubing for the bars and then 2"x2"x1/4" wall square for the arms and 1/4" plate for the mounts to the frame.. Just look at my old truck's slider thread.. Those suckers worked great..

Id do it this way. Mine are 2"x2"x1/4" square for both the main part and for the braces going back to the frame. I added a 1.5" tube off the side more to pivot on then to protect from rocks hitting the rocker. Ive seen more bent tubed sliders then I have squae ones.

 

[MountaineerGreen]

That makes sense, I looked at Blee's and they look pretty good. And I think from an engineering standpoint, square or rectangle is stronger than round from the side. Think of a beer can-

Plus, rectangle or square will be easier to work with. Ive bout decided to go rectangular. 2 x 3 probably .25 wall. I'm not going to fool around with anything lighter.

I still have some 4" wide .25 thick plate left from my superlift work, which is a big plus.

 

[MountaineerGreen]

I washed the underside today, so I can work without crap falling on me. I took some pictures of my factory running board brackets. I was thinking of attaching the sliders to the frame and making some tabs to bolt the sliders in the holes on the body for extra strength. That way there would be no way they could cram into the body.

My question is, if I do this will I risk breaking something when the frame flexes? Will this cause noise having the body bolted directly to the frame? Other problems?


Here is a profile picture of my running boards- I am going to move the sliders out a little bit more than they are.

 

[IZwack]

Here is a profile picture of my running boards- I am going to move the sliders out a little bit more than they are.

I would advise against making your sliders wider than your tires because they will get you hung up on trees where your tires can squeeze through but your sliders can not.

 

[MountaineerGreen]

Good point, I do want them wider than the body though to help prevent body damage. Eventually, I want some wider wheels, I think my rear track is too narrow.

So, what do you think about tying the sliders to the body?

 

[IZwack]

Good point, I do want them wider than the body though to help prevent body damage. Eventually, I want some wider wheels, I think my rear track is too narrow.

Oh ok, i understand.

 

[MountaineerGreen]

IZ, I appreciate your input on this, I am going to try to find the best width to stick them out, I don't want them to look silly or unnecessarily stick out, but I want body protection and functional steps. Its going to take some time go get it just right.

Has anybody done what I am thinking about doing as far as bolting the sliders to the body? Is there a reason others haven't?

 

[ChopsExploder]

i have not done this but im interested in what the outcome is. keep me updated.

 

[IZwack]

Has anybody done what I am thinking about doing as far as bolting the sliders to the body? Is there a reason others haven't?

I think the main reason why is because the body will crumple upwards once a good amount of weight is put on it. For example, say you were straddling two large rocks and one of the tires were to slip off of the rock. Well most slips happen pretty quickly with plenty of energy coming down on impact. If the sliders were bolted to the body, the slider will force the body to crumple upwards or at least bend as the slider will act as a lever bending whatever it is bolted to.

 

[MountaineerGreen]

So if it tied them to the frame with heavy plates, probably 3 per side, braced much like Blee's are, then tied tabs to the body, do you think that will still bend the body up?

I am not wanting to bolt to the body for strength, rather to keep it from flexing either the sliders or the frame and bending the body.

Make sense?

 

[IZwack]

Oh okay, I think I understand what you're saying.

But I think the body is supposed to flex a little bit. That is why it is on rubber mounts. If you were to tie the rock slider to the chassis and the body, then that would elliminate any flex from the body. As to whether or not thats good, I dunno

 

['97 V8]

I'm going to bolt mine to the frame. Just in case i ever have to remove them for some reason, i just need to unbolt them, instead of breaking out the grinder and grinding down the welds.