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Operation Army Truck, Part 3

Getting In, Getting Over, and Getting Out
By Fred Williams
Photography by Fred Williams, The 4-Wheel & Off-Road Staff
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The plan for the rock sliders... 
   
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The plan for the rock sliders was simple--we wanted to protect the body and have a step that allowed us to get from the cab to the bed of the truck while cruising down the highway. Actually we wanted to be able to get to our bed-mounted toolboxes. Ken Hanna started by setting up a piece of 2x3-inch, 0.188-wall tubing to the desired height. This would become the lowest part of the slider and should easily support the truck.
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When it comes to fabrication,... 
   
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When it comes to fabrication, it's always cheaper and easier to make templates out of cardboard than steel. Taking your time in this stage will assure a tight fit of the final pieces, and the smaller the gap you need to fill, the stronger the welds will be. With the template cut out, Hanna prepared to cut it out of a piece of 2x3-inch 0.188 rectangular tubing with a plasma cutter.
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Hanna decided that the attachment... 
   
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Hanna decided that the attachment points for the sliders would be stronger if they tied into the body mount and rear spring perch, but they still needed to allow the spring-eye bolts to be removed. Remember to only tack-weld everything into place until you have all the parts assembled. That way any mistakes can be dealt with easily, or the sliders can be removed and given a good final weld on the bench.

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