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Need rock slider mounting hardware suggestions

andyblack

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Okay, I'm about to make my own rock sliders this weekend just like many of you guys on this site already have. I'm making them out 2x3 .120" square tubing. I don't want to weld them to the frame, so I'm going to weld some plates to the end of the sliders so I can mount them to the frame with bolts (I'll sandwich the frame with two 1/8" thick steel plates. What size of grade 8 bolts would you fellows suggest I use to mount the sliders to the frame?
 
Nothing smaller than, fine thread, 1/2", four per plate. That would give you 2" of metal holding it (At least that's how I think of 4, 1/2" bolts)
 
Remember that the minor diameter of the bolt is where the strength is, the shank part, not the thread. (OTOH, for a 1/2 NF that looks like .45" or so, which ain't bad.)

However, I would strongly consider 1/4" or 3/8" plate. 1/8" plate with just four bolts will want to deform when you start sliding a coupla tons of truck on levers that are what, two feet long? Think of the forces being applied to it.

Even if you bolt around the entire circumference of the plate, it'd still flex a bit which will eventually break the welds, which is bad juju :D

If it were me, I'd use a nice thick plate on the outside (1/4"+) and yeah, 1/2" bolts, maybe six depending on size/shape of the plate, but just fender washers on the inside. The bolts should only be carrying the load of holding the plate to the frame; the plate should be carrying the torsional load. Given that, fine thread bolts might be a good idea, though threadlocker is a good idea too.

If you DID do a plate on the inside, you could tap the holes, though after doing so I'd thread a nut down and weld it to the plate. Overkill with fasteners is almost always A Good Thing :D
 
Good ideas. Does anyone know what size plates and bolts and stuff they use for the ones you can buy from the fab shops (Blazen Off Road, DIY, ORD, etc.)?
 
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