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Rock Rail Schematics

L

LiquidOps

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Waddell, AZ
Hey guys. I got a buddy who is fairly handy with metal work and welding and the such. Was wondering if any of you had the schematics and such so that I can have him build me some Rock Rails.

I've got a 92 XJ 2 Door.

Thanks a lot
 
Just figure out what size steel you want them out of ( mine will be 4x2 .095 wall). Then screw the steel to the pinch seam (mine use 4 small bolts). I made a cardboard template of the holes in the pinch seam to lay out the holes on the rock rails and then tapped the holes. Then just measure from the rock rail that is now bolted to your xj to the frame rail (for lack of better term). This will give you the measurement for the length of the arms to bolt or weld to the frame rail (mine will be 1.5 wall square tubing). Then all you need is a plate on the end of the leg from the rock rail to the frame.
 
I'm in the process of planning mine out and in order to lose as little ground clearance as possible, I want to use 1"x4" .250 wall under the rockers, then round 1" .188 or .250 wall for the legs. The legs will get welded to the T&J Chassis Stiffener. I'm debating whether the 1"x4" .250 wall will be strong enough, but metal is cheap and it's not hard to cut it off and weld on 2"x4" later if I need to. Plus I'm not the type to just beat on it. I've got at least 4 dents in the rockers already, but it's from coming down on them slowly and not too hard, even though I wasn't expecting it. Anybody else use 1" under their rockers?
 
xj92 said:
I'm in the process of planning mine out and in order to lose as little ground clearance as possible, I want to use 1"x4" .250 wall under the rockers, then round 1" .188 or .250 wall for the legs. The legs will get welded to the T&J Chassis Stiffener. I'm debating whether the 1"x4" .250 wall will be strong enough, but metal is cheap and it's not hard to cut it off and weld on 2"x4" later if I need to. Plus I'm not the type to just beat on it. I've got at least 4 dents in the rockers already, but it's from coming down on them slowly and not too hard, even though I wasn't expecting it. Anybody else use 1" under their rockers?
Click to expand...
The 1x4 .250 will be plenty strong. You wouldn't gain much if any strength from using 2x4 .250.
 
JJ13 said:
Just figure out what size steel you want them out of ( mine will be 4x2 .095 wall).
Click to expand...

.095 is way thin for a rock rail. You'll have to call these step rails. Most guys think .188 is the minimum for a good rock rail. Anything less is going to get banged up and dented pretty bad.
 
Was planning on drilling holes every 6" (crossways), and welding pipe into the holes. I have some .188 wall and .250 wall, but it was way to heavy when I cut them to length.
 
I'm debating whether the 1"x4" .250 wall will be strong enough, but metal is cheap and it's not hard to cut it off and weld on 2"x4" later if I need to. [/QUOTE]

Hey xj92:
Out of curiosity how cheap is metal.... my local guy wants $5. a foot for 2X4
X1/4" and I have to buy a 20' stick.
I too was curious about the 1 or 1.5 X 4 square tubing.
Thanks
Curt (aka Xtreme XJ)
 
chassellbandit said:
http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=4288200591

not really a schematic, but this is how i did mine on my 93. used 2x6 3/16 stock for the rail, and 2x4 1/8" for the arms. 1/8" plate for the frame brackets. i also drilled and tapped holes for 1/4 bolts through the pinchseam into the rail. seem to be holding up well.
Click to expand...

sorry, last link didn't work. this one should. as for prices, here in west michigan, i got the steel in the last pic for like 70 or 80 bucks. including the sheet sitting behind the tubes. just a thought, but u might want to try and find a recycling place, they might have stuff that you can get for a decent price.
 
Check out Kevinsoffroad.com. This is a great idea, exept the mounting. I just copyed these this weekend but, I added a peice of angle iron for the pinch seam to mount to.
 
I used 2x2 .250 wall that I got at the steel yard in Minneapolis. They put all the scrap and mis-cuts in one area and sell everything for .25 cents/pound. I got all my material for the bumper and rock rails for about $60. I had everything powder coated for $135. Look for another posting of mine for the bumper building story and pics. I am working on a rock rail story and pics for later.

Original website pics of the rock rails I copied - http://www.pahighlander.com/rock_rails.htm

The main rail is 60". The front arm is 10.5" long, the rear arm is 11.25", the angle iron for the pinch weld is 1".


Building a Bumper - http://hometown.aol.com/xjtim/index1.html

Bumper Pic here - http://www.fototime.com/F4656DBB3BC16F3/standard.jpg


standard.jpg
 
Last edited:
Simple drawing of my rock rails.

Cut main bar, taper ends, weld shut ends.
Cut legs a bit long and tack to main, square and parallel.
Trim legs to locate main piece under rocker. Eyeball from standing up next to truck as the frame rail and rocker panel distance may vary.
Tack frame rail mounts to the legs.
Clamp 1" angle iron to pinchweld and hold rails in place, tack angle iron to legs

I bolted the 1' angle iron to the pinchweld in 4 places.



http://www.fototime.com/2551C9D39E638C7/standard.jpg

standard.jpg
 
No schematic - but a pic: I took 2x2 0.25" wall and turned it on edge, 3 struts from the frame and all the struts have 8" long sections where the pinch seam is sandwiched between 1x .125" flat bar and bolted together with 1/4" grade 8 bolts...

The setup was built in 1998 and have not touched it since...

Matt

ride_height1.jpg
 
i gotta add that the rails PAHighlander has are about the beefiest ive come across, and when he wrecked head-on a few weeks ago the frame rails stayed straight!!!!! THE ROOF BUCKLED!!! some serious $hit there..
mike
 
I was just out taking measurements and trying to finalize my design, and I've got an idea to throw by you guys. First of all, I've got the T&J Chassis Stiffener that the legs are getting welded to. What if I run 3 legs (1" round .250 or .188 wall) to the rail (1"x4" .250 square). The rail will sit right on the outside of the pinch seam up flush with the bottom of the rocker panel, then drill and tap the square tube rail itself in 6 or 8 places and bolt it through the pinch seam like that? That would eliminate the angle most of you guys are using for the pinch seam and allow the rail to sit up higher and eat up less ground clearance. The pinch seam would have to be notched in 3 places for the legs, but the notches are already there, I'd just round them out since they're square right now. In my head this design sounds better than most of the ones I've seen, any points that I need to consider? The only thing I can think of so far is that stuff could get into the inside of the rails throug the bolt holes and cause small rattle noises. TIA.
 
TTT. Anybody made their rail sit high and bolted the pinch seam directly to it?
 
Mine is a piece of 1"x1" bolted to the pinch seam with (7) 1/4"-20 bolts per side.The three legs(from the frame rail) run under the pinch seam rail to the 1 1/2"x 3" rail.
mvc-008f.jpg
 
Last edited:
i built my rails from a design i found at mesa4x4.com they sit flush with the rocker and against the pinch seam (no gap). very clean looking i can e-mail pic if wanted.
 
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