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You guys with boatsides...

TerryD

TerryD

Mildly demented...
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How often do you actually hit them on anything? I'm wondering what material I should use for my rocker tube and the idea right now is 4x2x.083 or 4x2x.120 to keep weight down. I wasn't going to tie it into the frame, but rather just move the rockers up. Ideas, opinions, flames?
 
I used to run 2"x3" .188" wall rockers and hit them HARD many times, never bent them. Truck was still full bodied then and weighed 5200 lbs.


Now my "rockers" are made of tube, 1.625" round, .135" wall. They are bent just a little and my rig is barely over 4000 lbs. now.



It depends on how hard you are on the truck, I've been fairly hard on mine. .083" wall is definitely to thin.
 
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When you ran the box, were they tied to the frame or just in the cab? The main reason for this is rust repair. This cab has already rusted out, been fixed, and rusted out again. I'm just going to do it this way because it will get me free ground clearance and save me a butt load of money on repair panels.
 
Check out Blazenoffroad for the weld in rock sliders. These will replace the lower portion of the door sill and are a great looking kit. Do a search and you will find where somebody did a write-up of the install.
 
BulldogK5 said:
Check out Blazenoffroad for the weld in rock sliders. These will replace the lower portion of the door sill and are a great looking kit. Do a search and you will find where somebody did a write-up of the install.
Click to expand...


Those look pretty nice, but let me elaborate on "rust".

DSCN2459.jpg

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DSCN2454.jpg

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cuttin just below the lower door hinges will take out 98% of the rusted panels and be above where they were put in the first time. It will also allow me to rebuild the front cab mounts and re-do the floor board. All this will need done either way, so why not just go ahead and boatside it, right?
 
Yeah, its a little bit of a basket case, but between the frame rails is in good condition (thankfully it's a gm and leaks oil, right?) so that's what made up my mind on the boatsiding. They may even get put in on a slight angle, higher in the rear to help get rid of as much bad metal as possible. We'll just have to see what I get into when I get to cutting.
 
So you guys think I can get away w/o using any type of slider if I build decent cab mounts for it and use .188 wall box for the rockers? I mean to be pretty hard on it, but pretty hard on something with 35's and 10/12 bolts (eventually locked with alloy's) is pretty easy on something with 40's and 60/14bolts.
 
If you plan on having most of the weight of your truck resting on the rockers and making sure they stay unbent/undented, I would use .188" wall tube.

If you'd like the protection but don't do stuff like this:

post3.jpg


you can probably get by with .120" wall.



As for whether you really need to boatside your truck, that's up to you ;)
 
Boatsiding it will save me time and money. With a heavier tube there like the .188, I won't have to build sliders, I'll have great ground clearance uner the rockers/boatsides, and it will get rid of most of the rust. I see it as a win/win thing.

I've got this truck to keep up with.
Misc1077.jpg

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We built it a few years ago, and now that I've picked up this one (I'm a GM man, he bleeds blue) we want them similarly capable so we can hit the same trails.
 
38377k5 said:
If you plan on having most of the weight of your truck resting on the rockers and making sure they stay unbent/undented, I would use .188" wall tube.

If you'd like the protection but don't do stuff like this:

post3.jpg


you can probably get by with .120" wall.



As for whether you really need to boatside your truck, that's up to you ;)
Click to expand...



I know I want to do stuff like this so Im boat siding my k5.
 
The best pic I have. 3x3 square tube, .188" thick. I've hit them pretty hard several times and the only damage is scratched paint. I use them all the time to pivot the entire truck around trees and rocks. They are not tied to the frame at all but welded all along the A and B pillars, the floors are 1/8" plate, and there is 2" angle and 1.5" square tube supports (2 of each) running from the body "subframe" out to the sliders.


0426081015.jpg
 
Got any underside shots of that thing? I'd like to see your door jambs too if you don't mind.
 
I took my sliders up to just barely below my lower door hinges. Still hit the stupid things. They are 2x6x.188 tubing.
 
I used 188 wall 2x4 becouse I dented the crap out of my old 120 tube sliders. I welded ine just to the body, but the body is rpping and the welds are breaking at the rear of the rear doors and center pillar from the body flexing. Welding 188 to sheet metal isnt too easy ether
2884098420068081987S500x500Q85.jpg
 
I'd still like to see some more underside shots with how you tied everything together guys. I'm using them as refrences to the pictures I have of my truck to see how much will have to be replaced. My truck is about an hour from where I live now, at least till we move back this winter. So I'm going to start working on it in my free time now, but mainly gathering ideas/parts for now.
 
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