Highschool project and BS

That's an impressive impact... However this is a pretty lightweight truck... a 3rd, and even 2nd gen truck weighs a lot more than what this truck does, and especially if its loaded up for overlanding, with a bunch of armor and a bedrack, and a tent, etc, would greatly increase the amount of force and impact its taking. After seeing this impact though, I have to admit they seem to perform better than I would have guessed they would.

That's probably what would happen. but if the sliders bent because of the impact, then the bend, and force would go directly into the body/cab, which is what sliders are meant to protect against. Sliders are to prevent any impact or force from going into the body and rocker panel. as for the impact being evenly distributed along the body, it would depend on how they are attached to the pinch weld. If its a continuous contact/attachment, then the force would be distributed more evenly. If its a few attachment points, then the impact would transfer through those attachments. although honestly, I'd rather not have any force transferred to the rocker panel/body of my truck.

I think what you're implying here is the deflection of the slider. Basically, the upward/perpendicular force on the slider, is applying a torque on it, when its holding the weight of the truck or taking an impact, causing it to bend. reducing the deflection is exactly the point of the gussets. I wouldn't trust something that's attached to the body of the truck to prevent damage to that part of the truck.



At the end of the day, these guys are the only sliders on the market designed this way (to my knowledge - please correct me if I'm wrong) and they don't seem to have a patent or anything on it. If this was honestly the best and strongest way to build sliders, then I would imagine at least one or two other companies would have a similar design - but none do.

 

As far as I know they are the only company making them this way.

I have a lightweight 1st gen and don’t plan on rock crawling or doing tough trails, but I want the random protection of my body, so these still seem like a good option.

 

Plain and simple, 2 legs, no gussets, and 1” tube legs at that are no bueno. I don’t care how they’re attached. You see some sliders also attached to the pinch weld like this but for jeeps since they’re unibody. We’re body on frame and they’re supposed to flex independently of each other for a reason. When you attach the sliders to both, you limit that. Give this thread a read.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...ers-deffinetley-not-worth-the-trouble.384345/

Here are some pictures of what happens with theses sliders when you really abuse them off roading.






Good luck with whatever you decide to do

 

What we aren't seeing here though is the aftermath of what his pinch weld/body (maybe even frame) looked like after that gnarly ass hit...that was an impressive climb but if that dude is using those things as sliders I'm betting he's got damage you just can't see in this video. For that kind of crawling you need the real deal. I'd be afraid to put any kind of bolt on slider through a hit like that.

For the application you're describing they sound perfect, nothing wrong with that at all. Like @DarthPow said, I'm also impressed that they took that hit they did in that IG video without letting his truck's door slam into the rock, but I would bet money they won't hold up to that kind of abuse more than once or twice...not to mention what the truck might very well look like up close after that hit.

 

If Homeboy doesn't use some lower gears that truck isn't gonna last long...

 

I'd wager to guess that the door doesn't open as well after that.

 

Yeah, I was going to put in something of "let's not discuss the poor driving in the video, but purely the slider abuse", but I forgot to.

I think for my application they will be good since I want the occasional safeguard against coming across random stuff like this summer at Devil's Punchbowl in Colorado. I could have worried less about body damage and possibly pivoted around a giant boulder rather than sitting there long enough thinking about it that 8 dirt bikers lifted the rear end of my truck and swung it around so I didn't have to clear it.

So I guess we can go back to the OP's post and:

 

First beads, on a scale of "I should find a different project" to "I might have potential" what do you all think.

 

Haha. Don't worry, most people's first welds look similar or worse. I remember my first TIG beads on a flat plate looked pretty decent but as soon as I tried to do a butt joint I just blew away the material and had holes everywhere.

KEEP WITH IT! #1 priority is having structurally sound welds. You can always take a grinder to the splatter and stuff.

 

Yeah, it’s flux wire too. I think that’s why I’m getting some of the splatter I’m sure not knowing what settings to set it too exactly is also a problem.

 

Hitch steel is just tubing that is smooth on the inside so our can insert another tube (receiver). It’s not any stronger other than the fact that most of the time it’s 1/4” wall. But the steel isn’t special. In addition, good slider design is about managing the deflection. All steel has the same modulus of elasticity so it deflects the same (given the same base parameters). It then becomes an exercise in following the load path and supporting all the pieces effectively given your design goals.

This is true of chromoly as well. The extra tensile strength isn’t applicable here since we are concerned with deflection in bending.

P.S. this is one of my favorite topics. I’m Excited to see how the OP’s project turns out.

 

That's interesting!

So what do you think about the Rocky Road "triangulation" design, of having it attached to the pinch weld and body?

 

I recommend buying a small bottle of 75/25 and some solid wire for your welder. You’ll be soooooo much happier with the way your welds turn out. I hate flux core lol. It has its purpose but mainly for outdoor in the wind where shielding has won’t work well.

I’m so glad you chimed in knowing you guys have a lot of engineering experience.

 

Yeah I just got it today from my dad's friend, so I was just welding with what it came with.

 

There is just sooo much spatter with flux core that sometimes it makes a weld feel disappointing haha. With the solid wire and gas you’ll be stylin!

 

Yeah once I get one for myself I'll definitely get gas for it rather than flux core.

 

Advice?

 

You're moving too fast in some areas then too slow in others. Consistentsy is key. Keep the wire about 1/8" behind the new puddle you're laying down. Also, be more consistent with your movement. To small 1/4" circles while moving the gun forward into the new pool of weld.

 

Picked up some gas and a small cart yesterday, hope to set it up and lay some beads after school today.

 

I'm not sure I understand the "triangulation" part. It seems like it would cause issues by bolting it to the pinch seam. The body moves a lot relative to the frame. I've seen designs that allow the slider to flex into the pinch seam and distribute the load over a large area, but even that seems less than ideal. Either way, I'm not impressed at all with the design.