Jack Points

[MarkASmith]

Good day all.

I am looking at putting jack point under my running boards on my Patrol 4.8GRX but I am concerned that the brackets aren't strong enough.

Has anybody done this or would it be best to fit rocksliders with jack points on it?

Mark

[Bruin Beer]

Mark,
I am almost 100% sure the piece of tin foil Nissan fitted there would not be able to support the weight of a troll.
Maybe with aftermarket rock sliders ye.
Stick to the jack under the diff or another alternative would be an air jack.
Good luck.
Riaan

[Clem]

Mark, it will not work.

[Peter Connan]

Mark, not only are the brackets and the steps themselves not strong enough, but neither is the bolting connections. In other words, even making stronger brackets and jacking directly on them is not enough.

Good rock-sliders should work, in one of two ways:
Some types mount onto the chassis instead of onto the body. If they are very beefy and well mounted, this will allow jacking.

other types mount on the same mounting points as the factory steps, but are designed to transfer most of the force directly into the sill edge, not the bolting points, and also to spread the load over the whole length of the body underside. These can also work for jacking.

[MarkASmith]

Hmm, just stuck my head under the Patrol and see what you mean. Mounting points and too light and bolt to the body not the chassis. I'm also not sure how the rock sliders would be fitted as there is no place to bolt it on to the chassis without welding mounting brackets in place which I am reluctant to do. Also the chassis tapers inward halfway down the length of the front door do the bracket would need to be very long and thus very sturdy. So time to make another plan.

[Peter Connan]

Mark, it is possible to mount to the chassis, as can be seen here:
http://www.patrol4x4.co.za/viewtopic.php?f=51&t=4609

As you can see, typically large, sturdy brackets folding around the chassis are fabricated. These are heavy and lots of work, but the approach works very well.

There are a number of suppliers making sliders such as this, and the approach works. I did something similar when I built sliders for my Y60.

However, both myself and G-Man built sliders that bolt on using the existing mounting points for the running boards, yet are strong enough to jack on. The secret is to spread the load, absorbing it straight into the body rather than trying to feed all the loads into the mounting bolts.
The main advantage of this approach is that you gain about an inch of clearance at the sills, as if you mount onto the chassis the sliders have to be removed from the body by at least 15-20mm from the body, else the body will nock onto the sliders under certain conditions, causing damage. Such sliders are also lighter.

[MarkASmith]

Hi Peter.

Thanks for the advice. With the design you have used, do you then drill holes through the chassis member and put a bolt through or do you tap thread into the member?

Mark

[Peter Connan]

Mark, I use the existing mounting points, but with firmer brackets:

NPRS.jpg (259.13 KiB) Viewed 4722 times

NPRS1.jpg (283.06 KiB) Viewed 4722 times

However, the trick is here:

NPRS2.jpg (214.17 KiB) Viewed 4722 times

The rock slider "wedges" into the skirt joint where the inner and outer body panels meet. Thus any load from below gets fed into the body, but over a very wide area (to do this the slider itself must be very strong though), and not into the mounting bolts.

This is the system used by the jeep guys, and I reckon nobody knows rock-crawling like they do...

[Herrie]

If you want to lift the wheels it is the best to jack the diff because if you do not jack the diff the body will lift very high before the wheels will go up.

[Clem]

Especially on a Patrol. You'll need a loooong Hi-Lift jack.