DIY skid rails on a cab??!

I've seen these on the Ampegs also, and think they are an excellent idea. A carpeted cab doesn't slide well on a carpeted pickup truck bed.

The plastic rails would have to be beveled to avoid catching. I'd use numerous screws and washers to attach the rails to the cab. It would be more work to use bolts, but probably more secure. Be sure to Loctite all nut/bolt mating surfaces, or they will most definitely come loose inside your cab.

The next trick is locating a source for the rail material.

 

Where is a good place to find material for the skid rails?

 

I've seen it done with used slides from a snowmobile.

 

Do you mean something like this:

http://woodworker.com/cgi-bin/FULLPRES.exe?PARTNUM=931-583

or even this:

http://woodworker.com/cgi-bin/FULLPRES.exe?PARTNUM=836-990

 

Lucite is a brand of Acrylic.
Loctite is a chemical thread locker. It's not an epoxy to my knowledge, that won't let go. It sets up into something more like a rubbery goo, and is available in different strengths. Purple is for things which are frequently adjusted, Blue needs hand tools to break it loose, Red is for stuff that's really really not suppose to come loose, but might have to for repair purposes one day. Epoxy will mechanically fasten all kinds of stuff together. Loctite is really only intended to keep nuts and bolts from coming apart. It won't do anything for keeping a screw in MDF for instance.

Loctite Orange is natural variety that actually bonds a ferric surface and a ferric fastener together through a combination of mechanical and chemical means and usually takes a blow torch or a hammer drill to break it loose. (AKA rust).

 

The white stuff is ultra high weight molecular plastic (UHMW) and is extremely slick. I use "Marine Slides" (available from Overton's) on my sailboat trailer. Even on dry land, they are so tough and slippery that I can move my 1100 lb boat with one hand. The Marine Slides are ribbed so the stainless screws(included) are automatically below the sliding surface. Great product, but runs about $30 for ten foot long sections. The woodworkers' UHMW would work just as well and is probably cheaper...just use flathead screws and countersink them about 1/8" below the surface.

Kim

 

I laser-cut UHMW all the time at work. Nasty, smoky stuff!. The material I cut is black, not white, but still is UHMW. Very slick stuff. I wonder if you can get it in channel or angle stock??

 

Yep, just found it in the McMaster-Carr catalog. UHMW in 90o angle stock, 2"X2", and 3"X3". Its white, but you wouldn't have to counter sink, and it would be reversible when you wear out one side.

 

These measurements are the width of the legs of the angle stock, not the thickness...

 

This rail thing seems like a good idea. I wish I would have done this from day one with my 8x10 cab. My Workingmans 8x10 cab is pretty easy to load into the back of my Tahoe. I just tilt it in and lift the bottom up and push it in. At 110lbs it isn't too heavy but the carpet is getting torn up. I load mine on its side so I think I would like black rails. The white would stand out on stage. I don't suppose the material is paintable?

 

Well, if you painted it, it would just rub off. I will check with my work and see where we get black UHMW from. We might have some rems lying around that I could get strips sheared from. I think we have some 1/8", and might have some 1/4" or 3/8".

 

1) The paint would rub off of just about anything used for sliding.

2) The paint would likely not stick to the plastic anyway. Slipperyness is mutually exclusive with mechanical adhesion.

The bottom or the back would be best if you don't want them to show. I suppose you might could make some kind of sling for sliding the thing around if you absolutely didn't want them to show on the side. A couple of wide strips in a net harness might work.

 

Ampeg sells them direct. I think for $22. a piece. I looked around and nodda nowhere else.