Look great!
ARCHIVE Owl Expedition Step Sliders (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Ramathorn15
- Start date
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Simple appearance. No nonsense tube work. Straight lines. 
I like those sliders just the way they are. Nice work! The design of the sliders is just what I have been trying to find.
I like those sliders just the way they are. Nice work! The design of the sliders is just what I have been trying to find.
ramangain
Clarksonian disciple
I may be in the weird minority here, but I'd love to see something lighter. I love the simple steps design, I'd just like something light. The wheeling I do only very rarely involves slider contact or pivoting. My last rig had less clearance and a longer wheelbase, and the sliders didn't get beat on much, so I felt like the 140 pound sliders were massive overkill.
Would a lighter weight version be possible? Possibly thinner wall tubing? I wonder how much you'd be able to slim it down and still have it reasonably strong for a light duty slider.
Would a lighter weight version be possible? Possibly thinner wall tubing? I wonder how much you'd be able to slim it down and still have it reasonably strong for a light duty slider.
this is another option which is great to have! I was going to make something similar for mine but decided it would take me too long and just a bought a set of metal tech ones during a sale. if this was available back then, I would have gone with these!
I do like these. If I didn't already have MT sliders, I'd likely grab a set of these.
While I'm a fan of powder coating most things, I also love the rattle can for some applications. This is one. Actually, in full disclosure, my TM sliders were powder coated 10 years ago, started to fade a bit, so I rattle-canned over the powder. To give them some grip, I used bed liner - rattle can bed liner - from Home Depot. Two years in and it's holding up great. Lots of grip too.
While I'm a fan of powder coating most things, I also love the rattle can for some applications. This is one. Actually, in full disclosure, my TM sliders were powder coated 10 years ago, started to fade a bit, so I rattle-canned over the powder. To give them some grip, I used bed liner - rattle can bed liner - from Home Depot. Two years in and it's holding up great. Lots of grip too.
What do the attachment points look like? I bought Metal Tech sliders during one of their sales as well. From the look of them, I probably would have gone this direction instead.
My issue with the Metal Techs is that where it attaches hangs about 1-2" below the frame which seems like a good place to get hung up on a rock or something. Do yours have the same mounting tab hanging below the frame?
My issue with the Metal Techs is that where it attaches hangs about 1-2" below the frame which seems like a good place to get hung up on a rock or something. Do yours have the same mounting tab hanging below the frame?
aaronrules
Coolest person you know!
I never really paid attention to protecting this part of the truck. I guess I didn’t think it would ever get hit...until I hit it hard on my trip with @atnolan94 @DirtDawg and @ga12r1 in the Ozarks a while ago.
Those sliders look great. A simple and clean solution.
I have a dumb question... Is there any reason to not weld them straight to the frame? Are the U-joints and/or brackets only for mass production and easy of installation?
I have a dumb question... Is there any reason to not weld them straight to the frame? Are the U-joints and/or brackets only for mass production and easy of installation?
I like them. Good step platform. Keep it as is. Thanks
- Thread starter
- #51
I'll respond to your PM after this!
I may be in the weird minority here, but I'd love to see something lighter. I love the simple steps design, I'd just like something light. The wheeling I do only very rarely involves slider contact or pivoting. My last rig had less clearance and a longer wheelbase, and the sliders didn't get beat on much, so I felt like the 140 pound sliders were massive overkill.
Would a lighter weight version be possible? Possibly thinner wall tubing? I wonder how much you'd be able to slim it down and still have it reasonably strong for a light duty slider.
That's a tough one. These are heavy trucks, so any lighter weight and they would probably not work well as rock sliders. Or the would get damaged on a single good hit. I could possibly do a 1/8" wall for a special order. That would bring it down about 30 lbs per set off hand.
They do have a tab hanging down. It's not quite as much as the others and the brackets have a chamfer to somewhat help with that. That's a difficult one to avoid without drilling through the frame. You could do a U shaped bracket, but that's difficult as well as it had to perfectly match the thickness of the frame so it's not loose at the bottom. There's tradeoffs to each design imo. I can say I've never been hung up on the slider brackets. Plus the tcase cross member bracket hangs lower than mine do.
I personally would never weld anything to my frame unless this was strickly a rock crawler. Having the ability to remove them and "upgrade" or change as you like is good. Also, you never really know how welding to the thin sheet metal of your frame is going to impact it. The heat can cause degradation and possibly strength concerns.
Roger that. Makes good sense. Thanks for the thoughtful reply. Now send me some of those sliders to bolt on!! haha.
I’m in for a set! Also need a set of those mud flaps.
In the prototype pictures there seems to be a gap between slider and body. Will the sliders be tighter to the body in production, or was the gap purposeful to give flex?
They look great and awesome price! I'm interested.
They look great and awesome price! I'm interested.
Zooguy
SILVER Star
Somebody above posted an idea that I thought was really neat about drilling a hole in them and giving the capability to be an air tank. The only problem I can think of with that would be the possibility of moisture getting in from the compressor of being used and would cause the sliders to rust internally weakening them. That could easily be prevented if there was some type of coating applied inside the tubing before assembly but I don't know what that would do to the cost. Could that be discussed possibly?
I think this is a great product and I love the style and price point. I will use the step many times over compared to each rock/tree impact so I am interested. Would you be able to send a pic looking down on the slider/step to see the distance out from the truck? That is really the deal breaker for me - need the step.
I think you would have to use electrophoretic deposition coating or some post assembly to make that work. It would require holes in the sliders (which could be used for air fittings and drains) for cleaning pre treatment and for the ED coating.
Maybe just Fluid Film or something similar to keep it simple.
That seems pretty cost prohibitive or something an individual could do post purchase.
ramangain
Clarksonian disciple
I do believe the KISS theory holds with these sliders to hit the desired price point ....
keep it simple stupid
keep it simple stupid
Zooguy
SILVER Star
Oh i know it would be a moderate cost increase but just tossing out ideas. I am curious about the larger step option 2x8 and its performance.
- Thread starter
- #60
Turns out my supplier only carries 2x8 in .25 or .125 wall. They can special order .188 but at an increased cost unless bought in bulk. I may build a set with the .125 just to test then decide if it's worth it. I'll keep the 2x6 as the primary offering though.
I'm also rethinking the mounting solution. One thing (among many others) that you guys are good at is getting the brain juices flowing. I'm going to keep trying to improve while staying in the budget. Goal for shipping is early spring so they will be ready for spring/summer wheeling.
Stay tuned!
