The time has come to build sliders for my Ranger, I'm looking at 2x2 3/16 wall square tube. What's everyone else running?
Slider material
- Thread starter Hyde
- Start date
I beat the shit out of 2x3x3/16 on a heavy ish 4runner and it laughed.
A good budget option for guys wanting round is 1.5 schd 80. Which is roughly 1 7/8"x.200. Most people don't bend the main runner, so it works well. I've used that on some others rigs I've built with good results.
I also just built a Sami cage, Sliders and rear bumper out of 1.5 chromo. The rock Sliders were only 120, which I was hesitant about, but the owner insisted the chromo would be the difference.
Basically anything more substantial than 120 dom
A good budget option for guys wanting round is 1.5 schd 80. Which is roughly 1 7/8"x.200. Most people don't bend the main runner, so it works well. I've used that on some others rigs I've built with good results.
I also just built a Sami cage, Sliders and rear bumper out of 1.5 chromo. The rock Sliders were only 120, which I was hesitant about, but the owner insisted the chromo would be the difference.
Basically anything more substantial than 120 dom
2x3x1/4 on an 83 toyota pickup. what yer looking to run sounds good.
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I am a huge fan of AR plate.
I would look into the option of covering your two wear sides with it. Rocks won’t gouge in it, making the sliders more “slippery”. Not to mention that they will last forever.
I skinned the bottom of my housing diffs with it, noticeable difference.
I would look into the option of covering your two wear sides with it. Rocks won’t gouge in it, making the sliders more “slippery”. Not to mention that they will last forever.
I skinned the bottom of my housing diffs with it, noticeable difference.
Good point, I'm really trying to use better materials than mild steel these days. It's usually not much more than the thicker mild equivalent. Ie: 1.5x188 Dom vs 1.5x120 chromo.
What's your preference for regular flate plate? Pickled and oiled?
How would .120" wall tube with solid alum slugged into it fare?
I have a few extra sticks of 2"x.120"DOM in the shop and was thinking it might not get trashed as fast if it thought it was solid.
I have a few extra sticks of 2"x.120"DOM in the shop and was thinking it might not get trashed as fast if it thought it was solid.
I'd think it would do pretty well. How much is 1 3/4" solid aluminum though?
You could also grab some 1 3/4x095 and throw that inside.
it would hold up really damned well. the only real complaint with .120 is that it gets crinkled up, being solid would stop that. if the slider is able to get bent and cause a problem with something, then it should have been braced better
$18 a foot for 6061 on McMaster. which is probably on the expensive side because it's McMaster.
On Skittles I used a piece of 3/4” solid round stock to reinforce the 1.25 1.20 wall DOM in the area that you could call a slider on a tube chassis crawler.
If looking straight down the tube, with the outside edge being 3 O’clock, it was welded on in the 4:30 location. Low enough to be the lowest point and up enough to be the highest center point.
I have bent it up from some hard drops but my chassis isn’t dented or beat to fuck because of this piece. Wear points are much easier to replace than chassis pieces.
If looking straight down the tube, with the outside edge being 3 O’clock, it was welded on in the 4:30 location. Low enough to be the lowest point and up enough to be the highest center point.
I have bent it up from some hard drops but my chassis isn’t dented or beat to fuck because of this piece. Wear points are much easier to replace than chassis pieces.
Online Metals is showing $47.60 for a 6' piece of 1.75"x.095" , and $79.68 for a 6' piece of 1.75" solid 6061 alum.
I like the idea of wear points too. I guess the tough part would be attaching them in a way that replacing them wasn't as much work as replacing the slider itself.
I like the idea of wear points too. I guess the tough part would be attaching them in a way that replacing them wasn't as much work as replacing the slider itself.
I have a ton of 2x2 .25 wall left over, that I was going to build links with on a previous project. So that is what I'm going to run on my F250. It's cheap and strong and I rather like the look of square sliders. Really the only downside I see is the weight, but on a full size diesel powered crawler it's already a fat pig, no use in worrying about it now.
I cut the rocker panels off my Bronco II and welded in some 2"x6"x3/16" wall A500 rectangular tube directly to the body. A500 has a ~40% higher yield strength than standard A36 tube. It has held up well for me so far with not a single dent despite some hard hits. It is relatively inexpensive (I paid right at $10/ft with tax) and readily available.
A500 does gouge, so in a buggy application, or if you are just constantly on your sliders all the time, it would be worth looking into AR plate.
EDIT: A500 comes in different grades, you want preferably grade C, but B will work too (slightly weaker). The other grades are pretty similar to standard A36.
A500 does gouge, so in a buggy application, or if you are just constantly on your sliders all the time, it would be worth looking into AR plate.
EDIT: A500 comes in different grades, you want preferably grade C, but B will work too (slightly weaker). The other grades are pretty similar to standard A36.
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Just ordered a couple pieces of 1.75" solid 6061 aluminum. Decided to give stuffing it in 2" x .120" wall DOM a try. Should have a .001" gap to play with. I sure hope this alum shows up straight.
I've used aluminum round stock from McMaster before for lathe projects. It's generally pretty straight, though I've not turned a piece much longer than a foot or so.
You might have to lube it up and hammer it in there.
I've used aluminum round stock from McMaster before for lathe projects. It's generally pretty straight, though I've not turned a piece much longer than a foot or so.
You might have to lube it up and hammer it in there.
Heading to the store for KY now.
This will end with the alum half way in and stuck.................on both of them.............I just know it.
might have to modify the shop press to be muuuuch taller 
I think the bigger issue than straightness might be the tolerance for width. Some rods are oversized. Worst case, you might have to have it turned down slightly on a big lathe.
Or figure out a way to spin it and hold a file across it back and forth the length a few times.
I think the bigger issue than straightness might be the tolerance for width. Some rods are oversized. Worst case, you might have to have it turned down slightly on a big lathe.
Or figure out a way to spin it and hold a file across it back and forth the length a few times.
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might have to modify the shop press to be muuuuch taller
I think the bigger issue than straightness might be the tolerance for width. Some rods are oversized. Worst case, you might have to have it turned down slightly on a big lathe.
Or figure out a way to spin it and hold a file across it back and forth the length a few times.
You should have 0.005 clearance right? Or are you assuming the 1.75 is going to be 0.004 oversized?
I've had good luck sliding stuff inside 120 wall as it's 0.005 shy of 1/8" thick. Sliding stuff into 250 on the other hand was a nightmare.
On McMaster, the tolerance for the standard rods is: -0.006" to 0.006"
and the tolerance for the "tight tolerance" rods is: -0.001" to 0.001". although it's 3x the cost for the tight tolerance rods.
I would THINK that +-.006" would work, but I guess it depends on the tolerance of the DOM tube as well. Might not hurt to heat up the tubing
I'm curious how it goes, Kevin. Definitely report back
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Most of mine has always been what ever is around, 1.5" 1 3/4" 2" all .120 wall, heck even some pipe in there too I'm sure.
I already thought of sliders as a consumable, every so many years you need to cut them off and throw them away.
I already thought of sliders as a consumable, every so many years you need to cut them off and throw them away.
Went with 2x2 3/16 A500, thanks for the input everyone
Cool deal. Were you able to find grade C or B?
Dents and stuff are a given, but when one good hit bends the slider up enough to smash the rocker and prevent the door from opening, it makes the savings not so appealing.
For something different, I thing the Goatbuilt aluminum rocker bars are a pretty sweet idea. The solid steel slugs weld onto the chassis and then the aluminum slider bolts to that. It doesn't seem like a viable option for a full bodied rig, but if it does fit, it's pretty cool.
https://goatbuilt.com/product/tj-lj-...m-rocker-bars/
https://goatbuilt.com/product/tj-lj-...m-rocker-bars/
I've thought several times about trying to build something like that last one with a (properly supported, not just standoffs every foot) wooden 2x4 for the wear surface. Wood has plenty of compressive strength and when they inevitably get trashed they can be replaced for $10. Also they wouldn't make loud clanking noises if you use them to climb over the small boulders they use to keep the non-hardcore crowd out of power line roads and whatnot which is a big attraction for me.
I would think, a 2x4 is far to soft to work well as a slider. You wouldn't slide on anything and rocks would just gouge into the wood, hanging you up instead.
Yeah it would definitively dig in but I don't really get into many situations where I want to slide on a slider. I often find myself wanting to pivot around something without fucking up a door and wood would be fine for that. Most rocks around here are pretty smooth and I'm crawling over a down tree as often as a rock so I'm not sure how much of a difference it actually would make in practice. Wouldn't be hard to replace with steel if they don't work.
Skin the wood with flat strap. Best of both worlds.