Seriously considering this as my slider solution. curious how many of you have gone this route and whether you'd do it again.
How many of you have replaced your rockers with tube stock? (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter HAAANK
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Did it on my WJ Grand Cherokee, because I liked to play in the rocks with it. I would not do it on my 80's, as they are not meant for crawling. If my rockers were rusted out, however, I would not hesitate to do it again
I think @jcardona1 has something of this sort going on on his 80. I know he was taking them off, but not sure I remember how he was doing the slider part. His thread is one of the best on mud.
It was actually pretty simple . The biggest issue I had was straightening out the door sills with a 3lb sledge to get a nice weldable flat edge.
If your rockers are in good shape, it's easy and makes quite a difference in the amount of clearance you have. I would do it again in a heartbeat.
I did it on my old 55, if I were going to do it again, what I would do is, cut the rocker flat, and then weld in a piece of 3/16" flat steel. Then I would make the 2"x4" tube sliders but weld them to the frame. That way you get the clearance, but you are not using your body as the sliders. You also don't rely on your body mount bolts to keep your frame and body together on hard hits.
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- #8
Great feedback everyone. I saw @brosky 's thread and it kinda sold me on 'em. When i first saw @jcardona1 's i thought they were great too but way beyond my abilities. I'm feeling a bit more confident now though. Btw did you finish the passenger side yet?
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- #9
Hey man I searched for your write but found nothing, toss me a link?
richardlillard1
SILVER Star
Totally stoked with the way my sliders came out, and would do it again. The metal in the rockers & pillars are thicker then I thought they would be making the welding easier. As far as cutting, a peace 2" masking tape lined up right at the door seal and down then cut at the bottom nice easy straight line. Run the tape out on to the fender & cut 1/4" above the bottom for clearance. Take your time making the cut clean, taking extra care at the pillars so no bridging or bracing is necessary. The rear of the rockers were left for strength the cut was made just above the pinch seam this put the front of the 2x4 tube at a nice spot in the front, it also makes the bottom weld much easier. The last 8" of each end of the 2x4 tube were flared out to follow the contour of the body. Conceptual Drawing attached. I really like the clean molded in look of this style slider & the added ground clearance really nice. P.S. you don't need to remove the doors to do this. If anyone wants more info. or tips on doing this hit me up.
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pics of the install?
dirtyboots
Atrocious Driving
Really like the look of the Hanson Jeep sliders.. Pic below is an XJ, which I think would be most similar to an 80.. I had a LJ and had some Hanson sliders, they were very high quality..Hanson also had plate that bolted in to the body mount, just trimmed the body mount bushing to accommodate 3/16" plate..been eyeballing an 80 rocker and not sure how plausible that would be. Also sent an email to Hanson to see if there is any possibility of getting some made for the 80.
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- Thread starter
- #14
Yeah this looks interesting, kinda prefer the 2x4(or 6) tube stock. Not big on bolts there, i still like 'em though.
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- #15
So if i understand correctly:
1. Stick 2" tape to the top of the rocker/bottom of the sill to mark the cut line
2. Cut the rockers 2" below the bottom edge of the door sill, and at the fender cut 1.75" below
3. Cut the rockers where it meets the pinch weld, leaving the interior wall of the rockers
4. Remove the pinch weld
5. Tack 2X4
6. Weld 2x4
7. Paint or add the bump outs whatever else...?
Any particular reason you didn't go 2X6?
dirtyboots
Atrocious Driving
And.. Hanson's inbox is full, in case anyone was curious..2x6 v. kick outs?
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- #17
Thinking maybe 2x4 and flared to follow body contour, 2x6 for straight sides, kick outs aside.
I like the clean look of following the contour of the body, The end of the 2x4 were kicked out, mitered & caped before they were installed. There is also a tab if you look close to hold the bottom of the fender.
The rockers are over 6' long. Take a 6' peace of 3/16" flat steel 4"or 6" wide put 2x4 blocks under each end it can't even support it self, now do the same with the 2"x4" 1/8 wall tubing and you see where I'm going with this you can stand in the middle of the tube and it won't flex. OK your rocker is basically a tube at the bottom of your AB&C pillars that also ties into the floor boards or A big diaphragm in other words the rocker is supported horizontally by the floor pan. Now look at the back side of the rocker it is much taller then it is wide with lots of ribs & tied into the floor supports in multiple places. If one was to cut out all the rocker including the back vertical part and weld in a peace of 3/16" flat steel there would be no Vertical support for the AB&C pillars. IMHO not a good idea. By leaving the back of the rocker & adding the 2x4 tube I be leave it should be stronger then the original rocker for pillar support.
When I cut my rockers I was planning on welding them to the body like joez did. But after cutting I saw it was too hard to get a perfectly flat surface underneath to weld a big 2x6 plank that was 6' long. Due to my cut line the 2x6 plank would not sit flat against the body/rocker cavity and would take a lot of additional massaging to provide a good welding surface. So I capped the rocker cavity with 10ga plate and welded the 2x6 plank directly the frame, leaving a small gap between the sliders and rockers. I still haven't done the passenger side, working my way around the back, chopping the rear quarter panels. Eventually I'll get to the other side.
