Aluminum Sliders?

I think gen right makes aluminum sliders but there only for jeeps though

 

Reviving this because I had thought of designing aluminum armor for personal use. Someone has already made a 100% true bolt on design that is free, so it seems the only problem now is designing it thick enough and with enough support.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/diy-bolt-on-frame-plates-for-sliders.302192/

 

Yes GenRight does make a plethora of aluminum parts for Jeeps but they're also a fabricator and do custom work. I ran aluminum on my 12 JKU and like ruggedT bashed it off rocks with little issues. It can take some abuse without question. My reason doing so was with a lot of steel armor on a Jeep even with the new 3.6 in them they're still underpowered unless you start changing gearing and axles. The markets there for potential customers and as far as oxidation goes the parts came with special bolts washers and rubber gaskets that went between the armor and frame mounts. I don't see why this wouldn't work on a Taco and honestly wonder why this hasn't been done sooner.

 

Now we're talkin'

 

This is why I want to build aluminum parts. The 4.0 is powerful but as fun as using your armor is, I am not going to be a happy camper with 300 lbs of armor daily driving and not on the trails. With aluminum, I am hoping to conserve any power and efficiency I can since this is my DD. Also, who can say they have full aluminum armor? I have heard it is easier for Jeeps to get aluminum armor because there is a bigger market for it as opposed to us on TW having large price premiums for aluminum. I am not saying any vendors are overpriced nor do I have anyone in mind when saying this.

 

I'd be all over this if someone came up with a set. They have been using aluminum frames, and skid plates in the dirt bike world for years now, I don't see why it wouldn't work for this application.

 

Agreed. I knew guys that had a lot of steel on their jeeps and used em as DDs.....granted the mileage is no bueno without all those extra pounds but the price of gas + premature wear on shocks, springs, ball joints, and suspension bushings is pricey. The full size front bumpers you see are in excess of 100+ lbs. with some topping out at 250+! I had a stubby front winch mount that was 85 lbs. In 3/8 plate steel. Switching to aluminum it went to 37 lbs in 3/8 and I gained coverage and my jeep no longer squatted slightly in the front. I believe that if a person could get a business up and running with quality thought out parts and good craftsmanship and still be able to keep the price competitive they'd stand to open up a decent market cross section for themselves....my 2 cents.

 

Eventually I will fab up some aluminum armor. What most people dont seem to know is that when mating steel to aluminum you need to think about preventing galvanic corrosion. Especially if you are ever in contact with up road salt or seawater/salt air..

 

I'm in,

Someone send me CAD files and I'll mill em'. I think welding is a bad idea as aluminum will go down to something like a T1 temper post welding. It will allegedly recover up to a T4 with time, but that's not really practical for armor.

WRT, gouging, I think the way to go is to deliberately design in a readily replaceable ablative surface like UHMW or something similar.

I'm with you on the weight savings for a truck that is primarily a DD (which I assume most of our trucks are) and only needs occasional oh $h1t protection. If you are planning on using them routinely as actual sliders then steel is the way to go; that's not what I am after.

 

RCI offers aluminum as an option. I went with it.

 

I would love to see someone with more money than brains make some titanium sliders or skids. Then kick back and enjoy the fireworks show as they throw a shower of sparks while dragging across the rocks. lol

 

THIS, one of the difficulties of working with aluminum is that alot of its strength comes from heat treating. Once you weld it looses the heat treat and becomes much weaker, you would need a large heat treat oven capable of heat treating the whole slider to maintain it's strength. Otherwise I can't see it holding up too well as a slider, bumpers tend to be levered on much less than sliders do so fabricators can get away with aluminum bumpers without heat treat but I think it would be difficult to accomplish with sliders.

 

To mill skid plates you would have to start out with a large block of aluminum. I think the cost factor of the block would completely out weigh the option of welding and the decrease in integrity. I am intrigued of the idea of replacement pieces. What are your ideas for the frame? Would you stick with aluminum?

 

What's the problem with using titanium, other than it's high cost? Is there something else I don't know about?

 

So you can't make aluminum armor without heat treating it afterward? Is this possible with large items? Does everyone know this? Because people weld aluminum all the time and I have never heard of it undergoing an additional step of treatment.

 

No i'm not saying you can't make aluminum armor, I'm actually planning on ordering an aluminum relentless bumper kit this summer. But the difference between a bumper and a slider is that a slider is effectively a long lever that sticks out from the side of the truck while a bumper usually only experiences impacts and is more fully supported (it's essentially a large series of gussets). Given how far I've seen steel sliders flex while in use I think it would be very difficult to weld aluminum sliders and not have them just shear off at the welds.

The difference is that welding steel actually hardens the heat affected zone around the weld while welding aluminum effectively anneals (softens) the metal around the weld. There is a reason why high stress aluminum products like bicycle frames or climbing equipment are always heat treated after they are formed or welded. I'm not saying you can't make aluminum armor but there is a big difference between a flat skid plate that still has its heat treat and a welded slider that has been annealed.

EDIT: What I'm getting at is not that it can't be done but to have something strong enough to consider a slider rather than a step bar without heat treat I think that you might be dealing with something so overbuilt that it may not be worth the hassle/expense and may not actually be that light

 

It is very possible, here's a pic of Intense Cycles heat treat oven:

 

I see what you mean. So what if the aluminum slider is not weld-on, but bolt on? It would steel have welds, of course, but it would not be held to the frame by that weakening weld. Is it strong enough then? If not, how are Jeep communities using aluminum sliders? Will most fab shops have on-site aluminum heat treatment ovens big enough for sliders?

 

Yeah but bolt on sliders are still welded to brackets and plates that are then bolted to the frame. You would still have welds at the frame connection, just not to the frame itself (which isn't possible anyway with a steel frame). That's just my thinking because one time I managed to flex one of my gusseted steel sliders enough to contact the pinch weld so there's definitely alot of shear at that frame connection.

 

I would just like to point out that putting aluminum against your steel frame creates a battery... The speed at which the frame will rust around the welds will blow your mind. It is something to be avoided at all cost. This is why people that know what the hell they're doing when attaching aluminum skids or bumpers will use stainless steel washers bolts and nuts to avoid aluminum on steel contact. Thought it was worth putting that warning out there..