Before my wife trashed my 2500 HD, I had a set of Go Rhino nerf bars on it, and boy, them things were flimsy.

Only two points of attachment to the frame, but clamping, not real rigid, and thin steel, weak tubing.

My guess is all the Nerf Bars are like that.

I want .120 DOM tubing rock sliders. Like I have on my Jeep. Heavy duty step bars/sliders that'll take the weight of the truck on a rock, and that you can throw a high lifter on and jack the truckup.

I can't find anyone who makes 'em! I'll do it myself, but I'd rather not reinvent the wheel.

I searched on the forums, but could not find mentions of this heavy duty application.

Anybody know anyone who carries 'em/makes 'em?

I'm with you. I got the heaviest nerf bars I could find (6" ovals) but there is no way they will take offroad action. I've been looking around and I haven't found any either. I'm considering welding some up but it would be a whole lot easier if we could locate some already made up and powder coated.

never thought about using the nerf bars as a jack point for a hi lift. good idea, now just gotta find some bars strong enough to be jacked on. think reg nerf bars are up to it?

http://www.aedofab.com/

I have seen what Mike has built and they are definitely up to the task. I am not sure if he has built any thing for our style of trucks. I know there is not a lot of difference, beside size between the ZR2's and the HD's. Give him a call and see what happens.

I would second aedo as I have seen his stuff on ZR2s and they are top notch quality. But since you are in California just go to a local 4wd outfit and have them fab some up. They could fab some up in a matter of hours, have them LineXed and you on the road by days end.

DMAXBOB

4WOR magazine fabbed up a set of sliders on a CUCV (I think - anyway it was a full-size rig) not that long ago. The article might still be on their website.

checkout http://www.dpalms.com/dpi/sliders.shtml
he builds stuff for k5's but I saw him post a pic of some he did for his crewcab chevy so I bet he has the dims and template. I imagine he would build you a set. I had some on my K5 and they were stout.

The issue isn't the tubes..the issue is the frame of the truck. If you bolt on strong enough tubes to be jack points you are going to be putting a ton of pressure on the sides of the truck frame because of the leverage they are going to have. Your jeep weighs about 1/3 of what your truck does.

AKDoug:

Try more like 5/6th...my Jeep weighed in just over 6,000 lbs last time I ran the Rubicon Trail. I've bolted on almost as many goodies as I have on my truck! I have faith in the 3500 frame, even with the added leverage. I'd mount it in 4 places, spreading the load. The issue for me is definitely the tubes; none are advertised at .120 thickness, and I'd actually prefer to go a little thicker, as I've slammed/dented my Jeep's .120 rails in some hard drops.

ChevyJeff, YukonJack:

I really like the style of the dpi Rock Whores. But I'd up the # of attachment points.

Catch2:

Reg. Nerf bars are definitely not up to the task as jack points. I know because I hung up my Go Rhinos on a campground fire ring once (I SWEAR it came outta nowhere!) and they bent and pulled away from the frame. Gotta have a much more heavy duty setup.

Big D:

"2-6-2006 - Our fabrication shop is in a holding pattern right now while we help liquidate our family's tool business. This means no large fab jobs (custom bumpers, sliders, etc.) for now, "

They may have changed since then, but if it isn't a stock item/product, and someone has to fab something up custom, then it'll be me!

AKDoug:

Try more like 5/6th...my Jeep weighed in just over 6,000 lbs last time I ran the Rubicon Trail. I've bolted on almost as many goodies as I have on my truck! I have faith in the 3500 frame, even with the added leverage. I'd mount it in 4 places, spreading the load. The issue for me is definitely the tubes; none are advertised at .120 thickness, and I'd actually prefer to go a little thicker, as I've slammed/dented my Jeep's .120 rails in some hard drops.

ChevyJeff, YukonJack:

I really like the style of the dpi Rock Whores. But I'd up the # of attachment points.

Catch2:

Reg. Nerf bars are definitely not up to the task as jack points. I know because I hung up my Go Rhinos on a campground fire ring once (I SWEAR it came outta nowhere!) and they bent and pulled away from the frame. Gotta have a much more heavy duty setup.

Big D:

"2-6-2006 - Our fabrication shop is in a holding pattern right now while we help liquidate our family's tool business. This means no large fab jobs (custom bumpers, sliders, etc.) for now, "

They may have changed since then, but if it isn't a stock item/product, and someone has to fab something up custom, then it'll be me!


Polyperformance carries .250" and up tubbing. Four attachment points along the frame should be plenty also. The frames are pretty stout and I could not imagine you would bend one with a hi lift. Sliders are really a do it yourself project if you got a welder or a descent fab shop around. We made a set for a friends Z71 in less than a day including having them LineXed. We took all our pipe to a fab shop where they cut, bent, notched and welded everything to our specs. The service charge from the shop was only like $150 for both sides. Not bad money considering we did not have a tube notcher or tube bender available. My $.02.

DMAXBOB

Looks like I will be cutting and welding myself and having notching and bending done at a local fab shop, then; it's how I did the sliders for my son's Jeep. I've got a Hobart Cyber Tig Welder, Miller Precision Arc 275, Plasma Cutter, Cold Saw, and other tools. I was hoping someone might have a pattern already or done 'em. Sometimes, I just get "fabbed out", knowhuttamean? I'll try and take some pics of the process and results for you guys.

itd be great if you could get some specs, would make a cool project.

The problem you're going to have is frame flex. You're tubes will have to flex too, or bolts will start popping. Something's gotta give. On your Jeep it's not that critical due to the shorter frame.

Okay, well, the Driver's side anyway.

The main step rail is made from 2" x 3" x 3/16" wall tubing, welded/capped at both ends. The supports are all from 1/4" steel, and it is all welded together as a unit, but bolted to the frame in 3 main places, with each mounting bracket being held with four 3/8" Grade 8 bolts, washers, and nylock nuts.

The outer edge of the rails are 18" from the frame.

My Rhino nerf bar flexed when I stepped on it. This thing is like an extension of the frame. It feels so GD solid. I haven't yet tried to jack up the truck with it, but I'm going to soon. However, the tube is long (10'6", I wanted to be able to step up and get at tstuff in the bed) and slim enough that it should flex when the frame flexes.

Next up: Doing the Passenger's side, and then coating both with POR-15 (Anti-Rust coating) and Herculiner all along the top surface.

These muthas are Heavy Duty!

did you just drill the frame for you attachement points?

Hmm those are a lot like what I was planning. I like them. Now that I can see them though 2x3 looks smaller than I thought it would.

RockRig:

Yes, I figured that was the cleanest way. I could have welded it on, but welding on the frame tends to anneal/weaken it. Also, if I ever want to take it off, I'd have to grind it off. Not fun. The frame has all kinds of factory holes, for wire loom attachments and such (3 holes lined up with my mounting, so that's less frame drilling). I figure, if the factory frame can have a few holes, another few aren't going to hurt. I triple checked to make sure I wasn't drilling into any fuel ,or brake, or tran cooler lines. Passenger side is pretty free of obstructions.

nar-

Thanks! I originally ordered 2 x 4 tubing w/ 1/4" wall and those were WAY too heavy. Too much overkill, I thought. I suppose I could have done 2 x 4 x 3/16" wall. But the 2x4 just looked too wide to me, mocked up next to the truck. When I saw the 2x3 in stock at the metal supply, I decided to go that route instead.


I once took too tight of a turn by a traffic light pole in my old truck, and the squeezing by just flattened my old nerf bar on one side. With this setup, I'll probably be flattening the pole instead! :D

How much different are the frames of our trucks vs. tahoes? I remeber when i worked at the tahoe plant two people could pick up one frame, you started to realize the frame is only a small part of what holds the truck together!

I'm guessing the hd frame is quite a bit beefier though.

Those look good! Please post pictures when you finish.

What if you made a L bracket so the tubes were held from the bottom of the frame? Do you think that would help in not twisting the frame? I'm thinking of making a set myself. I want to make them rugged enough, that if I side swiped something, it would have to bend the frame before letting it crush in the cab. My Dad hit a tree with his F-350 dually, and the tubes just crushed right in like tin foil. In fact, the whole truck did. I can stand in the indentation in the truck, and if it was still whole, I would be standing in the cab.

i raly want a set of real sliders so i can pick up my truck w/ ahigh lift also!..

So, here are the final pix. The truck is definitely liftable from the step rail, although it flexes a tad (but it springs back nicely). It really feels solid underfoot, and offers great access to the bed.

I cleaned the metal with POR-15 Marine Clean and then prepped it with their Metal Prep spray. Then I brushed on POR-15. Boy when they say that "if it dries on your skin, the only thing that removes it is TIME", they are right.

Painting POR-15 upside down isn't fun. I now have black tribal tattoos that make no sense!

Finalled it up with Herculiner on a roller for non-slipness. You like?

good wrok!

Turned out nice