Installed Sliders and OK with Results

The weak point for sliders on a Toyota is the frame. Bolted or welded sliders are all stronger than the frame they are attached to.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdQPhzA44ms&t=4s

 

Ah throwing out the skee!

 

Hi, thank you.

I think my expectations were too high!

 

That is amazing. I wouldn't have guessed the sliders could take that kind of punishment. I am also guessing the Tacoma frame is a fair bit weaker than the truck they used?

 

@Shmellmopwho ’s bolt ons. I ordered these with lower 5-degree custom angle for easier use as steps. Tried them out accidentally on a shelf and rocks already a few times and they worked well. Hold up well when hi-lifted too. He’s in Lomita near Long Beach, CA.

 

I think the answer is what kind of infrastructure it takes to support that extension out to the fender edge. You can see the pieces on either end of these sliders that have to reach way up and out to the frame. What is with the long span in the middle without support?

 

So, let's dive right in. You want them end-to-end for complete coverage of the pinch seam and to cover that small weird section of the bed at the beginning of the wheel well. To do that you have to hang the main tube pretty low on the frame. Basically, you have to hang the support legs below the bottom of the frame. You could get away with making it work without doing this, but the main tube would be stupid close to the pinch seam. If you notice, the rocker panel dips down as it approaches the front wheel well. This is all well and good, but what we've found after selling a boat load of these, getting feedback and making revisions is that the body on our trucks move a lot. The movement causes contact with the slider tube if it's too close. This leads to an annoying thud over every bump. Since most are daily driving their trucks, it gets pretty old quickly. You could in theory taper the tube like White Knuckle does, but it's a compromise. We decided against it because we were worried that section would permanently deform too easily and cause damage anyway. Also, fuck if there isn't a lot of versions to the frames and the dimensions even among the same year and model. Makes it pretty hard to run them close since every truck is slightly different. Now in the rear, it's kind of the same situation. You could try to get more coverage, but you start to get pretty far from the last good spot to attached to the frame. You end up with a even large cantilever than you already have. Since we designed ours, there has been at least one unique design I've seen to get the support you need, but it still doesn't address the fact that a lot of people trim their fenders and run larger tires. So to summarize, it's a compromise for what we feel most people would except. Could you do it's differently, yea, maybe. But it's a little different building a one off set for yourself and excepting the issues with your chosen design than it is building 1000's of sets for the masses.

 

Supporting my local vendor. Picture of my 2nd gen, in a third gen forum, with bolt-on Mobtown sliders.

 

I think this wraps up this thread pretty well. As I looked at more and more pictures of these I began to understand the reasons and I am OK with the compromise on my truck. As an earlier poster pointed out (un-diplomatically) you can pick your lines when you understand the limitations of your vehicle.

Oh - and changed the title to boot.

 

I’m patiently waiting my turn for him to make some for my truck.

 

They look good on your BRO DOZER!!!!!

 

I have RCI and they are similar.

 

One might even argue that bolt on is better. With bolts you have significant clamping force (proportional to the torque you put on each bolt) which creates a huuuge amount of static friction between the entire mating surface. This has to slide before you even consider the shear strength of the bolts which itself is huge. Welding doesn't create this clamping force. It probably doesn't matter anyway since most designs wrap around the bottom of the frame which will prevent any sliding anyway.

Basically whether bolt on or weld on the connection to the frame is probably about 20 times stronger than you'll ever need it to be, and bolt on are easily removable.

 

If it’s welded why would you need clamping force to prevent them from sliding? You have literally made the two pieces of metal into one.

 

I agree, if you did manage to bend the slider or frame to the point you could not open the door at least you could get them off in a trail situation.

 

That bead has a shear strength. I don't know how to calculate it but it's very high. It's also going to depend on the skill of the welder and other things which are variables I don't want in my equation. Bolts are way more consistent, way more reliable, and easily reversible. It's the perfect connection. There's a reason field bolted connections on many steel frame buildings in seismically active areas are favored over field welded, it's simply a less consistent, less reliable connection.

 

My assumption is that most of the bolts are in tension.

Are buildings bolted together because it's better or because it takes considerably less skill/time so in the end is cheaper? In my experience with these types of things, it always comes down to what's the cheapest solution while still being good enough (i.e. not necessarily the best).