Ok I went back to Illustrator and modifyed the design a little. I have four differant variations I'm thinking of. Let me know what you think!

Which is your favorite and why.

 

#4 LONGER to the back wheel

AND GET NEW TIRES AND WHEELS!!!!

 

#2...full protection

 

I still say if you angle them the way you have them draw, not only do they not follow bodylines but they will snag stuff, branches, long grass, scrub brush.
I think the angle should be the other way to try and deflect some of that stuff

 

Number One...

 

Ok, we'll add a number "5"

The one you voted for, but this way

 

Heres a thought for you
Half pipes
5 or 6 inch thick wall pipe
Split pipe and basically wrap the lower portion on the rockers

 

The problem with that design is several fold, but the worst one is what happens when you hit a rock where the arrows are? It will fold and dig into the rocker. By cutting it in half the tube loses its strength.

Just FYI for everybody, pipe is for sprinklers, tube is for trucks

 

Im talkin 1/4 inch thick walled pipe,
Thats why I said heavy wall, I'm not talking 1.2 inch copper or 2 inch sprinkler pipe, which is plastic BTW
And tubes are for TV's ad old radios

And a few half moons welded inside the pipe would reduce the crush factor, but it was just a thought

 

I like #4 kind of, cuz it's "sleek & discrete..."

But I also like the #2 being as it goes all the way to the back, but I'm not sure though as to which one to use...?

Brenton

 

It is definalty a good thought, but I cant see it working in that way. Even .250 wall will crush if you cut it in half. Look at the thickness of the stock rocker panel and it is easly crushed.. maybe crush isnt a good word, but that design will bend up into the body..

I like the full coverage ones my self, just because it is full coverage. The sleek design is what I would do if I handn't already crushed the rocker. And after seeing what was done, I dont think it would have been totaly prevented by just a bar. Just my thoughts.

 

The sliders that extend under the bed, when your suspension is flexing anymore than if you are on a curb, the bed flexes with the frame, so your bed would flex into the slider.

 

I voted 3. If you make the front section extend to protect the bed as well then when it flexes it might hit the sliders. So maybe two separate sections?

 

beat me to it.....


check the design they used on the jeep truck...its slider and then a space where the bed and cab meet and then another slider for the bed before the tire

 

Also i forgot to mention, the frame flexing with sliders that long would put helluva lota stress on the middle and rear welds/frame mounts possible cracking/breaking them.

 

Screw it on instead of weld?

 

The welds wont break. The tensel strenght of a weld is stronger than the material being welded. So if you have welds cracking/failing they were done wrong.

Going all the way back would cut down on chassis flex

Your right, the bed could hit it. That is why I'm leaning towards not going that far. But then again, have you ever seen the bed move 2"+ to one side? The most I'v flexed the chassis is probably no more than 1".

Just thoughts.

Keep the ideas coming. If two minds are better than one, then 20 must be great!

 

I like, and will be making ones similar to #2... While it's true that the bed flexes, it is because the frame flexes... If both the bed, and the sliders are attached to near the same spot on the frame, they should flex together, or pretty close to the same amount. That, and giving a 1/2" gap between the body and slider should be enough to keep things from contacting. As for metal choices, I currently plan on using 3/16" thick, 2" box tube under the rockers, and then running a round tube up to protect the sides and to act as a step for getting into the cab, or walking back to the bed when in water/mud... I'm also thinking about putting a slider from under the rear quarter panel behind the wheel, to keep things from catching the bumper... But that's much further off.

 

4 because it could be used as a step and slider, and will probably cost less

 

I voted 4 cause it looks low profile!

 

Ya, #4 only if it goes from the front tire to the back.

If not, go with #2

you need someting that is going to cover the WHOLE thing

 

Remember, thats a 2D drawing. when they are built it wont be quite that low profile, close, but not quite.

 

i dont think u would really need to extend the bars all the way to the back wheel....c'mon...when u're wheeling, and u hit a rock or something with them, u should use common sense and get off the rock the best u can, and not just drag on the bars...they're just for the extra protection, not a rock-surfboard...

just my thoughts.....

 

Thats my thought and why my first design was the way it was. When you go up a rock and drop off its going to hit right behind the front tire/front of the cab so that area need protecting. Or if you side swipe it, you'll notice and move off of it before it goes back that far.

But on the flip side, I slid a couple rocks right there on the front of the bed. Its not bad because I knew they were there and got off, but its still there...

So I dont know what to do.. lol..

 

haha, make a whole cage for our trucks to be put in....