There will be two of us! one is pretty handy with tools and the other is an actor.

 

 

Make sure that you get a bit that is for hardened steel. I spent $30 on what I thought was a good unibit from an ACE Hardware and it went dull before I even finished one side. I went back and got a regular 1/2 inch bit for hardened steel and had the rest of the holes done very quickly.

 

Yes very doable. As others had already said get a unibit and a right angle drill is very helpful. I picked up a pneumatic one from Harbor freight for around $40 and it helped a lot.

 

A good pneumatic drill and a unibit and your set. A right-angle isn't really that necessary so don't fret if you don't have one.

A friend is extremely helpful and a lift makes life real easy if you've got access to one.

 

although i haven't had to drill through my frame as of yet, i can still offer a bit of advice. if you have no unibit, it usually makes it easier to drill a smaller hole first then use a larger bit to go to the needed size. for a 1/2" hole i'd suggest a 1/4" bit first then going to the 1/2". don't want to go with too small of a bit because u risk breakage. periodic lubing/cooling with some cutting oil would help as well. we drill structural steel at work all the time and you'd be surprised how this method can save time and money. even though you're drilling 2 holes and using 2 bits, the 1/4" will go through quicker and the 1/2" has less material to remove when it goes through. and the cutting oil helps a lot with bit life and we all know a sharper bit drills quicker. and please, for the love of all things sacred, wear your safety glasses/goggles. getting metal particles extracted from your eye is no picnic. trust me, i speak from experience. good luck!

 

Yes you can

My “not so mechanically inclined” self and my “never touched a tool in his life” 17 year old son installed mine.
We didn’t have a right angle drill because Lowes AND Home Depot only had one in each store and they were like $200. Didn’t think about Harbor Freight at the time
We did pick up a unibit for something like $35 and it was well worth the purchase.
We took my laptop out to the garage and followed the directions from post #2 above and successfully completed our first JK mod

 

Any other special precautions to take when drilling through the frame?

What about rust protection?

 

I used a unibit and to hold up the rail I used one of those short pneumatic rolling shop stools.
Sometimes you just have to be creative.

 

Regarding the drilling angle. Looks in the pic like its impossible to get a normal drill under there to drill the side holes. Is this true? All I have is a black n decker cordless. If it doesn't fit under the door frame I'm gonna be pissed. I installed shrocks in my xterra with no problem, this is the only part that worries me.