Second gen slider project

[joshuaj0214]

I want to begin fabbing up a set of sliders for my truck but my rockers are pretty much gone inside and out so i was wondering if anyone has cut the rockers under the door gap and just done away with them? My thought is I would be able to have the sliders up higher for more clearance and do away with the rotted out rockers rather then trying to fix them. I have seen this done on other rigs just not on a second gen.

Also if anyone has pics of their rockers cut off during repair id love to see em! id like to get an idea of what I'm getting into before i start cutting! thanks in advance for input and I'm open to ideas and constructive criticism!

 

[joshuaj0214]

No takers?!?! I'd love some input! I also Googled it and found some images of the rockers I was looking for. It looks like I'd have to weld some sheet metal in behind the dogleg to block it off. I'm not 100% sold on this just thinking this one out!

 

[vroomzoomboom]

josh, let me check if i still have picks of evil when i did the rust repair. i had to chop both rockers in and out off

 

[joshuaj0214]

Yours is one of the ones that popped up on google! Took me to your thread

 

[vroomzoomboom]

i only posted one or 2. i have a few more on my hard drive. just waiting for a image resizer to download lol

 

[vroomzoomboom]

drivers rear facing forward

passengers rear facing forward

passengers side behind front fender

passengers door

passengers front facing rear

hope those help you josh. also wanted to mention, between the rear wheel well, and door, there is a piece of metal with a bunch of foam on it from factory that seals the floor to the rear 1/4. you might want to reach up there and yank it out, or you could have a pretty good fire going on when you are welding. i never put it back in mine, but then again, she doesnt see water the way yours does.
hope those help you

 

[vroomzoomboom]

oh, and if you want to know, what i used for panels was i chopped the rockers off a 4 door, and shorten them at the front. for the dog leg (if you want to call it that for a 2 door, that or lower part of the rear 1/4) i cut the lower part of the rear door on the donor, and welded it to the rocker panel. worked great, and didnt have to make anything.

 

[joshuaj0214]

Thanks a lot Tim for the pics and info! Looks like either way there is gonna be a lot of welding and work. I definitely want to do sliders but I was trying to kill 2 birds with one stone and gain some more clearance at the same time. I want to pull the plastic off and see what I have but I know it's bad and once I do it I'm committed to it! Another problem is every single explorer in the junkyards around me is rotted out just as bad if not worse so I can't cut one up like you did. I'd have to make a lot of it either way. I also like the idea of doing something different and not have to worry about them rotting out again

 

[vroomzoomboom]

what i am trying to figure out (unless you have already) is would you weld it to both the body, then come down to the frame with brackets, or just the body. i cant remember how lindsy and jeff did morgan. i am pretty sure they just welded it to the frame and that was it. i am sure you could disguise them pretty easy by flaring or pie cutting the back part of them to meet up with the rear wheel well, but i am sure you know that already

 

[MidnightRebel07]

Here's a couple designs to check out...

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=401949

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=307415&highlight=boat+bottom+sliders

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=227946&page=11

 

[joshuaj0214]

Yes Tim they will be attached to the frame only with maybe a 1/2" gap between the body.

This is exactly what I was talking about MidnightRebel07. The white ranger is one of the ones I saw that gave me the idea! I want to use a section of box tubing directly under the rocker and tapered like Tim mentioned to blend into the wheel wells then come off of that with a round tube and legs to give a little more protection. I have seen a few kits like this for jeeps and Tacomas and it looks really nice. It would be nice to have something to stand on to wash the roof again too!

 

[joshuaj0214]

I have some pics of the sliders I want to build but my elite status ran out and I can't post em!

 

[vroomzoomboom]

I have some pics of the sliders I want to build but my elite status ran out and I can't post em!

photo bucket joush

 

[Mike's brother]

I've seen your bumper work, so I'm subscribing here to see where this slider project goes. No doubt great things ahead.

Sliders, a rear tire carrier and a front winch mount are on deck for my first fab-work efforts.

 

[joshuaj0214]

I've seen your bumper work, so I'm subscribing here to see where this slider project goes. No doubt great things ahead.

Sliders, a rear tire carrier and a front winch mount are on deck for my first fab-work efforts.

Thanks man I appreciate it! I wanted to do a tire carrier first but my rockers are in really bad shape and getting worse.

 

[joshuaj0214]

OK I finally got around to renewing my elite status! Here are the pics

 

[MidnightRebel07]

Nice, you make those or order them from someone. I like em'. What's the length?

 

[joshuaj0214]

No this is just a Google image of what I want to build. I haven't started yet.

 

[MidnightRebel07]

Ok, looks like a good setup. Are you going to weld or bolt the sliders on?

 

[joshuaj0214]

I'm going to bolt them on just in case I ever have to remove them. I am also going with three supports to the frame instead of just 2 like the pic. I'm hoping to get started on this in the next few weeks. I'm still trying to decide weather I'm going to cut the rockers totally out or just replace them and do the sliders underneath.