Rock sliders for SMB

[parisdakar]

I will call the Sacramento fabricator on Monday and get more details! I'll report back once I have spoken with him. pd

[parisdakar]

Hi team,

I spoke with the custom fabrication guy who made the sliders below (scroll about half way down the thread page):

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=3154&start=30

He can fabricate some more sliders for our SMBs, and he asked if I'd get a rough show of hands to see how many people are interested. These attach to the body, not the frame. You may want to see scatter's comments above about frame v. body attachments, and other archived threads.

The fabrication guy explained that the specific problem attaching them to the SMB frame, from the perspective of being tasked to build a number of SMB sliders at one time, is that the underside of many SMBs varies, depending on who built it, what equipment you have bolted on, where its bolted on, etc. So for him, it would be problematic to make a generic slider that would simply attach to everyone's frame.

In theory, one could probably take these or other body mounted rails and just bolt/weld on a frame attachment instead. I'm not sure if it has been previously discussed at length on this forum, but attaching sliders to the frame on SMBs could also pose a flex problem if they ever were load stressed, based on the distance the mount would have to extend out from the frame to the rail. Ultimately, both attachments will surely suffice for most SMB off road applications.

Please PM me if you are interested.

Cheers, pd

[Chimneyman]

I am in the process of making sliders and rear quarter sliders for EB the way i am building them the should fit all the SMB . I will post photos when I get to the mounting point of the sliders so u can see how they mount to the frame.

[DisabledExplorers]

I love the ones that Rock Slide Engineering is making that have a fully functional slider with a powered step that comes out.

I have done some rock sliding with them, jacked from them and love'em to death

here is the thread I started with a video clip, they have the faster motor now and are totally plug and play

viewtopic.php?f=13&t=5448

[parisdakar]

Very cool piece of kit!

When you jacked from them, did you jack right at the very end of the slider? Is there any concern jacking near the recessed step area, or near the motor drive (I assume that's mounted nearby)?

Cheers, pd

[parisdakar]

I am leading the charge for the body-mounted rock slider fabrication that AndrewST began not long ago. With so many undercarriage variables that could potentially get in the way on SMBs (bolt on gear, dual batteries, custom kit, etc.), making a mass run of generic frame-mounted sliders would be extremely problematic. Of course, this is not the reason for people to go instead with body-mounted sliders. If frame-mounted sliders are your preference, or they are required for your anticipated off-road conditions, then you will probably need to go with a custom one-off construction. But, if functional body-mounted, bolt on sliders made in small batch custom production runs will work for your applications, then check these out:

https://cid-e1717f853b715208.office.liv ... bile?ref=1

The quote is for left and right side sliders made to the specs below, and includes the UPS ground shipping anywhere in the lower 48 states. If you pick them up directly from the fabricator, then the shipping cost will be subtracted from the $ amount below (he is located near Sacramento, California).

$ 999.11

If you want the fabricator to install them in his shop, please add $375.00

Varozza SMB rock sliders: the main tube attached to the pinch seam of the van body is 1"x2"x.125" rec tube, outer rail is 2"x.125" tube, flat support strip is 1/4"x1", horizontal cross tubes are 1-1/5", and angled tubes are 1". These have one step on the driver’s side, and two steps on the passenger side. They have a satin black powdercoat finish, are body mounted on two surfaces, and extend full wheel-to-wheel length. All mounting hardware is stainless, and all mounting hardware and instructions are included.

Regarding body mount versus frame mount sliders specific to use on the SMB, here is the builder’s opinion (which I have paraphrased): These sliders are constructed of heavy duty material and should withstand a pretty good hit due to a large surface area of mounting. Yes, the SMB is heavy, but it's also not driven like a rock crawling Jeep. These sliders should have no problem handling a gentle slide over an obstacle, without damaging the body panel. A good solid frame-mounted version - that is realistically strong enough to avoid deflecting up into the body – will also have to sacrifice the overall ground clearance more than the body mounted sliders.

We have heard from SMB owners that jacking via body-mounted sliders is not a problem, and the fabricator of these sliders concurs. Please PM me if you are interested, so we can get a batch order into the fabricator. I will not handle any of the $$ exchange, or deposits etc. That will happen between you and the fabricator. I can also direct you to the fabricator, if you have any questions regarding these sliders.

(Please note: I have no financial or other stake in the production or sale of these sliders, or in the fabricator’s business. I am not receiving a reduced price or a special deal, nor have I asked the fabricator for one. I’m simply trying to hook up fellow SMB owners with quality gear that meets their individual requirements.)

Cheers, parisdakar (aka: bryon)

[Stumpalump]

I could not get the link to work. Got picts? I have body mounted sliders on a rock beater Jeep XJ Cherokee unibody. Anything short of a 2' drop onto solid rock and I'm not worried because it never hurts it. The van has a very stought body to frame mount in the area of your sliders so mounting them the same way is the best plan. Mounting to the frame would worry me. The frame is so far away that a lot of twist on the frame would happen if you landed on them. It would also be quite a bit of fabrication to go down and over to the frame. With out a pict I can guess on what you have but it sounds perfect! Thanks for following up and helping to bring a new 4x4 van product to market! I hope he sells a hundred of them.

[parisdakar]

Sorry about the link. I'll try to sort that one. It came directly from the fab man. In the meantime, here are two pics of that same build from our forum. Go about half way down the thread. Its the yellow (orange?) SMB:

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=3154&start=30

Just for clarification (in case people didn't read the bottom of my post above), I have no financial or other stake in the production or sale of these sliders, or in the fabricator’s business. I’m just trying to facilitate.

Cheers, pd

[Chimneyman]

I am building a set of rock sliders that bolt to my DMV frame. And making the tube my air tank.
And you can jack from them too.
I will share photos.