rocker guard mounting

chad · Jul 11, 2003

I'm going to be building my own rocker guards this weekend and I'm wondering what is the best way to mount them to the subframe rails. Should I bolt them all the way through with backing plates or what? I will be mounting them to the pinch seam as well. Thanks
Chad

Loose_Nuts_Enterprises · Jul 11, 2003

Most of the guys bolt it to the frame with self-tapping bolts. Check out the ORGS site. Mr. Hinkley has been kind enough to put enough info on there so you can take advantage of all his hard work.

Dan

BrettM · Jul 11, 2003

If you're mounting it well to the pinch seam, you don't need a whole lot at the frame. self-tappers are fine.

RCP Phx · Jul 11, 2003

I used 1/4-20 nut-serts and I also added an arm in the middle.Then I plated the whole thing with aluminum plate.Now it can take a hit anywhere under there!

chad · Jul 11, 2003

Hey, thanks guys. That sounds good to me. A lot easier than I thought! I appreciate the help.

robs · Jul 13, 2003

I ran some 1x1 down the pinch seam and used twelve 1/4" self tapers to hold them on..

Used 3x1/4" angle on the frame with 3/8" self tapers.

Works fine!

chad · Jul 19, 2003

When you guys say "self tappers" are you reffering to lag type bolts or do they have a finer thread?
Thanks,
Chad

bill hitchcock · Jul 19, 2003

cool thats the exact design i was going to use. glad someone tried it out for my looks great!

robs · Jul 20, 2003

chad said:
When you guys say "self tappers" are you reffering to lag type bolts or do they have a finer thread?
Thanks,
Chad

Lag bolts are typically for wood and won't work for steel... self tapers are for steel... they do have much finer thread than lags... most good hardware stores will have them... at least the 1/4" size...

The 3/8" size is tough to find... I've only found one store that carries them and I can only get 4 or 5 at a time...

Safari Ary · Jul 20, 2003

I was having a really hard time with this issue. I had been running 8 1/4" self tappers per side(4 on each leg) and I landed on them once and sheered off all 8

So then on the recommendation of someone here, I tried lag bolts. Well, they don't work. So I went to my local fastenal(essentially all they sell is nuts and bolts) and talked to the guys and finally picked up some 3/8" self-tappers. Now when most people say "self-tappers" they think of the screws with a drill-bit like tip. These are NOT like that. They are just a bolt that taper down in the tip and have a tap built in. You have to drill out a hole first(one size down from 3/8, can't remember what size it was exactly now). Anyway, I tested 'em out at Tellico and although I wasn't dropping on them from 5 ft up, they held up well. Also this is with a different design that only has 4 bolts to the frame. HTH

Ary

Georgia Mike · Jul 20, 2003

I used lags on mine,it's all I could find locally. Ary's right,they don't work like they are supposed to,but they haven't come out yet (1 year and counting),and if I ever take them out,I'll replace them with self-tappers.

fire325 · Jul 21, 2003

I think when i do mine i'm going to drill all the way thru the frame,put in a steel sleeve thru the frame and use big bolts,lock washers and nuts. Gotta gentleman that moved here from Colorado that worked for Mountain off-road,Man,he does great fab work.also has a rock crawler rig. http://www.roarkfabworks.com some of you may know him. NAXJA

member#579 member of the Kentucky Krawlers http://www.kentuckykrawlers.org

cherokeekid95 · Jul 21, 2003

I mounted a plate to the frame tapped four holes and put 3/8 bolts through. Works great!

robs · Jul 23, 2003

Ary'01XJ said:
I was having a really hard time with this issue. I had been running 8 1/4" self tappers per side(4 on each leg) and I landed on them once and sheered off all 8 <snip>

Ary

Right or wrong, I designed the rockers such that the fastners would not carry any of the load... their function was only to hold the stuff on the XJ...

On the frame, I used angle iron... all upward forces are carried by this angle... the 3/8 self tappers simply hold it on the frame, and shouldn't carry any load when I slam down... just in case they do, there's 4 of them that will carry the load in shear and not in tensile...

On the pinch seam, once again... all upward forces are carried by the 1x1 and not the fasteners... their job is simply to keep the rockers from falling off... most they'll see is when I step on them to get in...

Safari Ary · Jul 23, 2003

robs said:
Right or wrong, I designed the rockers such that the fastners would not carry any of the load... their function was only to hold the stuff on the XJ...<snip>

Umm, in that pic, as far as I can tell, the pinch seam would act as the fulcrum of a lever arm. As you land on the outer rails it would create an upward force on the pinch seam and a downward force on the angle at the frame. I fail to see how that angle will carry any load like you are describing. Every time you land on those rails you are putting the side bolts in sheer(sp?) and the bottom bolts in tension. Somebody correct me if I've been visiting the crack pipe too much, but I'm pretty damn sure I'm on the ball on this one. Thanks

Ary

P.S. No offense intended, just trying to clarify

robs · Jul 23, 2003

No crack pipe... your right...

rocker guard mounting

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