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Long rock sliders on noodle frame

rattle_snake

rattle_snake

Fuckwits
Joined
Jun 23, 2020
Member Number
2156
Messages
1,315
Loc
Chandler, AZ
'72 Ford F250 single cab long bed needs rocker protection. Frame has a lot of flex and the sliders need to be 8' long. Frame is narrow, 34" so supports are long. Do I need to do anything special? Lessons learned?

Current plan is to use 2x4 3/16 for the rail, and four 2x2 1/8" supports tied to frame.
 
large (4x4x3/16) frame plates and large gussets for the supports... I'd honestly probably go 3/16" for the support legs given the length.
 
I used 3" ("5lb") c-channel for my rocker supports, and it worked GREAT.
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I was hoping to make them bolt on/off. If I use a 4"x4" frame plate and 4 bolts per support, that is 32 holes to drill in frame, which would suck.
Should I just weld everything and call it a day or complicate things? Maybe a short length of 2" ID receiver hitch sq tube welded to frame plates welded to frame...
 
rattle_snake said:
I was hoping to make them bolt on/off. If I use a 4"x4" frame plate and 4 bolts per support, that is 32 holes to drill in frame, which would suck.
Should I just weld everything and call it a day or complicate things? Maybe a short length of 2" ID receiver hitch sq tube welded to frame plates welded to frame...
Click to expand...
Nah bro. Just weld them on! Summon the courage!
 
Why would they need to be removable? If you can't answer that, then weld them on.

The sliders on my 4 door Explorer have four supports. Slider material is 2x4, 3/16 wall with added 1.75 DOM because they weren't wide enough to protect the body. Supports are 1.5 DOM with 1/8" plate gussets, 4x4 plates at the frame. Everything still moves. I flattened out the body pinch weld so I could move the sliders up another 1/2". When the sliders contact the body it doesn't do any damage.

The frame started cracking along the bottom of the rear most mount on both sides. They are close to the leaf spring mounts which is what I think caused the cracking. I welded the cracks, then welded the spring hangers to the frame, then added plate to tie the leaf spring and slider mounts together. It also took care of the occasional hanging up on a rock issue I was having with the spring hangers.
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Given the vertical bends in the frame no way to use receiver tubes. So weld it is...

And I want it light weight as possible. 3/16" comes in at about 85 lbs per side. ouch.
 
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