Volcom

First off, my Marlin sliders have been through hell & back over the last 6 years. They are 1.75" .120 wall HREW round tubing. They have 3/16" thick scab plates welded to the frame with small triangle gussets welded to the tops of the slider legs. I've bent the sliders up to the point the doors don't like to open or close. I need to build a new set that are beefier. The frame is slightly wrinkled around the scab plate area.

I'm thinking of 1/4" 2"x2" square for the slider legs and the main body of the slider. I was going to bend up some new round 1.75" tubing and weld to to the outside of the main body tube. They will be angled up like the current slider.

Here's the current bent up slider




Question 1 - Are square tube slider legs stronger if they are rotated 45 degrees? The diagram shows the slider legs in red.

Question 2 - I know it's easier to weld the scab plates if they are rotated 45 degrees. What about keeping them vertical and added a piece that wraps over the top of the frame?

Question 3 - How do I remove the current scab plates from the frame? They are fulled welded on the perimeter of the scab plate.

Here's my cheezy frame and slider diagram

waskillywabbit

iTrader: (-1)

Considered boat siding?

If you are wrinkling the frame already.
Beefier sliders is not your issue, beefier frame support and spreading the load out.

Gussets should go like this -o- on the sides to spread the load better.

Putting gussets on top creates a point load. You want more inches when looking at lbs per inch loading to reduce the load per inch.

:wabbit2:

MaK92-4RnR

I was gonna say. judging by your picture of the sliders, its not the sliders bending. its the frame giving in. frame plates, and gusseting is what you need. I'd cut them off, straighten what you can, and weld them a tiny bit lower.

highonpottery

iTrader: (1)

most commercially built sliders seem to only come with 3 legs to the frame - would 4 supports be a better option because it helps spread out the load more and prevent this from happening? I ask because when I had my TG sliders installed, I insisted on having 4 legs instead of 3 because it made more sense to me.

Volcom

Right on, thanks for the advice! I'm thinking of making my scab plates 6-7" wide and running from the top to the bottom of the frame. Currently, they don't run top to bottom and right above the scab plate is where the frame is wrinkled.

I might just reuse these sliders and add a forth leg to them. Since the sliders didn't actually bend, it would save me some time. I can just sawzall them off of the current scab plates, grind the old scabs off and reweld some bigger, thicker plates to the frame. My slider arms are currently gusseted like this

V
O

With two small triangle gussets in a V pattern above the slider leg. I might change that to one large one that extends further out on the leg.

Volcom

Actually considering going F-Toy

waskillywabbit

iTrader: (-1)

Slider leg = O

Gusset = -

Gusset slider leg like this -O- to spread load out on frame

NOT concentrate it by doing this

V
O

:wabbit2:

DIRTCO

I think 1/4" 2"x2" is serious overkill, and really heavy. I would stick to 3/16", it saves you some weight and it's still plenty strong (unless you let Cory drive your 4Runner ).

I would say if you plan on keeping the 4Runner for a while; cut off the sliders, start over, and do it right. If your unsure about it's future, and just want to fix what you have; I would add another two or three legs to the sliders you have (with some beefy plates) and call it good. Thats just my opinion, but I think removing the old scab plates is going to be a pain.

"DO IT!"

DIRTCO

I just thought of one more thing to think about. Rock sliders (or any tubing) that has seen a lot of rock hits, and heavy use will have stored energy. When you cut the tube it will spring out to where it wants to be; these pictures are right after I cut the outer kick out slider off the green 4Runner. That's only two supports I cut!