Low tech sliders

[kellymoe]

Time and money were the driving factors in my recent project. I needed sliders for a trail next weekend or I would face certain body damage. Having only a few hours between now and then I had to decide on something down and dirty. I ended up welding the sliders directly to the outriggers and fabes up some tabs to weld to the area near the bulkhead It actualy came out better than I thought. Next week will tell if they will hold up to the abuse. They also make for nice side steps. I will be painting them in the morning. I had some very helpful input from many who frequent this board as well as the "other boards" Thanks to all and sorry for ignoring all your advice. Here are a few pics.

[Old Scout]

Looks like thin wall?

[Serious One]

Originally Posted by Old Scout

Looks like thin wall?

Thin sliders are better than no sliders.

Nice job Kelly. Sounds like you'll have the chance to see if they'll hold up under fire.

Return and report with pics. Good luck!

[Old Scout]

Originally Posted by Serious One

Thin sliders are better than no sliders.

True, but it's the same amount of work to make them out of .188 as it is out of .065!

[kellymoe]

I will report back with a report of the damage. Obviously my truck aint a rock crawler but I couldnt pass up running the trail and needed somthign quick. It will probably be the only time I will truley need sliders unless i try the Rubicon or dusy next summer. At the very least they will make it easier to get in and out of my truck with my skirt on

[kellymoe]

Originally Posted by Old Scout

True, but it's the same amount of work to make them out of .188 as it is out of .065!

True, but I needed them fast and they didnt have anything heavier Under any other circumstances I would have waited but time was not on my side. My other opyion I considered was just welding heavy duty angle iron on there for the time being but decided to go with this option. Hope they hold up. I will let you know.

[Puffdragon]

A little on the low side dont ya think. Sliders are easy to make for that frame.

[LR Max]

FWIW, I have similar sliders on my 109, except turned 90 degrees so the 4" side is facing down. They work GREAT. Mine are tied into the frame rail, so its probably not as good as yours, but like I said, never had a problem. They flex a little, but I've landed on them many times hard on rocks without a problem. I also have my gas tank skids bolted to these sliders, they take the most beating. But like the sliders, they hold up with no problems. They just keep doing their thing.

I don't understand why pay 700 bucks for a pair of sliders when these little guys work a lot better, and at a 5th of the cost. Hell, that even includes 2 gas tank skids. Your setup, unless improperly welded (your discretion on that) will be just fine. All that fancy shit is just fancy shit, this is basic shit, and will do the basic job.

[kellymoe]

Originally Posted by Puffdragon

A little on the low side dont ya think. Sliders are easy to make for that frame.

I parked it side by side with a NAS 110 with heavy duty springs and the bottom of my sliders are still higher than the lowest point on the 110. I think for 99% of the stuff i do they will be fine. If I wanted a crawler I would have kept my RR, still my favorite Land Rover to wheel with.

[kellymoe]

A few shots of them painted. I will get some shots of the damage after this weekends trip.

[dmay]

I think the thin sliders will be just fine,they'll "slide" along rocks just fine and should you drop onto a big one they might just work as a "crumple zone" and keep from transfering the bang into your Rover. At least it sounds like a good theory

[scrover]

Looks good Kevin - now you just need to shave about 40" off the wheelbase before Sunday

[Serious One]

Lookin' good...but from an artsy-fartsy standpoint, that gap between the door bottoms and the slider bugs me.

I know you have to deal with the hi-cap bed coming down so far, which kind of sucks. I wonder how a body-colored panel between the door bottom and the slider would look? Maybe black would hide itself better. Maybe I better shuddup.

Oh, don't forget your camera. I want pics of the sliders in action!

[kellymoe]

Originally Posted by Serious One

Lookin' good...but from an artsy-fartsy standpoint, that gap between the door bottoms and the slider bugs me.

I know you have to deal with the hi-cap bed coming down so far, which kind of sucks. I wonder how a body-colored panel between the door bottom and the slider would look? Maybe black would hide itself better. Maybe I better shuddup.

Oh, don't forget your camera. I want pics of the sliders in action!

Just got back from two great days of tele skiing in Mammoth. Great snow, fresh tracks every run on the first day

I will take some pics on Sundays trip. They will get used.

I painted it black between the slider and body to blend it a little but you just cant get around the big gap. When I get around to painting the truck someday I may make some mini sill plates.

[kellymoe]

OK, spent 7 hours today to cover 1.5 miles. Granted much of the time was due to a large group size, we had 10 Land Rovers from So Cal Land Rover and 10 Jeeps and Toy LC from the Ridgecrest Gear Grinders. We did a trail called Nightmare Gulch which is rated 3 black diamonds whatever that means. There were a few casulaties, a busted U joint on a jeep, snapped driveshaft on a FJ40, several dented doors and panels, a few slashed sidewalls, BTW my retreads held up great, feeling purchase pride great grip. My sliders held up fine and I would have had some damage without them. One section of the trail was blcked by a massive rockfall that created a dam accross the canyon creating a small lake. We spent 2 hours throwing rocks into the water to provide a firm surface to drive on. Here are a few shots.

[Serious One]

Sweet!

[scrover]

Here are some more pics Kevin - your submarine impression is at the end

http://www.landroverstuff.com/Nightmare_Gulch/ng.html

[SeaRover]

looks like a fun outing. lots of nice looking rangies! props for fabbing these up on your own. the minor sacrifice in aesthetics i'll bet wasn't much of a concern when they were getting the job done on your trip

[kellymoe]

It was a great outing and I know I need some form of locker for sure now. I also found a sidewall tear when i got home. I filled it with air and it just held long enough for me to get to work and plug it. I put 3 plugs in the sidewall for a temporary fix and it has held fine for now. Just ordered another tire. Booger on the sidewall

[Serious One]

Damn, and I was thinking of those tires for my truck!

[kellymoe]

Originally Posted by Serious One

Damn, and I was thinking of those tires for my truck!

I still like the tires and dont think the retread had anything to do with it. I did learn a lesson with the retreads today when I called to order a "new" tire. My retreads are based on a Big O AT Bigfoot. The sales guy said I could request just about any tire to retread and suggested Michelin XPC, I think that was the one. Anyway he can tell you the beefiest tires they have to use and a core. I wasnt the only torn sidewall on the trip. Another truck with BFG M/T's hot a pretty good sidewall tear. Some of those rocks were pretty nasty $76 delivered to my door is not too bad.

[SeaRover]

<< Another truck with BFG M/T's hot a pretty good sidewall tear. >>

were these old style or KM's? I have the older muds which are only 2 ply. the KM's are supposed to be 3 ply sidewalls. everyone sez MT/R's are stronger, but they don't make them in 255/85.

[kellymoe]

Originally Posted by SeaRover

<< Another truck with BFG M/T's hot a pretty good sidewall tear. >>

were these old style or KM's? I have the older muds which are only 2 ply. the KM's are supposed to be 3 ply sidewalls. everyone sez MT/R's are stronger, but they don't make them in 255/85.

I am pretty sure they are the KM's