Frame Boxing

FreedomKJ · **Posted:** Tue Oct 18, 2005 2:20 pm

The terrain where I wheel most of the time (Cibilo Creek, Devil's Den) is pretty nasty and I've started doing a bit of damage to my "frame" rails (I need more clearance.)

I'm considering boxing them in with maybe some 1/8" or 3/16" steel and I'm wondering if anyone else has done this and has any suggestions/tips/warnings.

I know it will add some weight, but I don't care about the affect on gas mileage or anything; it's a Jeep not a Honda (heck, I'm lifted and I can still get 22mpg on the highway, but that's beside the point.)

I figure boxing the rails may also help prevent my KJ from ending up like CivilianX's (for those who didn't know him, he actually bent his KJ; there was a noticable curve along the bottom of the frame and the body panels didn't quite line up anymore.)

Any help will be appreciated!

JediJeeper · **Posted:** Tue Oct 18, 2005 4:29 pm

I boxed mine with 3/16 in order to attach the long arms for the front and rear suspension. I think it is a very good idea for what I needed, but it may also be a good idea if you are prone to damaging them on rocks and stuff.

-adam

Guest · **Posted:** Tue Oct 18, 2005 5:01 pm

Interesting. The only rails I've ever boxed were '32 & '34 Ford.

JediJeeper · **Posted:** Tue Oct 18, 2005 6:47 pm

Hammer wrote:

Interesting. The only rails I've ever boxed were '32 & '34 Ford.

LOL thats different! And a must I might add if you are putting any serious horsepower into the thing! :twisted:

I guess to be completely correct, the Libby's "psuedo rails" are already boxed by virtue of their unibody construction, this is simply a three sided overlay to increase strength (and in my case, give me something more substantial to weld mounts onto).

-Adam

FreedomKJ · **Posted:** Tue Oct 18, 2005 7:59 pm

Adam: Could I get some details as to how you boxed yours? How did you attach the steel? Did you drill holes to match the originals for drainage? Pics would be nice too.

Thanks!

Jeepin Al · **Posted:** Tue Oct 18, 2005 9:21 pm

Hey ladies and gents,

About after a year after I brought my Liberty (09/01), I spied an article on placing strip steel along the bottom of a Cherokee unibody to protect from rock encounters.

Well I went one step further. I took a piece of 2"x3"x.25" steel angle and welded to the frame from the front downward curve to the rear arm hanger. I then welded to the angle, a plate that I wrapped around the arm connection to protect that from those jumping rocks that always seem to jump up at the wrong time!

The first drive after all the welding and fabing was interesting, I don't know if it was mind over matter, but the Libby felt much stiffer!

CAUTION! Welding to the frame like that can melt the main wiring harness that runs the lenght of the Liberty within the "frame area". Also the excessive heat could weaken the sheet steel of the OEM "frame".

I than attached (welded ) my custom built rock rails (original Cherokee units) to the angle. With .25 inch steel, if the zerk nuts fail, you can tap the angle to remount the skid plates.

One of my "new" angles did take a good hit, with no visible signs of damage.

So far, three years later, my stiffing/protection job is still working well!

Al

JediJeeper · **Posted:** Wed Oct 19, 2005 3:14 pm

FreedomKJ wrote:

Adam: Could I get some details as to how you boxed yours? How did you attach the steel? Did you drill holes to match the originals for drainage? Pics would be nice too.

Thanks!

Here is the page where I show them being built, thats the only pics I have, and they are bolted on.

http://home.comcast.net/~jedijawa/page5.html

-Adam

Frame Boxing

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