Custom
Rock Sliders
This page is about my custom rock sliders.  All of the work was performed by my
Dad and much thanks goes to him for building it.
After experiencing some fairly major damage against my driver's door and lower rocker panel,
I saw first hand the benefits of a set of rock sliders.  Rock sliders would have completely
eliminated any damage in that situation.  Rock sliders, if properly built, will allow the full
wieght of the truck to rest on the bars and not the body if needed.  Another use is being able
jack up the truck from the side and it even provides a step for entering the truck.   These bars
were built from heavy gauge mild steel and are extremely stout.
The main part of the rock sliders are 1.5" by 3" tubing which are welded directly to the
frame.  This piece sits just under the side body seam along the entire length of the body
and front portion of the body.   Here, the bar will flex into the body seam and transfer the
weight to the entire body seam as well as the frame.   The second part of the bars are 1.5"
x 1.5" tubing which act as a guard against any attack from rocks and deflect the truck
away from rocks.
Here the 3" x 1.5" tubing has been
measured and cut and we're fabricating
the frame mounts.  We chose to weld
the bars directly the frame.
Cutting the pieces that would mount
the sliders to the frame.
Welding the frame mounts to the
main bar.
Building the kick out bar and welding it
to the main bar.
The finished product before welding
onto the truck.
Finish welding the final product onto
the frame.
In the end, I haven't had chance to test the bars, but I'm confidence they are so heavy
duty, they will more than support the weight of the truck and any hits from the side.   They
are, however, fairly heavy at about 60lbs + a piece.  But the weight is down low and in the
middle of the truck, which is a good thing.    My only current complaint is that I never took
into account the body mounts and the fact that the the body moves up and down and side to
side just a little.  Because fo the very close proximity of the bars to the body seam, the
body konks onto the rock sliders and makes noises when driving on a very rough road.  
I'm current working to solve the problem.
Click on images for larger view.