1st gen weld on sliders converted to bolt on

I ordered a set of 4xi DOM sliders and can't bring myself to welding them to my frame. I suppose I have commitment issues with it comes to permanent modifications, LOL. There are a ton of threads to debate the reasons concerning welding sliders vs bolt on sliders so there is no reason to debate it here.

I examined the frame of my truck and realized there are quite a few existing holes to work with that go all the way through the Ex-cab frame of my 2000 Tacoma.


I have began making 6 U-shaped brackets and will make two other angle brackets that will bolt to the crossmember. I will include sketches and a few photos along the way. These will provide 4 brackets on each slider.

This is the original sketch of the 6 brackets with the hole locations. These evolved into being a U-shaped bracket. I made these out of 1/4x3x5" angle and then welded 1/4x2.5" flat bar to it to create the U shape. I have drilled a 17/32" hole all the way through each bracket and install a 1/2-20x4" bolt. The truck frame varies in thickness from 2.780-2.820" so I made the inside thickness of the U 2.830" by machining a piece of AL to that thickness and using it as a spacer when I welded the 1/4x2.5" flat bar to the back side of the U.


This will be the crossmember bracket. It will get a 1/2-20 bolt and another bolt through the hole in the angle. Both bolts will go into existing holes in the frame.

 

I got a good start today. Here's I'm milling the square corner off the angle. I ended up milling a radius here. This isn't needed but I thought it would make a nicer looking part.


I sure need to work on my welding skills. I will likely trouble a co-worker(our full time welder) to do the heavy welding on these once I get everything tacked up.


With welds like that, I gotta know how to run a grinder. These brackets still need the hole drilled through the backside of the U. I made (3) right hand and (3) left hand parts to to allow a little more flexibility of placing the brackets. (2) of the brackets are notched to clear brake line mounts on the inside of the frame.

 

Here's one in place on the rear of the frame. I held a stand off in place for reference. The hole is offset to the side to allow clearance for the gusset.

 

Here's a few pics of the 4xI DOM slider kit. Nice kit, nice welds, nice instructions and nice price.


Ive decided I'm going with outside of tube being 1/2" past the door skin. To make this happen, I will shorten the stand off tubes to 4.25".


I feel this provides a good balance between "protection" and "in the way" for my needs. I prefer the "tilted up" look but can't make that happen and keep the medium amount of protrusion due to the width of these sliders. The "no tilt" will also work better as a step if I add more lift to the truck.

 

Brackets are fitting nicely. The bolts in the picture are a little short but the 4" bolts will protrude and provide area for a nut. I'll make the two front angled brackets(sketch in post #1) that will bolt to the crossmember next week and then get these tacked up.

 

hopped over here after updating my rock slider thread and i have to say, nice work! I may look into modifying my front brackets to go over the crossmember. we'll see if i have the materials at home, it would require an entire new bracket and not sure i want to go to all that trouble since mine technically does work. looks great so far, i'll be interested to see how the finished product turns out!

 

Got a little done yesterday. I cut and bent the plates that will anchor to the crossmember. I used cold rolled steel and it cracked when I bent it to 65 degrees. I will grind out a groove and weld it up though. Hot rolled steel would have been better but didnt have any. I used wood to make a model of the anchor nut that will go inside the frame for the top cross member bolt(1/2-20×4"). You can see the beginning of the steel anchors on the 2nd photo.

 

Break time progress.

 

I finished the these two brackets that will bolt to the crossmember. I didn't have a full drawing and just drilled holes as need including the large hole that allows the protrusion to extend through the bracket(instead of using a spacer to space it off). Last photos shows the complete brackets after I cut the corner off to save a little weight. The next step will be to bolt all the brackets on, cut the stand offs to length and tack everything up.

 

Placing two floor Jack's with two straight bars under the frame worked great to help position the sliders. I ended up positioning the bottom edge of the inside tube even with the bottom of the frame. This allows me to tip them up an inch which is about 10 degrees.


All the brackets worked out well. Here are all of the parts for the crossmember bracket.

Here they are all tacked up. I have removed them to weld them up. Removing them was much easier than I anticipated. Just remove all the bolts and they drop right down. I'm super happy so far. Hopefully after they are welded up they won't draw much and go right back on. I'll test fit them after welding and then remove them again before paint.

 

looks great! i'll be excited to see how they look painted and everything! as well as how they work as a jacking point, etc.

 

Thanks.

 

You should sell a bracket kit so people can make their own bolt on sliders!

 

If there was enough interest, I might be willing to have a batch of these lasered and bent then add the hardware.

 

Sliders are welded out. We didn't have any anti-splatter spray so I still have some more splatter to remove. They bolted up on my truck with minimal effort. It's time to finish de-splattering, tidying up any blobs, deburr and prep for prime/truck bed liner.

 

BTW, I removed the scale with a carbide die grinder before welding these.

 

Sliders are primed, truck bed, lightly sanded and the painted with semi-gloss.

 

I like the semi-gloss, makes them look like they're nicely powdercoated, without the hassle or cost of actually getting that done. excited to see how they look on the truck!

 

Id be in for some of the brackets!
I like how those can be used as steps, I might copy you. My kid isn't tall enough to get in the truck yet so using the sliders as steps is a win win!

 

yeah... obviously i've already made mine but if these things had been on the market when i started by build i probably would've picked up a set of 4x sliders and a set of these brackets. there's for sure a market for stuff like this if you're interested in doing a production run of them.