Hey everyone,

I just finished my roof rack and would like to move onto my rock sliders as I will be tackling Miller Jeep trail in June. Those of you that already have these on your rigs, would you weigh in on the positives and negatives of permanent versus removeable rock sliders? More specifically, does has anyone ever tried a u-bolt to the frame design and is it a good idea? I would like to get some ideas before I start in on mine. Any pictures and advice would be much appreciated!

Your biggest issue will be the Mitsu's use of box-frame techniques. If we had C-channel (like the older Toys) then it would be easier to recommend bolt on. It's difficult to attach with authority to a collapsable cross-section frame...

What Don said on the boxed frame. I haven't done any yet. But when I do, I was figuring on welding a [big] angle iron bracket to the frame (vertically aligned), then bolting the sliders to it. I figure that would allow better flexibilty down the road if they needed to be repositioned.

I will not look to remove mine. I want to make some and diamond plate the tops to be steps.

4Crawler recommends sleeved bolts through the frame if you want increased strength while still keeping the sliders removable.



(from 4Crawler website) Choose a bolt location where the back side of the frame is clear of brackets and obstructions and simply drill a 3/8" hole clear through the frame and install a bolt about 1/2" longer than the frame is thick and back up the nut with a large, thick washer. If the hole is relatively close to the bottom the the frame, there is no need to sleeve the bolt hole. If a sleeve is desired, a length of 1/4" - 3/8" schedule 40 water pipe, cut the fit inside the frame will work great. An 9/16" - 11/16" hole needs to be drilled in the outside face of the frame then it should be tack welded in place to keep it in place, or using the pre-tapped mounting brackets, thread the end of the sleeve into the bracket then slide the sleeves into the holes and secure with a combination of self-tapping bolts on top and sleeved bolts on the bottom.

When drilling through the frame and when tightening the thru-bolts, be extra careful to not drill into anything behind the frame, such as brake lines, wiring or the gas tank. If a thru-bolt seems like it'll stick out too far from a nut on the inside of the frame rail, it is perfectly OK to cut the threaded end shorter or install a few extra washers under the head of the bolt to shorten the rear projection.

IMHO, If you planing on doing a body lift then bolt-on is better so you can re-adjust them later. If not or if you already have a body lift, weld-on is stronger and they don't get in the way of anything! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" />

Being able to remove the sliders does have advantages. I'm not sure how a body lift plays into that. Personally, I wouldn't want my sliders too much higher than the bottom of the frame rails irespective of how high high the body sits.

http://www.4x4extremesports.com/MySport/MVC00005.JPG

http://www.4x4extremesports.com/MySport/MVC00006.JPG

But, drilling through the frame always gives me the willies. The best solution if you're going to drill a box frame is to drill through, stick a thick wall tube through the hole and weld it around both ends to the frame. Then run your bolts through that. No matter how close you possition the bolt to the 'edge' eventually, if you actually USE the skids on a regular basis, cracks are going to develope. And, as has been pointed out, if you DON'T do that you'll just start compressing the rail.

From the pro weld on camp:

The mounts are stronger - if done correctly. The legs should be gusseted on the top to the mount plate.

No annoying rattles.:-)

Easier to mount as you only have to deal with one side of the frame.

Doesn't require actually cutting into the frame - less worry about rust over time since its usually impossible to paint inside a box frame.

And, if done correctly, there won't be anything draging below the bottom of the frame rails. Not as big a deal for SWB vehicles since break-over is different.

Edward

have them welded on and if you need to move them cut them off and move them its not hard and its way stronger, also make sure that you plate the area where you will be welding bars to the frame.

I went with the bolt-on method when I installed my sliders thinking that they would be easier to move later if necessary. I sleeved the bottom bolts & used self-threading bolts on the uppers to avoid compressing the frame. The problem is; now that I have my 2" body lift & I want to raise the sliders, I don't see a way to bolt the sliders any higher on the frame. There's no extra space above the location of the existing brackets, and even if there was, it would leave all the holes from the previous mounting position that would need to be welded up again.

I wheeled with the body lift installed but the sliders in their original positions & managed to bend them upwards somewhat since they don't have the body pinch weld to bear against as they were originally designed to.

I've decided that the best option in my case is to have the sliders cut from the mounting brackets & re-welded 2" higher on the brackets, keeping the brackets in the same position on the frame. So, I would have been in virtually the same situation if I had just had them welded onto the frame in the first place.

Originally designed to bear against the body? On a non-unibody vehicle the bars should not touch the body if they're mounted to the frame. Nor shold they be mounted to the frame AND mounted to the body. The slider legs and mounts should be designed and made strong enough to prevent upward flex and NOT need to be supported by the 'body'. ryany, do you have a pic of how your bars used to be before the body lift?

Edward

I don't have any photos that show the sliders from underneath the vehicle. They are designed so they are attached to and touching only the frame, but the inner rail is aligned with the pinch weld on the body with about 1/8" clearance. When the weight of the vehicle bears on them they will flex slightly until they contact the pinch weld thereby distributing the weight into the body as well as the frame. See Roger Brown's website here:
http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/ForSale/RockSliderZ.shtml