Open source frame brackets for bolt on slider fabrication

[1 Bored Clerk]

Great work, and awesome gesture to share the files and progress gratis!

Thanks. And, no sweat. I just hope folks use it...I want to see where people take it.

 

[1 Bored Clerk]

Got some work done this weekend. Went slowly...as usual. I put gussets on the legs where they meet the frame plate, fought with feeding issues with my welder (spool didn't want to unwind cleanly), and got the step section pretty much finished on one slider.


Laser cutting is your friend! I would have never made anything like this if I had to cut this out by hand. I would have had square tubing sliders for sure. I got all of this cut out of 1/8" steel (including the steel) for $105. FYI


Fitting it together. The braces you see are both to support the length of steel where rocks are likely to hit as well as line up the three main pieces of the step. I designed in tabs on the braces and slots on the three main steel pieces. It worked really well.


A little blurry but you get the idea. This is with the step completed...but only tack welded together.


Top side tacked together.

This was a hugely time consuming process. That is a LOT of inches of weld to lay down...then grind down. I got it all ground down but apparently didn't get a photo. I'll have that photo next time I go up and work.

I heard a saying once that went something like, "You're either a welder or a grinder". Meaning, if you're not a good welder, you're going to do a lot of grinding. Well, I'm certainly a grinder.

It's coming along...even if very slowly, so I'm pumped about that! I should have an entire weekend to work next time...hopefully next weekend.

 

[p1michaud]

Having built a few sets of sliders and a rear swing out bumper over the year I always admire folks who tackle their own fab jobs. Out of curiosity how heavy will these be once complete?

Well done with the design and build so far.

 

[1 Bored Clerk]

I'm not sure how heavy. Too heavy is my guess. For some reason I decided to use 3/16" wall tubing for the main tube and legs...1/8" would have been just fine. Call me enthusiastic (or dumb)!

I'm may or may not weigh them when finished...just to keep the disappointment to a minimum.

 

[Expedition.Report]

Great work!

I am about to tackle a set of sliders as well, just for a different truck, great to see some other people idea's to help shape my own!

 

[1 Bored Clerk]

Great work!

I am about to tackle a set of sliders as well, just for a different truck, great to see some other people idea's to help shape my own!

I could have easily bought a pair of sliders and been WAY ahead on the time/money scale but I really wanted something unique to me. Good luck on your build!

 

[jeverich]

I'm not sure how heavy. Too heavy is my guess. For some reason I decided to use 3/16" wall tubing for the main tube and legs...1/8" would have been just fine. Call me enthusiastic (or dumb)!

I'm may or may not weigh them when finished...just to keep the disappointment to a minimum.

Those are going to be HEAVY!

Interesting design!

I know it's too late, and I only noticed this after the second set of sliders that I built (I'll be changing my gusset location on this next set I'm building tomorrow).

Your gussets aren't going to add the strength that you would initially think that they will in their present location. If there is enough force incurred, the gussets will either deform or punch through the center of your square tubing. There is much more structural support on the extreme edge of your tubing - that way the gusset has something to bare on beneath it, rather than flat plate (in the center of your tubing).

Just something that was pointed out to me; and I took it as constructive criticism. Yet, honestly - if you've landed your truck on something hard enough to deform steel - you'll have much bigger problems..



YMMV

 

[1 Bored Clerk]

Those are going to be HEAVY!

Interesting design!

I know it's too late, and I only noticed this after the second set of sliders that I built (I'll be changing my gusset location on this next set I'm building tomorrow).

Your gussets aren't going to add the strength that you would initially think that they will in their present location. If there is enough force incurred, the gussets will either deform or punch through the center of your square tubing. There is much more structural support on the extreme edge of your tubing - that way the gusset has something to bare on beneath it, rather than flat plate (in the center of your tubing).

Just something that was pointed out to me; and I took it as constructive criticism. Yet, honestly - if you've landed your truck on something hard enough to deform steel - you'll have much bigger problems..



YMMV

They are going to be heavy. From what I can gather, I've added 15lbs per slider by going with 3/16" instead of 1/8" on the main tube and legs. They'll do for now but I may build a second set in a couple of years when I start my camper build. Gonna need all the GVW I can get! And, yes, as far as the gussets are concerned, I fully had it in mind to put them on the edge but it just didn't happen. I'm not overly concerned with placing them in the middle...I'm sure they are strong enough. Heck, my crappy welds are likely to crack before I have any other problems. So, I'll just carry on as-is.

 

[1 Bored Clerk]

Well, I've got both sliders to the point where I need tubing to be bent to finish them off. I also did a lot of thinking about how to integrate the Relentless Fab transfer case skid mounts and add additional support at the rear of the frame plate. Unfortunately, in both cases, all of the ideas I had for solutions were killed by the facts of the situation. Don't you just hate that? I've got another idea on the transfer case skid but I'm a little lost on the rear of the slider. I really don't want to drill my frame...but, it may come to that. We'll see...

Anyway, here are the sliders as of today:






I'm really liking the look! I can't wait to see it with the tube kick-out. I'm going to try to get that ball rolling this week.

 

[tweeek]

Well, I've got both sliders to the point where I need tubing to be bent to finish them off. I also did a lot of thinking about how to integrate the Relentless Fab transfer case skid mounts and add additional support at the rear of the frame plate. Unfortunately, in both cases, all of the ideas I had for solutions were killed by the facts of the situation. Don't you just hate that? I've got another idea on the transfer case skid but I'm a little lost on the rear of the slider. I really don't want to drill my frame...but, it may come to that. We'll see...

Anyway, here are the sliders as of today:

View attachment 208339
View attachment 208340
View attachment 208341
View attachment 208342
View attachment 208343
I'm really liking the look! I can't wait to see it with the tube kick-out. I'm going to try to get that ball rolling this week.

These look awesome and stout. So is the tubing just on the rear portion for the kickout? Very original design.


Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk now Free

 

[1 Bored Clerk]

Yep. Tubing just in the back. I'm excited about it...haven't seen another pair like these. I've already thought of a good way to shed a lot of weight from this design. Too bad I didn't think of it first! Haha...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[1 Bored Clerk]

Just dropped the sliders off at a local fab shop to get the tubing bent/welded. I should have them back Friday of next week. I'll post pics! Hopefully it all goes well. The owner was very nice. I'm a total noob welder and he said "Pretty good for a novice. I think your truck will break in half before these welds fail". Good start! He also offered to show me some tricks to get all the corners clean, straight, and rounded like I was obviously attempting...and, possibly, failing to do. Talked to me for a little while about a feeding issue I'm having with my welder. The only thing I'm a little worried about is the potential underestimation of the importance of the aesthetics to me. I made all of the angles and fitment just so for a reason. We'll see if they are sensitive to that. I asked him to snap some photos and text them to me when they start actually bending tube and tacking stuff in place. He quoted $120-ish for the tube bending/welding. Sounded fair to me! I'll be sure to post pics when I pick them up. I'll also let you know who the shop was and what I thought of the full experience. So, until next week...

 

[jeverich]

Here's another set I just banged out..



$120 sounds fair for tube/bending and welding. Are you going with DOM or HREW?

Hoping that it comes out alright; also hoping that you asked him to text a picture before everything got finished welded.. I've found that forming tubing, and trying to dictate what you want your bends to be to another person can be a really challenging thing!

 

[1 Bored Clerk]

I asked for DOM. I sent him a very detailed .pdf document with bend angles, dimension, etc. Then I went and talked to him in person. I'm a little nervous about it...just a little. I'm going to contact him early next week just to 'check-in' and remind him of that pdf as well as the request for text photos of the bent tubing before welding. I work 7 minutes from his shop so I could hop in the truck and drive up there real quick at almost any point to check it out in person too.

 

[1 Bored Clerk]

Here's another set I just banged out..

You're a slider makin' fool! I'll probably take a little break when the slider/skid project is done before I dive into my next fab project. At this rate, I have projects in my head enough to last at least another 12 months. I need a little time to actually use and enjoy my stuff rather than slaving away making it!