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Aluminum Sliders?

Discussion in '2nd Gen. Tacomas (2005-2015)' started by g34rh34d, Feb 4, 2012.

  1. May 7, 2015 at 10:06 PM
    #81
    OZ-T

    OZ-T You are going backwards

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  2. May 8, 2015 at 7:01 AM
    #82
    ruggedT

    ruggedT The Sticker Guy

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    For whatever its worth, my alum skids never corroded and never got any paint. My brother has them on his truck now, so they've been out in the elements for years
     
  3. May 8, 2015 at 9:36 AM
    #83
    Lostsheep

    Lostsheep Well-Known Member

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    The factory sliders that came withmy truck and immediately departed were very thin wall tube and hung down almost 6". The thin wall would buckle immediately under any load. My thinking is to have the sliders physically in contact with the body so that any loading would be shared by the body as well. All the sliders would have to do is distribute the loading and not deform locally. Creating a step is absolutely not a part of the goal. I'll post a picture later of the sliders on my heep to clarify the style I am after.

    @OZ, 2 things, I already have BAMF which are in my eyes better than the Avids and as i mentioned before I hate tubes hanging off.
     
  4. May 8, 2015 at 10:08 AM
    #84
    OZ-T

    OZ-T You are going backwards

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    " sliders " that attach to the body rather than the frame are just going to tear the bottom of the cab out if they get hung up badly no ?
     
  5. May 8, 2015 at 10:12 AM
    #85
    Lostsheep

    Lostsheep Well-Known Member

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    6112s and 5160 , Dakars , Superbumps x4 , u-bolt flip , All Pro Skids (hacked and raised) , 265/70R17 KO2s, SEMA wheels, couple of machined things here and there

    The ones on my jeep have withstood quite a bit of abuse; its the body mounts that scare me. That being said, the point of my taco is completely different than the point of my Jeep. I'm done daily driving a rock crawler, it was my DD for the last 7 years. The tacoma doesnt need full armor, just enough for oh shit moments
     
  6. May 8, 2015 at 11:25 AM
    #86
    plurpimpin

    plurpimpin Well-Known Member

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    I think he might be thinking about something similar to some of the very low profile jeep slider offerings. Some of them tuck in very close to the body. The key difference between a jeep and a tacoma is that a jeep has flat vertical body panels that don't curve outward like the taco's body. A low profile slider like that would be useless on our trucks. I could be wrong but that was the impression I got from his description.

    Here's an example of the jeep sliders I'm referring to.
    [​IMG]
     
  7. May 8, 2015 at 11:55 AM
    #87
    Lostsheep

    Lostsheep Well-Known Member

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    6112s and 5160 , Dakars , Superbumps x4 , u-bolt flip , All Pro Skids (hacked and raised) , 265/70R17 KO2s, SEMA wheels, couple of machined things here and there
    Here's the ones on my Jeep that I would like to emulate; these are steel but the concept is the same. The corners of a jeep are obviously much easier to match as they are just a 90 degree profile. Matching the Taco would be much harder and might not even be doable without a custom extrusion. All of this is kinda a thought experiment into the feasibility at this point anyways so...

    tmp_10267-20150508_091855649577599_zpsu8_128fc6bf428f31accc4aad0ddeb56995fddcc927.jpg

    These are body mounted, have better ground clearance than any frame mounted slider, and use less material which makes them lighter. They have taken more than their fair share of hits and are still straight and doing there job protecting the body.


    As long as we're talking CAD

    Here is a VERY rough idea of what I have in mind, don't focus on proportions or the lack of a kickout, that can be added later. Similiarly, increasing bending resistance would need some attention. I drew this just to convey my thoughts and I realize that machining this is pretty much an exercise in futility.
    Capture2_zpsgu4ofxjp_099bf09d99c4fbd92f60aa3361f4a0e6f7f5cb01.jpg
    Capture_zpsyapehsir_4eddae90f2db85cd83f7aa8a150c34981d854c8a.jpg

    These would be picking up the factory mounting holes used for the factory steps and would require some kind of nutsert in the 9 holes (on my DCSB) that are currently plugged with rubber feet. As currently drawn, SW thinks these would be about 14 lbs a piece if .250" thick and 21.5 lbs out of .375" thick.

    I agree with Plurpimpin that without at least moderate kickout these would be much less useful due to the body shape. That being said, someones gotta think out side of the box every once in a while.
     
    Last edited: May 8, 2015
  8. May 8, 2015 at 2:30 PM
    #88
    Lostsheep

    Lostsheep Well-Known Member

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    Well it would protect the bottom of the rocker but you might still get a doording or two ;)

    ETA: Jeeps don't have that problem cause you can readily take the doors off. WRT producing them, I don't think bending would be a good option as most aluminum doesn't like to bend. I think they would require a custom extrusion.
     
    Last edited: May 8, 2015
  9. May 8, 2015 at 4:52 PM
    #89
    RKCRUZA

    RKCRUZA Well-Known Member

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    IMG_2196.jpg Not sure why everyone is so down on aluminum...I have had simple t-6 aluminum rocker plates on my FJ 40 for about 20 years. Yes they have a few good gouges in them, but they have been on the Rubicon too many times to count, Dusey Ershim, and most of the nasty stuff at Moab and they are still working just fine. Sort of like what you have in the diagram, only made from simple angle material.
     
  10. May 8, 2015 at 4:56 PM
    #90
    OZ-T

    OZ-T You are going backwards

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    I'm not down on aluminum , all the work boats around here are made out of aluminum and they get beat to shit
     
    DoorDing likes this.
  11. May 8, 2015 at 7:45 PM
    #91
    Overkill07

    Overkill07 Tacoitis

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    I have worked with aluminum before and never had any real luck with bending a plate without causing structural integrity issues at the bend. I have always welded all my aluminum joints but at the same time have never put as much stress on the welds as we are referring to here with plates and sliders.

    I guess I just don't understand the functionality of the sliders as you suggest that the ones in the link above would not be useful? What flaw do these have that the others don't? Aren't sliders made for just that, sliding? It is just used in the event of being high centered against the body/rocker pannels, no?

    What would be the biggest challenge of making these, the radius right? So why not mill a tool and die to forge these? A press can be out sourced and depending on the pounds needed to forge aluminum, (don't know, never tried) I may have access to the equipment itself. With this information would it be feasible if we had enough interest?
     
  12. May 9, 2015 at 9:45 AM
    #92
    Lostsheep

    Lostsheep Well-Known Member

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    Bending something 80" wide and 1/4" thick is no small feat. I am going to keep playing with this design and keep examining options for making something like this.
     
  13. May 11, 2015 at 6:44 AM
    #93
    plurpimpin

    plurpimpin Well-Known Member

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    I'm very interested to see how these turn out. I'm still having trouble seeing you getting much protection without having them stick out a substantial distance. Plus aren't Jeep bodies made to have sliders mount to them unlike our pinch weld?

    Either way it's definitely an interesting project. I do agree with your points about bending though and think you're on the right track with milling it.
     
  14. May 11, 2015 at 7:55 AM
    #94
    BadBrains

    BadBrains Spreading the Aloha

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    What about cutting out the pinch-weld area and replacing it with tube going around it. Would be simpler to build.
    67.jpg
     
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  15. May 12, 2015 at 2:09 PM
    #95
    Lostsheep

    Lostsheep Well-Known Member

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    I like your thinking here but we are back to welding which is less than desirable for aluminum. I suppose it could be a bolted assembly....hmmmm.
     
  16. May 12, 2015 at 2:19 PM
    #96
    xJuice

    xJuice My spoon is too Big!

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  17. May 25, 2016 at 7:40 PM
    #97
    beavis87

    beavis87 Well-Known Member

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    I would like to know what the lightest steel sliders would weigh be versus how much aluminum sliders would weigh of the same strength? Who makes the lightest sliders? Also, who can I go to to make me some aluminum sliders? How much would it cost?
     
  18. May 25, 2016 at 10:44 PM
    #98
    WheelInTheSky

    WheelInTheSky Ramblin' Man

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    How?
     
  19. May 26, 2016 at 4:51 AM
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    beavis87

    beavis87 Well-Known Member

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    Emailed SOS Concepts and they said they could make them. Maybe if enough people are interested we can make a group buy.
     
  20. May 26, 2016 at 8:12 AM
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    beavis87

    beavis87 Well-Known Member

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    Got an email from All pro saying this:

    So even though I saw no information on their website about aluminum sliders, especially Apex ones they confirmed they make them in aluminum, however they caution you against using a hi lift Jack on them.
     

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