| Author | Message | ||
     James Briscoe (Rockywood) New Member Username: Rockywood Post Number: 7 Registered: 01-2004 |
Has anyone manufactured rock sliders for their disco 1 before? I had an idea where I thought I could remove the factory plastic and then use that as a kind of template. Maybe with some C channel I could make it fit on both sides of the sill and then bolt right through it, the same as a lot of rock sliders on the market do. Then I could weld a heavy piece of square tubing on the outside for reinforcement. I know there is a slight curve to the doors so I would have to work this out also. If anyone has some information let me know. When I make a set this spring I will post pics. Thanks | ||
| Dean Brown (Deanbrown3d) Senior Member Username: Deanbrown3d Post Number: 1393 Registered: 02-2002 |
http://www.discoweb.org/hiddensliders/index.htm | ||
| justin monnin (Ineedthissale) New Member Username: Ineedthissale Post Number: 28 Registered: 12-2003 |
hey dean nice pic and what a kick ass job on the sliders | ||
| Will Cupp (W_cupp) Senior Member Username: W_cupp Post Number: 319 Registered: 07-2003 |
James, you make it sound so easy. It is much more involved than that. Add up what you think it will cost to do them, then, at least double it. | ||
| Dean Brown (Deanbrown3d) Senior Member Username: Deanbrown3d Post Number: 1394 Registered: 02-2002 |
If I were to do that again, I would change one thing: Put the angle iron all the way from front to back, instead of just the front 2 feet. The entire sill would then sit on the angle. Oh and the price on that steel is way too much. I didn't know where to get that kind of material until afterwards. The whole bar should cost around $20-25, not $80. Dean | ||
| James Briscoe (Rockywood) New Member Username: Rockywood Post Number: 11 Registered: 01-2004 |
Will, I know I know. I welded a roof rack this fall and man what a lot of time. Time is the most expensive cost to me. Materials for the rack were right around US$100 including diposables such as cutoff disks and welding wire. I think the rock sliders would be much easier to make. Dean, I just finished reading the link above. Thank you... that lends some good ideas. The template idea is also proven now. I don't particularly care for that design though and I would want to do away with the factory plastic. Another disadvantage with that design is that the rock sliders are actually closer to the ground then the stock plastic. I also have a disco I. I would probably follow that design but weld some square (rectangular) tubing to the outside of the manufactured sill instead of putting the plastic back on. I would cut this tubing at very slight angles in two spots to allow it to follow the contour of the door bottoms. I will document and photograph the process and post pics when finished. I will also post pics on the rack once it gets warm enough to prime and paint... hopefully April. Thanks again. - James | ||
| Davis Reed (Davis_reed) Member Username: Davis_reed Post Number: 50 Registered: 04-2003 |
James How much time did you put into building your roof rack? I'm planning on making one just haven't gone out and picked up the materials I need. What did you use to secure it to the gutters? | ||
| James Briscoe (Rockywood) New Member Username: Rockywood Post Number: 12 Registered: 01-2004 |
Hi Davis, About 60 to 80 hours. But I went very slow! I made jigs for the roof angles and everything cause I thought I might try and mass produce these. Could probably get it down to 20 hours or less per rack I figure. It will connect to the roof at eight locations (4 per side) like most other disco racks. I lined those points up with the vehicle's pillars. The gutters and clamping are the hardest part! I can get the rack to sit in the gutters but since the rack weighs around 120 pounds I want to make sure it is secured extremely well to the bottom of the gutters. I wouldn't want to go over a bump in the highway and have the rack fly off! Because of this I took a break until the spring when I will finish it off and decide on the final gutter clamp design. Pictures speak louder than words. Check out these pics I just took this am and let me know what you think. I am open to any suggestions on the clamps and would even consider buying something ready made if I could find it. But they must be STRONG. These pics are huge... but good detail. http://www.briscoe-solutions.com/LandRover/RoofRack/1.jpg http://www.briscoe-solutions.com/LandRover/RoofRack/2.jpg http://www.briscoe-solutions.com/LandRover/RoofRack/FrontAngles.jpg http://www.briscoe-solutions.com/LandRover/RoofRack/RoofDownBeams.jpg http://www.briscoe-solutions.com/LandRover/RoofRack/Truck.jpg - James | ||
| Davis Reed (Davis_reed) Member Username: Davis_reed Post Number: 51 Registered: 04-2003 |
Nice work, I've just learned how to weld and thought that making a roof rack would be cost-efficient and a great way to practice welding. You could weld a strip of flat iron on the bottom of the roof down beams on each side to evenly distribute the weight across the gutter, like the Hannibal roof racks. Just a suggestion. http://www.roverworld.com/images/Products/Hannibal-05.jpg Here is the strip of iron downt the gutters. Davis | ||
| marc olivares (Pugs) Senior Member Username: Pugs Post Number: 318 Registered: 12-2002 |
ok james you seem fairly capable, so here we go, this is how i have made sliders in the past: -sill support consists of a U shaped channel which measures 4.5" tall x 3" wide by 43" long. the front portion (use plastic sill as template) needs a gap for the B piller support. so the front plate should be around 29" with an 8" gap then a 9" rear section (both 29" and 9" pieces are 4.5" tall.) note the rear 9" piece will extend 2" past the bottom 43" piece. the total length for the front will be 45" long. (front being the surface that the plastic sill originally attached to) -you can use the plastic sill as a drill guide or simply make up your own drill pattern. -for the side rail, i used a 2" x 3" x 3/16" rect. tubing that i have rolled at a local fabrication shop (again use the plastic sill as a template for the arch) -to attach the side rail to the sill support, use 1.5" wide x 3"long x .375" thick solid spacers and weld every 4" or so. the forward most spacer should be .5" thick and should be welded first to offset the rail to allow for the change in body flare. i use to use a template to space the rise of the side rail to the sill channel but if you install the sill channel on the vehicle, you can set the side rail on some jack stands to get the side gap even and tack weld the two together. -on the welds for the spacers, i used two thin really hot welds to attach the three pieces together, then followed up with one large cooler weld on top of the two small welds (to me one weld looked better than two welds) so what do you need: (1) 4.5" x 43" x 3/16" plate (1) 4.5" x 28" x 3/16" plate (1) 4.5" x 9" x 3/16" plate (1 ) 3" x 43" x 3/16" plate (10) 1.5" x 3" x 3/8" flat bar (2) 1.5" x 3" x 1/2" flat bar (2) 2"x 3" x 66" long rect. tubing (total length will be about 66.25" cap tubing with 1.5 "x 2.5" x .125" flat bar. plan to buy enough material to make 2 sets, as you will most likely change things as you go. and if you plan to spray paint, the cost will be hundreds less than most sell for. these started out as a range rover clasic slider set that a buddy and i did a few years back and was modified to fit both the discos and rangies. oh and one other thing, if your disco is a 94 to 97 you will need to notch a 5" section on the back side to accommodate for the sill support gusset. (about 7" front the front). good luck marc | ||
| James Briscoe (Rockywood) New Member Username: Rockywood Post Number: 13 Registered: 01-2004 |
Hi Marc, That's some great information. I'm wondering if you have any pictures to go with? Even a picture of your truck with these sliders installed. Thank you | ||
| marc olivares (Pugs) Senior Member Username: Pugs Post Number: 320 Registered: 12-2002 |
sure, i'll email you a couple pictures. one other thing to consider, with you buying canadian steel you'll spend much less than buying a US product. give it a whirl! marc | ||
| Sheldon Charron (Rifleman) On Probation Username: Rifleman Post Number: 81 Registered: 01-2004 |
Yeah, and Canadian steel is better!  Heh, heh. |
