Quote:
Originally Posted by duffdog
I believe the two bottom bolts on the lower part of the frame are a relatively simple attempt to relieve the torsional stress of the arm bending upwards and warping the full length mounting plate away from the frame at the 3 legs. Note that the factory m10 fastener points are not located in the shear zone of the surrounding metal near the 3 welded on legs. Additionally, the gussets have minimal effect on vertical rigidity as they are not attached to any significant structure besides the undersized plate which only has 5 total fasteners to begin with. I find that attempting to "slide" over a rock with downward facing plates and 2 bolts sticking out is counterintuitive. The bolts may catch on a rock and spin the truck along its vertical axis and dump it on its roof, injuring or killing the driver and other occupants.
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That may be the most decent thing you've ever written.
As far as your assessment goes - dunno - may be right. I agree with the questions about the two bottom bolts. That's an entirely fair objection. I do know they have some very experienced and respected fabricators. Word of mouth and reputation go a long way toward building a following in the aftermarket off-road business, and I can tell you the most difficult part of Jeff's business since he went full-time with it last year has been scaling to meet demand for his work and his products. He's always booked 2-3 week out for appointments to get anything done, and they've decided to no longer do ad hoc, one-off fabrication of anything. They have so much demand for their TRD Pro lift kits, bumpers, roof racks, etc that they can only focus on what work and parts they can sell repeatedly.
Which is how the project for these sliders made their product list. He began selling them for 5th gen 4Runners and Tacomas earlier this year and now everyone local wants them on their rigs. If you visit his Instagram page you'll see nothing but comments from followers wondering when he's coming out with "this" or "that." All the of growth of his business has been completely organic, and to me that speaks volumes about the products, the quality of their work, and their customer service.
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2007 Toyota 4Runner
| Sport Edition
| 4WD
| Fox 2.5 front
| Fox 2.0/OME rear springs
| Camburg UCAs
| 285/70/17 Bridgestone Dueler Revo 3s on TRD Pro wheels
| Westcott Designs Sliders
| BD S8 30" light bar
| Rigid 10" with C4 bracket in hood scoop
| BD Squadron Sport ditch lights