Rock Sliders
Note: I do not sell these sliders. I just made them because I'm too cheap to
buy them.
I designed these sliders with several goals in mind. First, I didn't want to
drill any holes in my frame. Second, I didn't want to weld on the frame. I know,
people do this all the time on their trucks, but I just don't want the added
risk of the extra stress risers. Besides, I'm going to sell the 4Runner someday
so I want to be able to return as close to stock as possible. The third goal
was not to add a body lift.
After discussing my mounting alternatives with the folks at 4x4wire.com I decided to base my mounting system on Brandon Miller's design.
Brandon has a writeup of his sliders here.
As shown in the pictures below, the design uses a C shaped mount to clamp onto the frame.
The "C" is 1/4 inch plate, cut and welded into a C to closely match the dimensions of the frame. Two, 3/8 inch bolts are used at each mount to clamp the Cs tightly down on the frame. However, the exception is on the passenger side, rear mount where the gas tank is too close to allow 2 bolts. To complicate things the front part of the frame angles in and grows in height. Both of these dimension changes had to be accounted for in the clamps. In fact the clamps were the most difficult parts to make because of the tolerances needed. I didn't even paint the inside of the clamps thick for fear of not being able to get the sliders on the frame.
I made the two support arms out of 3/16 inch mild steel square stock. The main bar is also 3/16 inch square stock and the secondary bar/step is made of 1/8 inch 2x1 rectangular stock. Both bars will hold the weight of the truck.
Space between the body and the frame is really tight. I had to shave some of the bolts to keep them from rubbing on the body. There was also one factory bolt that went through the body on the passenger side that I had to cut so that the clamps would clear.
One problem with the 4Runner is low departure angle because of the overhanging chrome bumperettes. To remedy this problem I made some rear sliders for some additional protection. These were easy to make as I used the 2"x2" square stock and plugged them into the sides of the hitch. The front of the rear sliders are supported by a piece of steel which angles up and touches the frame.
These rear sliders slide into the side of the hitch.
As for the finish, I used a rattle can spray on truck bed liner from Duplicolor.
I ended up needing 2 cans, but 3 would have been better.
UPDATE: I have since ditched these rear sliders and have built a real bumper complete with a swing away toolbox carrier.
Disclaimer: The above rockslider writeup outlines what I did to fabricate my
rocksliders. I do not claim that these rock sliders will completely protect
a vehicle from damage, nor do I claim these rock sliders are designed properly
to prevent breakage of the rock sliders themselves. I do not claim the rock
sliders will not damage the vehicle in some way.