couple of questions about george's sliders

[Rookie2]

I agree with Christo. Definitely leave a 1/2 inch gap between the slider and bottom of body. The other issue I had was the sliders moving around on the frame, just a bit. A little adjusting with steel shims on the bottom of the u-bolts has helped, but maybe angling the u-bolts to take up the slack would solve this issue. (Lean the top to the rear, the bottom to the front to make the gap on the frame smaller.)

I built George's design sliders, using 1/8th thickness and a 2x6 rail. I wish I would have gone with the 3/16ths - maybe 1/4 inch on the outriggers. The sliders do flex into the body, just a bit. They have left 1/8 inch divots in the pinch welds - nothing to worry about yet.

1/2" of deflection over an 8" distance would be alot of flexural deflection.
I'd venture to say most of your deflection is due to movement in the connection to the frame rail (rotation of the mounting, possibly small rotatation in the frame, elongation of the U-bolts etc..). Seems like the key to minimizing movement here is the rigidity of the attachment to the frame rail. Tack welding as Slee suggested should help. I don't think thicker walled outriggers would really have helped that much.

Have you put a jack on it to confirm where the movement is occuring?

A bracket designed with 2 U-bolts might help, but from a rigidity standpoint this U-bolt setup seems less than ideal.

:beers:
Rookie2

 

[crash]

Rookie2,

I did put a jack under the slider and found it flexed just a little bit, not too much (I don't remember the mearsurement). The problem really shows up under impact - dropping the truck onto the slider from a couple feet up (slipping down off a rock, etc.).

I am not sure exactly what is flexing; frame, attachment (ubolt), or outrigger. The one addition to George's design that I added was to weld 8 inch long straps across the bottom of the slider where the outrigger is welded to the rail. I was hoping to reinforce the weak area where the 2x3 outrigger is cut down to fit under the body (2x2ish).

I really do like the 2 x 6 main rail. I added some grip tape and it is a very stable step, wide enough for my wife to use easily - a requirement for removal of the running boards. Plus the dogs can also use it as a step.

 

[sleeoffroad]

Have you put a jack on it to confirm where the movement is occuring?

You will not get it to delfect even close to that by jacking it up. It is not the outriggers flexing. Mostly when you take a knock on the trail, it would be the body moving on the rubber mounts that hits the slider and not the slider hitting the boddy.

Christo

 

[concretejungle]

You will not get it to delfect even close to that by jacking it up. It is not the outriggers flexing. Mostly when you take a knock on the trail, it would be the body moving on the rubber mounts that hits the slider and not the slider hitting the boddy.

Christo

Interesting. I guess if i got some elastomer and cut it in 1/4" pieces and glued or screwed them into the slider, hopefully any deflection or body movement causing body-to-slider contact will result in contact of the elastomers instead of metal to metal.

 

[crash]

You will not get it to delfect even close to that by jacking it up. It is not the outriggers flexing. Mostly when you take a knock on the trail, it would be the body moving on the rubber mounts that hits the slider and not the slider hitting the boddy.

Christo

Excellent point. I didn't even think of the body movement in relation to the frame.

Tim

 

[mabrodis]

I had my sliders (Christo's) as tight to the body as I could, I think they looked the best there and gave me the most ground clearance (Christo actually put them lower, I jammed them up tight ). After 2+ years of hard wheeling dropping onto them from 1-2' drops (dropping onto them, not sliding onto them), I have a small 1/4"-3/8" dent on the pinch-weld, which I couldn't care less about. They will all deflect some, and that is what you want, you don't necessarily want to transfer all that energy back to the frame, since it will flex/beatup something, it's better for it to deflect some, bolts absorb some load, steel absorbs some, maybe the pinch-weld does some (keep the sliders away from the body if you don't want that one). In any case with the amount of weight those sliders have to support with a dropping shock load, I'm surprised they don't just snap off and come through the floor. I know I have thought mine were coming through the floor from hitting them so hard.

Edit: I don't doubt the fact it's the body moving and hitting the slider, but IMO it doesn't matter, they do what they are designed to do, keep you on top of the rocks, if a tiny dent in the pinch-weld is a problem for you, then you probably shouldn't be slamming down on big rocks..

 

[alia176]

Edit: if a tiny dent in the pinch-weld is a problem for you, then you probably shouldn't be slamming down on big rocks..

Confucious Mark as spoken