rock rails, frame vs body bolt on
 

I've been kicking around a few ideas for making my own rock rails. Not a fan of store bought where I can help it and this is definitely a place I can help it.

The biggest thing I'm coming across right now is whether or not I should make them to bolt onto the frame or to the body. As far as structural integrity goes I would think bolting them to the frame would be better but then I feel like the gas tank would be a pain to work around.

Another thing, I've never really gotten down to look at how companies are making these ones that bolt to the body. Is it on the body mounts or the holes in the pinch seam? I feel like that would keep the big damage from happening but still be able to tweak the whole body if I take a hit hard enough or in the wrong spot.

Hoping to have something simple thrown together by the end of Friday night so anyone with pros and cons or input would be awesome

Weld to the frame? :cool::thumbsup:

^ That would definately be strongest. Mine used self tapping bolts in the thickest parts of the frame. ( 9/16" I think :thinking: ) Ace sliders use the body mounts.

If you are going to use them as rock sliders, weld on to the frame, with DOM tubing is the preferred choice.

ACE doesn't use DOM tubing. They use mild steel--which will dent more easily with impacts.

VKS Fab and EVO are the only ones I know of that fit the bill.

Shrockworks can be welded on also.

For my 2 dr Rubi, I built my own out of 1.75" x 0.120" DOM.


Most do the rest of the products out there bolt to the body mounts.

The stock body mount rubber pucks are so soft that you can literally squeeze them to a bulge by hand.

As a result on a hard impact, the tub will actually move up to 1/4" or more.

Sliders bolted to the frame with the body mount bolts will leverage the body mounts and flex also.

This movement of the tub combined with flexing/leverage of the sliders sometimes results in tub damage from contact with the slider.


If your slider is mostly a step or is used to pivot around obstacles and will never experience a hard impact, the kind that bolts on with the body mount bolts may be sufficient for you--although, mild steel tubing will likely get dented at some point.

Well that was my original idea but two problems come up with welding them to the frame. I want to be able to take them off to do touch up painting and I have the distinct feeling my wife would axe murder me if I started welding right on the Jeep itself.

If you rock crawl, you scrape up the frame of the jeep as well. So, you clean up and do touch up on the frame, and doing touch up on weld-on sliders won't change the process much.

Weld-on is an upgrade. It strengthens the frame if the jeep. Plus, it protects the tub better than the alternatives. Your wife should understand that. Welding is only a positive.

The strongest bolt ons would likely be the Shrockworks and the LoD bolt to the frame sliders.

Is HREW the same thing as mild steel?

Yes. HREW is not as dent resistant or strong as DOM. DOM is more expensive. Sometimes to save money, people will use a thicker tube wall thickness HREW, but it still isn't as strong as DOM.

Hrew is hot rolled extraction welded. Basically it is just mild steel with a welded seam. Not as consistent as dom (drawn over mandrel) and as mentioned, not as strong.

I built my own,first bolted to frame then welded.I went the least expensive with heavy wall pipe,works well hasn't bent yet.