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Bronco Rock Sliders
This installation
was done on my 1989 Bronco, but the same concept of rocker panel
protection can be applied to about any type of vehicle. Bronco owners
are fortunate in that there is a 3" wide channel in the body of
their vehicles, located right underneath the doorsill. This channel is a
perfect place to insert a piece of steel to keep rocks from denting the
underside. Another popular rocker panel protection design that was
developed by Andy Skaar can be found here.
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We started
out with a length of 3"x3" box tubing with a 1/4"
wall thickness. After measuring the channels we had to work with,
we cut two 53" lengths of tubing.
In our design, we wanted to incorporate braces that tie into
the frame for added strength.
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The diagram in my head |
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Take an ordinary length of steel and put it to work! |
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While taking
measurements, we found that the seatbelt nut was not letting the
steel sit flush up in the channel. To fix this problem, we torched
out a section near the rear of the tubing to allow the steel to
sit as high up in the channel as possible. This was done to
minimize the amount of ground clearance lost and make for a clean
looking install. |
| The proper
tools really helped this project move along. Kenny's house is equipped
with about every tool and milling machine you could think of. This
handy band saw made short work of steel cutting tasks. It
certainly beats a hacksaw! |
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After we had
the 53" lengths cut and the seatbelt bolt holes clearanced,
we used jacks to position the sliders up in the channel. Here we
measured the length of tubing we would need to span the distance
from the slider to the frame. |
| After we
settled on 13", Kenny tacked on the 2"x2" tubing
and I used a cut off wheel to make notches in the channel (side
closest to the frame) to allow the support bars to connect as high
up on the frame as possible. After the support bars were in place,
we then test fit them again and welded 'L' brackets on to bolt
them to the frame. |
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Special care is
needed on the driver's side installation. Obstructions like the
emergency brake cable and dangers like the fuel lines running along the
frame rail must be taken into consideration. While removing a stuck
socket after installing the driver's side slider, we inadvertently broke
the plastic inline fuel accumulator and my truck was out of service a
day until we could get to the Ford dealership for parts ($25).
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So how did they
turn out? Pretty darn good in my opinion. They hang down 1"
beyond the doorsill and the support bars do not decrease ground
clearance. Now just to test them in the field....
Special thanks goes out to our girlfriends who put up with
our late-night wrenching sessions and provided a ride back home
when the Bronco was fuel-challenged. |
500 Mile Update; March
31st, 2001
Unfortunately, the
passenger side rock slider has drooped down about a 1/2" so I will
need to drill a few holes in the rocker guard to make them stay snug up
against the body. The driver's side continues to sit snug up in the
channel with no drooping.
| I did get to go out
on the trails last weekend and test them on some rocks. I got a
little carried away and got hung up on my front differential/driveshaft
and transmission pan. I was climbing out of a small stream at the
end of a trail and slipped off some boulders. Not only did I get
to see how the sliders worked, but we had to use a Hi-Lift jack on
one to lift the truck up enough to fit a log under the front tire. |
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7000 Mile Update;
March 17th, 2002
It
has been almost a year with my rock sliders on the truck. They've done
exactly what they were designed for and have saved me in countless
situations where my thin rocker guard metal would have taken great
impacts. One particular time was coming out of the Rubicon trail on the
last obstacle, the gatekeeper. I was sloppy and eager to get out
of the trail and came down hard on the slider. Lots of people were
watching and all commented on the usefulness of the protection there.
Several weeks ago I was tired of a squeak that developed from the
passenger side and tapped the sliders and put two bolts through the
doorsills into the top of them.
I've been really
happy with the rock sliders and I do care about the body of my truck, so
I think this upgrade is very worthwhile and beats the pants off any
low-hanging step bar that sets you back $200 and drags on every good
sized rock.
-John Denholm
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