4runner running board/sliders - how to deal with body flex. (1 Viewer)

[Jetboy]

So I'm thinking about building some sliders for my 4runner. I don't use it for hardcore offroading - I have an FJ 40 on 38's for that - but I do take 1-2 trips a year to southern Utah and put it through its paces as an expedition type vehicle car camping in the parks or escalante.

I want to retain as much of the original look as possible. My thought is to build sliders that incorporate both plastic end-caps from the original running boards (limited edition style). Basically just matching a tube size close to the stock curve and then adding a full plate to mimic the original look. Then paint them silver to match.

The one issue I'm wondering about is how to deal with body flex and how much of an issue it will be. The factory mounts are attached to tabs off the body. They aren't strong enough for real sliders. If I attach to the frame, I'm concerned I'll end up with rubbing between the body and the running boards where they meet if I tuck them up as tight as the factory set up.

Any great ideas on how to manage this other than leaving gaps for movement? If I need to leave some space, how much?

 

[Jeremy9A]

It's not so much the body flex that will be the problem. The sliders will most likely flex up to an inch when the vehicle is resting on them. So I think the sliders flexing will be your problem.

 

[Brake Weight]

There's not gonna be body flex like on a unibody car since the 4runner is frame based.

 

[Jetboy]

I suppose there are two major problems to deal with then: The difference between body flex and frame flex under normal articulation and flex of the sliders under load. The frame flex might not be such a big issue. 4runners have pretty stiff frames. Much less frame flex than my last minitruck I would guess.

Unfortunately that probably means I'll have to have some sort of gap. A big gap between the slider and body looks sloppy to me. I know it's common and lots of people have them. I prefer the visual appearance of gap free lines that mimic those of factory components. Maybe that's not possible?

 

[Jetboy]

I'm thinking something along the lines of these: except with the flare at both ends, a full top sheet, and use the factory end caps to make it all look factory fit - or possibly make new fiberglass end caps that flow nicely into the lines of the flares.

I'm in the process of building a sailboat in my garage right now. It's a honeycomb composite set up so I already have all the "stuff" for building composite components, so building new end caps to match the body lines would be pretty easy to do.

Or maybe I should just stick with these sliders:

 

[Brake Weight]

I just crawled out from under my wife's gx470 and her running boards could easily be mounted to a set of custom sliders.