"Rocker Boxes" ties everything together

[Black and Blue Garage]

So... I've heard mixed reviews on replacing the rocker panels with rectangular tubing, "Now it might as well be an xj", "you could have sold the cab corners if you were going to ruin them" and so on. As much as I love these trucks, I want to turn everything and your mom's minivan into an off-road machine. So, taking all the love and hate with a grain of salt, I cut the bottom corner of my perfectly good MJ cab off and welded in some 2x5 rectangular tubing.

I would like to talk about the pros outweighing the cons on this particular topic.

The cons

1.  For some, this ruins the classic look of the truck and fuel on the fire is It isn't one of the parts that can be replaced by XJ parts.
2. Adds weight to the vehicle causing extra stress on important components.
3. Can never easily return to being a purist Jeep Comanche, effectively eliminating the vehicle from being one of the rare trucks left.

The Pros

1. I believe the beefy rock boxes make the truck look better and is not only a performance upgrade, but a cosmetic enhancement.
2. Of course, It does add weight to the truck, especially after adding bracing, cage and stiffeners to the sliders after the fact, but in combo with an LS or stroker, and some already needed bigger axles, the extra weight seems to matter less and less. 
3.  I'm not sure taking rare trucks away from the fleet Is a bad thing. Although I am also sad to see them go, I have to assume that makes the Purists Jeep MJs even more rare and valuable. A bit controversial but if you ask me, if we are proud that our trucks are rare, we should thank the few people who give us more to be proud of. Just my opinion.
4. rocker replacement boxes stiffen the frame when installed in combination with rock sliders, 4 link brackets, plating and just plain unibody. 
5. Allows a mounting point for and exo-cage to be mounted to project what is left of the rare truck cab. Safe but even more so is...
6. Most importantly, it is a good foundation to weld an interior, hybrid cage to keep the driver and passenger safe.

 

Of course, and as always, it matters what an individual is planning to do with the truck. If it is all the same to anyone else, a truck that is going to rock crawl or other rowdy activities will look much better with rock sliders and a cage than a smashed-up truck that left in its purist form. If a person intends to drive the truck to work, sporting a piece of history that he/she can be proud of, I would be the first to restore it down to the original decals and tire size.

 

I Upload a new video every Monday morning to My YouTube channel. At the time of this post, this is my current project in preparation for the xofab cage I plan on modifying next year.   www.youtube.com/@BlackAndBlueGarage

 

Please let me know if you would like a Post per video starting from a year ago, I would love to get insight and criticism from the community. I am always excited to rap ideas and shade tree engineering.

[ghetdjc320]

I ran Spandano rockers on my old MJ. Worked well and you couldn’t tell it wasn’t factory. The continuous stretch of 2x5 should work well if you can tie it into the cab factory supports nicely. As for being able to switch back, it’s really not that hard to do. I had to undo PO’s mods or damage that were far more invasive. Key parts should have cab corners soon if you ever decided to switch it back. 

[Black and Blue Garage]

5 minutes ago, ghetdjc320 said:

The continuous stretch of 2x5 should work well if you can tie it into the cab factory supports nicely. As for being able to switch back, it’s really not that hard to do.

I plan on supporting the ends and two or three places between down to the unibody/stiffeners/link mounts using the same material. later I'll have a place to put some panels to slide off of. Not quite "boat sides" but I didn't want to cut too high.  Thats great news about reproduction parts. the dream would be to one day have time to build another one of these but keep it on the pavement; one of each is suppose. 

Also. I hope to one day be good enough at shaping and body work to make anything for everything. For now, I'm digging the "made out of stuff I found" style lol. 

I don't hate too much as long as rims stay under 22"  jk

[Pete M]

another con that applies to rusty rigs is that the weld between the sheetmetal and tube tends to rust, weaken and split apart after a while, especially if the backside of the weld inside the Jeep isn't painted or otherwise treated.  not a deal breaker, but important to keep an eye on. 

 

I almost went this way with my 88 but decided to a more traditional rocker guard welded to the frame after realizing I had very little clean metal to weld to in the rocker area.   

[erandel]

On 11/22/2023 at 1:33 PM, ghetdjc320 said:

I ran Spandano rockers on my old MJ. Worked well and you couldn’t tell it wasn’t factory. The continuous stretch of 2x5 should work well if you can tie it into the cab factory supports nicely. As for being able to switch back, it’s really not that hard to do. I had to undo PO’s mods or damage that were far more invasive. Key parts should have cab corners soon if you ever decided to switch it back. 

I'll mention the Spandano rockers to my friend's uncle. He recently retired and got this MJ project. The shocks and tires from 4Wheelonline for his JK are getting installed this week and he got a plenty of time for the Comanche.