[46/71 Hybrid]

I posted over on Pirate4x4 about some rock sliders I built but didn't get much of a response (a 2000 Tahoe pales in comparison to most of the rigs on there). I've been lurking here for just about forever and noticed y'all are very adept at picking out the weak link or suggesting improvements. Would you mind taking a look and letting me know what you see?

As far as the weld pics, my camera isn't great (or it's my technique) so there's a couple that are fuzzy and a couple that turned out decent. Also, there's one that looks like bird poop but rest assured that I ground it down and did it over. I also added support bars between the main tube and and the curved tube.

So far I've tested it by jumping up and down on it (very scientific) and the passenger side seems stout. The driver side needs to have the frame mounting shored up because in one of the pics you'll notice four holes per bracket. This was a lesson learned from the drivers side where I only had room for two holes per bracket. Two holes allows the top to flex away from the frame when a load is pressing down on it. When a load is pushing up, it's not an issue, only when a load is down. My idea is to weld a piece of angle to the frame, drill a hole in the angle, and tap it. I'll then thread a set screw into the angle which will push against the top of the bracket. It's probably just overkill though and I imagine it's fine the way it is.

All criticism is welcomed and expected!

(welds were done with a Lincoln 220v Mig)

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?p=8273686#post8273686

 

[DSW]

I would definitely do more prep before you weld. I saw little sign of any grinding or sanding to prep the weld areas. Removal of the mill scale won't hurt and can only improve your welds. Fit on even some of the better joints could be better, but they're not too bad with the one exception.

The welds are a bit hard to critique since many are hard to see. I did see what looked like a hole in the weld where you filled the large gap but it sounds like you rewelded that after grinding. It looks like most of the welds were filling gaps so the profile is a bit low. Some look like they might have been run a bit fast or cold but again it's hard to see them well in those shots.

The brackets at the end could have been reworked. I can understand why they ended up the way they did. I'll assume that the picts at the end were not of the brackets completely welded. If not I would have welded the tube to the bracket along the sides, if nothing else to keep out dirt and water. The big gap behind the first angle and the second, I can see that filling with dirt and holding moisture and starting rot. Did you cap the ends of the straight pipe?


A couple of suggestions that might help on the photos. I am by no means a great photographer ( at least with a digital ), and I hate my auto focus digital camera. I seem to get better photos if I stand farther back and use the zoom than if I move in close. I also seem to get better closeups if I shoot at a high resolution but a larger area then crop out the parts I didn't want. Also it seems like sometimes the camera can't seem to focus on a shiny weld and it gets confused and makes the pict blurry. I found that if I focus on something else very close to what I want to take a pict of, say my welding table behind the weld as opposed to the weld itself, the camera seems to get a better focus. Some of your picts have the opposite problem, the camera focused on something too far in the background like the stamped concrete ot the blue jug.

Nice job overall. The real proof will be when you abuse it. Post up some picts of the finished project here, we'd love to see them.

 

[46/71 Hybrid]

Thanks for the tips and checking it out, I appreciate it. As far as your comments,

I did prep but it was only wirebrushing which apparently wasn't enough. Honestly, I thought that since I lightly brushed them and they weren't painted, that was good enough. Obviously I was wrong and I'll try to improve on that next time.

You're dead on with the fitment issues, it could have been better but I am proud to say that with more and more practice, I got more and more accurate. Now I have a hole saw that does it perfect every time but I've still been practicing with the grinder so I can use either one.

With the gap between the first angle and the second, it's a pass through so nothing should get stuck. All the ends of the pipe are capped except for the long straight piece that goes up under the body. That one I need to cut out some 2" holes and weld them on. I've toyed with leaving them open but there's really no point to it.

I'll try your techniques on the camera, I realize I can't get good feedback when people can't clearly see the work.

 

[46/71 Hybrid]

Nice job overall. The real proof will be when you abuse it. Post up
some picts of the finished project here, we'd love to see them.

I'll definitely post up pics, including the after primer pic of when I grabbed a can of primer and didn't think too much of the fact that it said John Deere green.

 

[46/71 Hybrid]

Well, I thought I had the primer pic but no luck, I guess I'm getting forgetful in my old age. Anyway, here's two pics. The first couple are where the family and I sometimes go wheeling and the second is a shot of the slider mounted (no passenger side picture). To test them, I used my Hi-Lift to lift each side of the truck with them and they didn't budge. After that, I figured I was good to go so on the last trail ride I deliberately dropped off on a rock. The slider held up and surprisingly didn't even dent the bottom tube. As far as I'm concerned, they're good to go!

 

[DSW]

Looks like they worked and the welds held. They look very nice on the Tahoe.

How can you post on Pirate? No giant tires, no super lift, no ultra heavy bumper or winch? No wonder they didn't take you seriously! :laugh: :laugh: I think the truck looks great and is very practical for a family driver/ fun toy combo. Now lets see what you can do with the wifes minivan.

 

[46/71 Hybrid]

The Tahoe is slowly being built into an expedition type rig...I've already got the sliders, a belly pan is in the works, I've got the winch and will soon start on a front receiver, already have a locker in the rear, etc. etc.

I'm definitely going for the sleeper look though, I live overseas and work for the US so the more I can blend in, the better.

Thanks for the comments.

 

[jcaro10894]

If you can say, where is the Tahoe parked at? This looks like a really neat area for site seeing. I also have a Tahoe that I can hardly afford to drive. At one time I looked at purchasing a set of steps, a good set is expensive. Real cool to make your own. [

 

[46/71 Hybrid]

If you can say, where is the Tahoe parked at? This looks like a really neat area for site seeing. I also have a Tahoe that I can hardly afford to drive. At one time I looked at purchasing a set of steps, a good set is expensive. Real cool to make your own. [

This picture was taken in Northern Mexico, there's some great spots down here. I see you're living in Washington State though, you have some exceptional wheeling in your neck of the woods.

As far as the costs of building my own, I have about $75 in them. Considering that I plan to sell the stock ones for $100-125, I'll end up with more protection for less money. For the most part, even the soccer moms have dug the new set and think it looks better than the stock ones. They also like that it curves up which gives them more height when they step in.

If you decide to build your own, let me know and I'll point out my mistakes in detail so you don't make the same ones. It's nothing huge but if I could do it over again I'd do a couple small things differently.

 

[Mandau]

I must admit those pic does show a nice meditation holiday... good surrounding with rock wall and hills... nice one...