Drilled and tapped. I have four 1/4"x3"x5" plates to bolt on. They will become the "landing" pads for the round tube. There will be a left and right side tube starting at the receiver (with clearance to remove the pin) and extending out to the corner and wrap around to the rear tire. Each side will have three anchor points to the frame and be sturdy enough to lift the truck with a Jack-All (hopefully).
I made some brackets at work. At top of the pic you have the mounts to anchor the rear slider directly behind the rear wheels off the side of the frame. Middle of pic is the mounts to replace the rear most bed mount that I removed as part of the rear frame channel. And at the bottom right is the four plates to bolt the rear sliders to the back of the frame. Bottom left is the 1/2" plates used above to tap into.
I've got to mention the I-beam I put across the garage. It is working perfectly to lift the truck bed on and off and on and off and on and off and on and on and on...
Here I am positioning the rear most bed mount for welding. Because the original rear frame member was a C channel and my mod is a tube the bed mount is ahead of the tube. I didn't put it on the frame rail like the others because at that spot there is a cutout - so I put it on my tube mod.
Here is a shot of the scab plates for the rear bumper tubes.
I made this bracket out of 3/16" material above (the pic on the tailgate) but I decided to thicken up to 1/4". The goal is to protect the bed with sliders that "slide" rather than "bend" over obstacles.
The bracket in pic two is going to replace the factory one directly aft of the rear axle (center of pic three) and anchor the rear slider.
You may have noticed the beginnings of my rear tank in the last post. When last I mentioned it I had resolved to go with stainless steel for a water tank. Careful consideration has led me to go with an aluminum diesel fuel tank in this location. I am still doing a midship diesel tank as well. My basic theory is that having fuel inside the cab is not ideal in a daily driver. So I will have two tanks between the frame rails and none in the cab. Water, when needed, may be in a tank in the cab or in the bed - dunno yet. I made up the bottom and sides in one piece from 0.188 5052 aluminum. I brought it home to test fit before adding baffles and the top. Notice the two sets of notches approx. 2" wide and 3" deep. They will straddle the cross-members on the underside of the bed shown in pic two. They will create three expansion chambers, one at the front, middle and rear. The center section will not really be an expansion chamber because the filler tube will be plumbed into it. The front and rear will be "air locked" and provide expansion room. At the moment I plan to use this tank as the auxiliary and have a pump to transfer the fuel to the main tank when needed.
The filler for the rear tank will be cut into the side of the box behind the wheel arch. Once my bed drawers and other things are in the bed, the filler wont be visible anyway.
So I have arranged to borrow a friends tubing bender for this weekend. I ordered two lengths each of 2"x0.120 ERW, 1.5"x0.120 ERW and 1-3/4"x0.120 DOM and had them delivered to my workplace. We finish work at 11:00 AM on Fridays so I'll be sending the via local courier to my house Friday afternoon (I don't have a truck that moves). I have fabbed up a quick rack system to get the tubing off of the floor and out from underfoot.
I have been busy getting things ready for this weekend. First, I have kept the rear fuel tank progressing by tacking the corners together and the baffles in - still need to fab the top. B) I have made a second set of bolt plates for the rear bumper - I plan on making two rear bumpers, one with sliders and rear corner protection and one with just simple tube hoops. Thirdly, I have sketched out a plan for my main sliders. I will be bolting three plates to each side of the frame that wrap under the frame - they will have 4 bolts in the side and two on the bottom. Off of that plate will come a 2"x4"x0.120 tube that I will cut and re-weld in a taper down to 2"x2". These three rectangle/square tubes will have a 2" round ERW running just under the widest part of the body between the wheels. Then there will be a 1.5" round ERW just outboard and a bit higher than the 2".
I have the bolt plates and 2x4 tube here at home to hold up and visualize if it's gonna work.
I am also going to bend up 1.5" tube from the front bumper to the main slider and 1-3/4" DOM for the main parts of the roll cage this weekend - time permitting. My friend needs his tubing bender back Tuesday for his business.
Finished the tubing rack. Each arm holds my 200Lbs. There is another one out of frame so thats 1000 Lbs. The garage is about 23' wide inside so a full length will fit up there.
Had a few minutes at work to fab up some parts for this weekend. Here are the plates that will attach my sliders to the frame. They are 3/8" thick 4.5" wide and run the full 5" height and 2" width of the frame. I sheared the material from 3/8"x6" flat bar, put a radius on the corners and smoothed the edges on a belt sander. I used a 3" bottom Vee die and about 15 tons of the 60 ton press. I tried the 2" and 2-1/2" dies but the material just cracked (not big enough radius).
Also cut out the pie shape to taper the arms that come off the frame - I used the big band saw at work.
So I thought I would tack one side together and see what's what. Everything is still mobile (movable) - I just want to see how it all works together.
Tacked up three pieces - one each at 16, 17, 18" plus the 3/8" plate. The different lengths are due to the frame tapering.
This is the basic cross section of my slider. There will be provisions for a High-Lift jacking points as well as a boot friendly step below the front section of the bed.
So there is:
A 3/8" plate that will be bolted to the frame (6 bolts in each)
A 2"x4"x0.125 wall rec tube tapered to 2"x2" (taper is to clear the body and reduce to 2" for the round tube)
A 2"x0.120 round ERW tube sitting half under and half outside the body
A 1.5"x0.120 round ERW tube sitting off the 2" at a slight upward angle
Some of you may say that I should go heavier but I think I am OK for a couple reasons: A) I am not making a rock crawler or even a hard core trail rig. It's a daily driver/ expedition type rig. 2) One reason everything is bolt on is I can learn from use and make changes as I go if required.
I stuck three arms on the frame to thunk some more about the details. One thing I am thunking about is whether I should angle the arms so they come off the frame perpendicular to the long axis of the truck or just come off at 90 degrees to the frame (which is tapered). I suppose it doesn't matter in the long rum...er...run. I tied a string from center to center of the hubs to get a straight line. With the taper of the cab, frame, side step it's hard to eyeball a straight line. The string doesn't show vertical level because the springs are old and sagging in the front - but it does show a straight line down the side of the truck to see how far out to come with the arms.
Thanks 65 - I think so too. And if not I'll just make it stronger.
Some fun this evening:
Borrowed the tubing bender and the 1.5, 1.75 and 2" dies - she barely fits in the Rav4
Had the tubing delivered from work. I know - I should put it in my rack. Turns out some sizes came in 24' lengths so they are about three feet to long. Oh well, at least I have a place for the offcuts.
Started with the rear bumper/ slider. Came out pretty good. the lengths and bend angles aren't too hard, but the "twist" between bends is challenge to make twice at the same (although opposite) angle.
Although I need to concentrate on bending so I can maximize my limited time with the bender I had to tack these in place so I can build the 1.5" tube that comes off them.
So far so good. I worked out the kinks in my bend technique, , and I'm still having fun. Don't know how much I'll do tomorrow, being the 14th of Feb and all. Might be a good idea to hang around the all day, especially since we managed to dump the kids at the sister-in-law's for the day (she's single... again)
Keep in mind the springs are currently flat and these are 31" tires. I will be installing OME 2.5" springs and 33" tires - and new fenders.
Would have been nice if the radius of the bender matched the fender rad. These brush guards will be removable with a few bolts for daily driving duties. Also I will be adding a loop of smaller tube to protect the signal.
I kept it pretty close. These J4 series tend to look like farm tractors with these front guards coming down the sides. Don't get me wrong - others I have seen, even vintage ones, are perfectly functional and form does follow function. I'm just attempting to make mine look good . The trouble is really the tubing covers up the lines of the truck, which in my opinion are very iconic.
I made my main slider parts as well.
These go on the rear corners.
Tomorrow I'll do the main roll cage pieces. Just the pieces for now - I'll actually put together the cage and everything else after the bender goes back do my buds shop.
The garage is about 23' wide inside so a full length will fit up there.
at work to fab up some parts for this weekend. Here are the plates that will attach my sliders to the frame. They are 3/8" thick 4.5" wide and run the full 5" height and 2" width of the frame. I sheared the material from 3/8"x6" flat bar, put a radius on the corners and smoothed the edges on a belt sander. I used a 3" bottom Vee die and about 15 tons of the 60 ton press. I tried the 2" and 2-1/2" dies but the material just cracked (not big enough radius).
, and I'm still having fun. Don't know how much I'll do tomorrow, being the 14th of Feb and all. Might be a good idea to hang around the 
all day, especially since we managed to dump the kids at the sister-in-law's for the day 
