I'm pumped, taking the Runner to my uncle's shop tomorrow to have my sliders welded on but I had a few questions for you guys as far as prep stuff goes. I read all the writeups and what not, but what I need to know is:
1. Is there anything I can do tonight to make this go quicker? Sand, grind, clean the frame or anything?
2. How long should this whole process take (certified professional welder)?
3. Any tips, tricks, or pitfalls to the installation.

Thanks for the help guys, I'll be sure to throw some pics up later this weekend!

 

All very good questions
1. Yes you can sand/grind the paint off and eyeball where you want them. If the sliders are already painted, strip the paint back a couple inches to expose teh metal. I highly recommend you paint your slider before you have them welded on. Then just do some touch up after. Much easier.

2. I had a pro cert'd welder do mine and it took him 45-50 minutes and mine had to have the scab plates welded on the slider outriggers before being welded to the frame.

3. One thing that I did when I welded my first set on my Taco was to mount them too high. I was going for the low profile and extra clearance idea but what actually happens is that when off roading the frame and body flex. The sliders were banging against my rocker panels. So I suggest and did on my second set, mounted them with about 3/4" between the body and slider. Just my opinion on this amount of space though.
Also consider if you want to do a body lift as this will effect the amount of space between the sliders and body also. May wnat to wait until BL is done if planning on one.

Hope this helps and I am sure I am forgeting stuff so lets hear from some others.

 

Demello welded mine. Took about an hour to do. I had the same problem as Chamberlin, but it was only the drivers front leg of the slider that was a bit to high. I just took a flat head and a hammer.. then hammered away at the pinch weld! now theres no more banging!... OH YEAH.. paint the thing first! if u havent already u can use Hammerite- rust top or something like that! I painted mine after it was welded!... took 3x the amount of time it would have taken.

 

I bolted mine up first, then took them to be welded - took 15-30 mins to weld. Mine are 4Crawler and have a bar that goes under the pinch weld to spread the load along the full length. I put fuel hose over the pinch weld, then used a floor jack to lift the slider up flush to that. Worked really well. The bolts were just enough to hold it there so I didn't have to mess with it in my buddy's shop since he was doing me a big favor by welding them for free. I actually used my high lift to apply a little tension while they were being welded. In other words, mine are up flush to the pinch weld and I don't hear any "rattling".

 

Have the welder install 1/4" scab plates onto the frame. These willl help distribute the stress more evenly over the frame. Makes your sliders stiffer too and thus makes them more useful because you can lift your whole truck off the ground with a highlift.
just my 2 cents.