Smooth sexy Limited Edition Sliders. (hair brained)

[FR-425]

While abusing my 94' Ex Limited off road,

I noticed the the running boards are pretty sturdy.

They are in the right location, have good dimensions and sturdy mounts.

But they are very jaggy on the bottom and the plastic is, well; Plastic.

On one occasion if the running boards were off I would have destroyed both doors on the passenger side.

So I set out to build the (I think) first set of Limited edition (retain the running boards) Sliders.

So here they are: Hair-brained, what were you thinking, engineering what?

Some 3/16 a 50 ton press brake and a plasma-cutter, and you end up with this:

That's a big sucka!.....

Fit, weld, grind, drill, double check and before you know it.. .. ... ..

 

[Stic-o]

They look good...but what happens when you rip the door frames from the rest of the body now?

Your slider is now stronger the the body. You may want think about a few braces to the frame.

 

[FR-425]

Yep, got the braces fab'd up, just haven't welded them in yet.

Already pulled up the carpet and put backing plates on the body mounts to keep the body mounts from pulling through the floor pan.

 

[Brian1]

Those look great, nice work! I would suggest picking 1 - mount to the body OR mount to the frame and not both. I made the mistake of using both and my body got torn up a little bit because of the frame and body flex not being equal. I would stick with the body mounting like you already have and maybe add a few more bolts to spread the load around. Member Perry mounted his sliders similar to yours and IIRC they worked great and took hits well. I could not find his build on his sliders though, it was a long time ago.

GJarrett's version on his 2nd Gen: http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=53018

 

[MidnightRebel07]

They look good but I would mount them to the frame and box them in on the ends for strength. You can do a shop test before the next trail run by using a forklift or high lift jack to lift the truck up by the sliders to find any weak points if any. I did this with my sliders and glad I did because I needed to add bigger gussets from the brackets to the frame.

 

[FR-425]

Copy that, Brian.

My supports are just going on either side of the middle body mount to the floor pan with large load spreader plates. Triangle'd from the 2/3's points to center.

No frame-to-slider connections.

With these giant 3/16" "U" channels on there the truck is noticeably more rigid.

Probably a good solution for going doorless or tube doors.

 

[FR-425]

Thanks for the insight and ideas, it can only get better with input.

 

[FR-425]

Took almost a full 72" x 48" sheet!

112 pounds total.

 

[RangerX]

I know it hardly rains there, but I'd still drill a bunch of holes in the bottom. Otherwise, looks great!

 

[FR-425]

I know it hardly rains there, but I'd still drill a bunch of holes in the bottom. Otherwise, looks great!

Yep, thought of that. Made provision for drainage using hard rubber spacers between the bottom plate and the brackets. You can see 1/4" of daylight through there.

Going for "smooth" bottom, slippery sliders.

 

[BKennedy]

For what you want and how you wheel, I think they will be fine. Don't think they can support the weight of the vehicle without warping but they should return to nearly straight. I like them. Keep the purple purple!!!

 

[FR-425]

I expect the first marks to be from the red rock in MOAB.

Good times in the 4x4 arena!

 

[RockRanger]

I like the concept.

 

[colintrax]

I like it but I'd suggest frame mounting. However you'd have to be careful how close they are to the running boards. Don't want to start flexing on the trails and crush the running boards

 

[BackBone]

Those are awesome!

I had a simliar idea except I don't have the skill to build it.

I got the idea after seeing this Teraflex video (J--p): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBzrjjCPiJU

I cant help it, those Teraflex videos are funny!

 

[BKennedy]

Did you test them yet with a floor jack? Get a wheel off the ground and take a picture!!
I looked at the pictures again. Someone is real talented with a press brake to make those tight bends so accurately.

 

[FR-425]

Did you test them yet with a floor jack? Get a wheel off the ground and take a picture!!
I looked at the pictures again. Someone is real talented with a press brake to make those tight bends so accurately.

Not gonna get crazy until the struts are in. Then I'll air it out with the fork lift. (Floor jack not tall enough)

And yes Tony at Allstate steel-fab has some real skill on that old press.

He really had to take his time to "sneak" up on those two 45* bends. (Go to far and it's junk)

 

[FR-425]

I was willing to spend the extra time to do the two 45's rather than just chunk on a box.

If I couldn't do so as to not screw up the looks of the running boards then I would just remove them and slap a 2x4 box on the rocker.

Spent about 10 hours just to get that slight turn in the front and trim the ends at an angle to the keep it clean looking.

That is the build plan for this truck; keep all the Limited niceties in place, but still have a capable rig and nearly invisible armor set up.

The front winch and recovery points will follow the same concept. Not seen until needed.

Convenient that they put those nice fair-lead holes in the bumper already.

Nobody at work has even noticed the sliders are on yet; so I guess I got it right.

 

[FR-425]

Tested !!

And they stayed put. ... Nice!

Had both front tires off the ground on one stair-case, chassis drag'n down hill mess.

The hit in the first pic was a bone jar'n smash! oooops! didn't see that hole... ...

 

[FR-425]

Braces were added..

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=406047