Help fitting Terrafirma rock sliders

[Timbo]

Hi guys,

I've started the install for a set of Terrafirma HD steel rock sliders from Lucky8.

I went with these due to the "quick and easy" install process... that's funny

Anyway, I have hit a few roadblocks and was wondering if anyone else has gone through the install process and could please lend me some insight.

Firstly, the sliders come with a vertical 'fin' that tucks up underneath the frame of the car. However the 'AC' lines (I think that's what they are) run along the length of that frame and get in the way of where that fin should sit (photo below).

The obvious thought is to just cut the fin off along the length of the bend, but I'm wondering if this compromises the integrity of the slider? Also does anyone know how I would go about finding someone who can cut hd steel for me and then I assume I would need to re-powdercoat the cut (I'm in Los Angeles)?

Secondly, the sliders come with 22 bolts, washers, and nuts. I can see that the threads on the car frame line up to accept the bolts and washers, but I can't see what the nuts are for? It doesn't look like the bolts are long enough to pass through the frame, and if they did, I cant get passed the AC lines to fix the bolts. Are the bolts necessary?

Thirdly, I have removed the little yellow plastic clips that held the plastic moulding in place, but do I have to remove the little black rubber inserts, (photo below) or are they fine to stay in place and provide a little buffer between the slider and the frame?



Thank you so much for your help guys!

 

[jwest]

Hi guys,

I've started the install for a set of Terrafirma HD steel rock sliders from Lucky8.

I went with these due to the "quick and easy" install process... that's funny

Anyway, I have hit a few roadblocks and was wondering if anyone else has gone through the install process and could please lend me some insight.

Firstly, the sliders come with a vertical 'fin' that tucks up underneath the frame of the car. However the 'AC' lines (I think that's what they are) run along the length of that frame and get in the way of where that fin should sit (photo below).

The obvious thought is to just cut the fin off along the length of the bend, but I'm wondering if this compromises the integrity of the slider? Also does anyone know how I would go about finding someone who can cut hd steel for me and then I assume I would need to re-powdercoat the cut (I'm in Los Angeles)?

Secondly, the sliders come with 22 bolts, washers, and nuts. I can see that the threads on the car frame line up to accept the bolts and washers, but I can't see what the nuts are for? It doesn't look like the bolts are long enough to pass through the frame, and if they did, I cant get passed the AC lines to fix the bolts. Are the bolts necessary?

Thirdly, I have removed the little yellow plastic clips that held the plastic moulding in place, but do I have to remove the little black rubber inserts, (photo below) or are they fine to stay in place and provide a little buffer between the slider and the frame?


Thank you so much for your help guys!

You have a lot going on with how those are not straight forward so I'm just going to reply in more of a stream of consciousness. Apologies if that's confusing....

Those body grommets are most likely very important to leave which keep water out of the cavity behind them. I would NOT remove those.

I don't know what the instructions say but I would not drill ANY holes in the galvanized body unless you love rust and hate cars. Some places are ok for drilling but the body shell I wouldn't want to breach anywhere.

Number of bolts: I have some of the earliest sliders that anyone made because in 2007, it was all start ups and even this "overlanding" thing was fairly new so there were simply hardly any sources for such stuff. My sliders only use factory holes and bolt points and there are roughly 5-7 along each side just under the sill, the lowest edge behind the plastic lower trim. These holes are vertical and I think an M8, maybe M6 with 13mm hex bolt head and approximately 1" long. Then there are 2 points on the sliders that utilize the frame to body bolts you'll see under there. That's it. These sliders can support the entire weight by lifting at the nerf bar with a high lift jack or tetering across a rock with no bending, none permanent anyway as I'm sure there is a little flex.

That vertical section you mention is likely inherent to its strength and sounds like a dumb design in my opinion. Mine basically wrap from vertically in front of the sill where those rubber body grommets are located, down around the lower edge, then flat across to overlap the ladder frame itself. This way it can land on anything and everything above the slider plate is just protected which is the compressor, those lines you mention, wiring, the air tank, etc.

Not to be too much of a party pooper, but I'd return that set you got and research some real ones that aren't limiting.

With a floor jack, I can remove mine solo in about 15 minutes per side which includes grabbing the air tool, the 13mm, the 17mm? and rolling it out. Reinstalling takes about 2x the time due to tricky alignment of the 2 body/frame bolts with the big rubber isolation/washers.

The floor jack is required for mine because they are 100 lbs each side LOL. I also had them industrial grade stripped, galvanized, and powder coated

 

[Houm_WA]

@jwest you have the Rover Specialties sliders, right?

 

[jwest]

@jwest you have the Rover Specialties sliders, right?

yes. well built but poorly finished, thus the strip and galvanize routine. Was entirely worth it though because since then, almost 10 years ago, they've been impervious to the elements despite scrapes and gouges getting past the coating. Powder-coating just steel can almost make it worse once any breach in the surface occurs because moisture gets under it like a skin and stays there longer also allowing our winter road chemicals to stay in there. The original coating came off in sheets by hand for many areas.

It was ridiculous they didn't take the time to galvanize them up front.

I think I've only seen one or maybe 2 others now that have similar full coverage design and the simple no drilling mounting.

 

[Houm_WA]

Does the finish look close to the same as before galvanizing?? I have the RS as well....I paint them annually. It's quick and easy, but not ideal.

 

[jwest]

Does the finish look close to the same as before galvanizing?? I have the RS as well....I paint them annually. It's quick and easy, but not ideal.

Sounds like a giant pain the ass plus you are not likely getting all surfaces so rust is happening and you just don't see it. too wet here to think otherwise.

The finish, not sure what you mean, it looks exactly like black powdercoating except this one never starts to bubble, flake, etc. They have to be "cured" for a while before the coating to let the chemical galvanizing process stabilize.

 

[Houm_WA]

Wouldn't the rust only form where paint has been removed (from rocks/roots)?

Where did you have this galvanizing done and if you don't mind, how much did it cost?

 

[m_lars]

Powder-coating just steel can almost make it worse once any breach in the surface occurs because moisture gets under it like a skin and stays there longer also allowing our winter road chemicals to stay in there. The original coating came off in sheets by hand for many areas.

Truth! There was a phase where people were powder coating the airframe on small aircraft until they found out the tubing could completely rust away with almost no outside evidence. The powder coating was so hard it would hold the shape we’ll enough to pass annual inspection until it would all of the sudden collapse.

 

[jwest]

Wouldn't the rust only form where paint has been removed (from rocks/roots)?

Where did you have this galvanizing done and if you don't mind, how much did it cost?

Here's the deal. Powder coating is so cohesive, thick, and stiff that it kind of becomes it's own structural layer. It's fantastic for objects that don't really make much contact with other things such as architectural items like railings, public sculptures, industrial objects, etc, even wheels to some degree until you curb them but over aluminum like wheels, there must be better local bonding than on steel.

So, on steel you have the strength of the coating's adhesion to the steel vs its own cohesion as a skin. In my experience, the cohesion wins which results in separation like a sheet as the coating allows moisture into the edge of the crack in the skin, then separates a little more due to the corrosion essentially pushing it away. Kind of like how ice can rip stuff apart because a tiny amount of water seeps into a crack, freezing expands, and the basic force wins over large mass.

The thick coating holds its structure but peels away just slightly and over time you'll be able to pop off huge sections, bigger than a dinner plate where you wouldn't have known just at a glance only to reveal nice brown rust all over underneath.

Paint however is not as strong nor ever as thick so you hit it with a rock and that little line or mark rusts, but the paint directly next too it is more likely to just buckle and flake off immediately revealing the rust rather than hang onto itself for a year or two with large swaths of rust hidden.

Now, galvanizing seems to have the added effect of damn good adhesion for the coating such that the rocks I've hit and other things leave a cut, I can see silver galvanizing, but guess what, it doesn't rust unless it's really good deep cut through that tough galvanized layer. Even when the coating is scraped through, and galvanizing exposed, there is no rust occurring to start the separation of the coating from the galvanized layer.

You could run these just galvanized, no paint or coating. They'd be silver at first then look basically like a chain link fence and posts until something cut deep enough to expose raw steel to rust but even then the rusting would remain very localized to that spot and take a very long time to spread.

Applying all of this to trail use, or dropping off big curbs in the city (recent Seattle thing I did LOL), you have wood, rock, and earth to contact, and finally highway road grim over hours and hours like a sand blaster.

The wood scrubs are entirely taken by the coating with practically no chance of breaking its surface. So for wood the coating protects the galvanized layer.

On rock, you can easily break the coating surface but I think it still kind of behaves like an initial lubricant on the worst moment of impact. That curb was one of the worst hits they've ever taken because I wasn't really focused or using a higher lift height. Just went "thud" onto the slider like fool.

All of this relies on the initial "prep work" of the object before a coating though. Galvanized or not, before coating the surface has to be properly prepped and there is no chance the RS guys did their homework on the steel prep for the coating as it was coming off like a bad sunburn within a year or 2 max. The same goes for the galvanizing, they told me it needs to cure for "minimum... but ideally..." I forget what but I was in no hurry so I gave them a few months I think and sprayed with something, also forgotten, to aid the process.

I feel like I remember cost being roughly $500 combined but that was in 2009 ish now that I'm thinking more about it. Probably a very old post about it somewhere on some forum because I was fairly ****** about the RS **** job on that aspect which could have easily been done correctly instead.

For you Houm... Ace Galvanizing in south seattle industrial zone and also the coating place that I could find the name of if interested. I also had them do 3, maybe 4 sets of wheels.

 

[Houm_WA]

Thanks man!!! Great info. I will call Ace...