How To Hefty Fabworks Rock Rails Installation

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bigrig

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Hefty Fabworks Rock Rails Installation

Let me start this post by saying this project was very involved and took me much longer than I initially had thought it would. It also required me to dig deep in my tool box and get creative while mounting these rails. I have Hefty Fabworks Skids on my truck and I was really impressed by the fit and finish of those. Everything in that kit fit perfectly and works amazingly. The rails unfortunately didn’t fit right out of the box. As you will see below I had to trim the mount points in order to get the rails to fit correctly. I consulted Chris Hefty about the fit and he said it is to be expected since the trucks have changed a little over the different years and trimming would be expected. This, along with tight spacing made these rails really difficult to install.


Tools I used:
  • Mig Welder, Welding Gloves, Welding Mask
  • 50ft 220v extension cord
  • 220V socket adapter 10-30P to 6-50R
  • Angle Grinder with 4.5” flap disc 60 grit
  • Die Grinder with 1” flap wheel 60 grit
  • Bar Clamp
  • Wire Cutters
  • Needle Nose Pliers
  • Air Compressor
  • Floor Jack
  • 2 Jack Stands
  • 8mm Box End Wrench
  • Impact wrench
  • 12mm socket
  • Reciprocating Saw
  • Ear plugs
  • Safety Goggles
  • Paint Cleaner
  • Rustoleum Black Primer Paint


About my experience with Hefty Fabworks:
I waited over 6 months for the delivery of the rails. It took a really long time but it was due to the fact that Hefty Fabworks fired their powder coater and had to find a new one. Chris was good at responding to all my calls requesting updates on the order status during that time.

Once the rails were finally delivered, they arrived in excellent condition. The rails were wrapped securely on a wood pallette that FedEx loaded via forklift in the bed of my truck.


About the Hefty Fabworks Rock Rails:
Before doing anything to the rails I weighed the new rails against the old running boards. The new rails were 50 pounds more per side. So the overall weight increase was 100 pounds.

The powder coating looked clean but isn’t super durable. I have been able to scratch it in some places. I expected the powder coat to be more durable than that. Touchup can be done with some black Rustoleum.


Installation:
I first made a jig that could hold the rails as well as be attached to my floor jack. This enabled me to move the rails around and lift them up against the frame of the truck.

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Before welding the rails on, the original step had to be removed. I used an impact wrench with a 12mm socket to make quick work of that.

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For the drivers side, I had to detach the electrical harness attached to the frame. I then had to grind the paint off the truck frame as well as the powder coating on the rails where weld points were. I think Hefty Fabworks should have requested from their powder coater, that the rails be masked off at the mounting points since they knew those spots would need to be welded.

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When fitting the rails to the frame, two of the mounting points on the rails needed to be trimmed to accommodate the body mounts already on the frame. I checked with Chris at Hefty Fabworks about this modification and he said there are variations in frames and that would be expected. It wasn’t the answer I really expected since my experience with the skids they make fit perfectly.

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I wanted to use 220V power for my welder since I was going to have to use an extension cord to reach the truck in the front yard. It was my plan to run a 50ft welding extension cord from my laundry hookup to the welder. That plan came to an abrupt halt when I found that the extension cord didn’t fit my laundry plug. A 10-30P to a 6-50R adapter made it possible though.

Before doing any welding on the truck I unhooked the battery’s positive cable using an 8mm box end wrench and wrapped it in a rag to ensure the terminal wouldn’t touch the cable while I was working on the truck.

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I found that my jigs top bars had to be moved sideways to allow the rails to be raised without getting in the way of the truck body. Luckily the rails are well balanced and moving the top bars didn’t affect its stability

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I positioned the rails against the frame, centered it, and used some one handed bar clamps to jockey it into position against the frame. I used a piece of plastic and some leftover 3/16 metal bits to enforce space between the rails and the body.

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I first tack welded the front and placed jack stands under the rails while I moved my jig with the floor jack to the rear. Once the rear was positioned correctly I tacked it as well. The middle required a little pressure from the floor jack to get the mount to lie flush with the frame. Once in place I tacked that as well.

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After verifying that the rails looked straight I started laying the bead for all the seams. Some welds turned out great while others required grinding and rework due to the tight spacing around the mount points. After the welds cooled, I cleaned the seams and painted the bare metal with black primer Rustoleum.

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Final Thoughts
To say this was an awkward install would be an understatement. I am pleased with the final result but it took a lot of work. I am not sure if I were to have hired someone to install these rails if I would have gotten what I wanted since they were really a pain in the butt to install.

I will be making the trek out to Tierra Del Sol in March and give the rails and the skids a workout. I will try to follow up on this thread to let you know how it worked out.

Measure twice, cut once, have fun, enjoy the process (even if the project is tough)!
~bigrig
 
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Looks really good and boy, what a write up and understand the frustration but man when its all done you tend to be even more proud of it.
 

Labraptor

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Looks very nice, good work. Wouldn't mind a set on my truck but I'm not up to that much welding for the installation.

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Yukon Joe

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Great install and write up. Good work making a nice clean install.
It's funny that @BigJ's hefty slider thread was just bumped a few days ago. Did you base your buy from his thread?

I had to trim my skids from hefty to get them to fit. There was an interference with the frame. But in the end, like you I was really happy with them.

Did you go with the steel hefty skids or aluminum?

The sliders looks really good on your truck.

Vote for your favorite pic
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KaiserM715

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Based on the quality of the write-up, I am going to move your thread into the "How To" section and include it in the Exterior Mods FAQ.

Nice job and thanks for taking the time to provide all of the details of the install.
 
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bigrig

bigrig

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Great install and write up. Good work making a nice clean install.
It's funny that @BigJ's hefty slider thread was just bumped a few days ago. Did you base your buy from his thread?

I had to trim my skids from hefty to get them to fit. There was an interference with the frame. But in the end, like you I was really happy with them.

Did you go with the steel hefty skids or aluminum?

The sliders looks really good on your truck.

Wow, sorry everyone for not responding sooner, I am not getting an email when this thread is updated. I will try respond now...

===

YukonJoe, I didn't see BigJ's thread before purchasing the sliders, though now that I do, I wish I did! I would have welcomed any more information before I started this project :) Here is a direct link to BigJ's thread since I think the link you provided earlier only goes to BigJ's Message Board.

BigJ's Slider Thread

I went with the aluminum skids. So far, I have hit them a few times and they are holding up great. When I talked to Chris at Hefty Fabworks, he said the main difference is that the steel one will slide over things better (they way you would expect steel to do over aluminum). I figured though the weight savings of the aluminum was a greater benefit over being able to slide on the skids better. I should be giving them a good test soon in Ocotillo Wells in a few weeks I will get back to you on how they perform.
 
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