LOOKING FOR SUGGESTIONS/IDEAS/INSTRUCTIONS for mounting and attaching slick fiberglass running boards to the supports...

don't want any mounting hardware to show and spoil the nice smooth boards.. anyone got any suggestions or ideas they've used.

thanks
john

 

Can you glass in a stud on the bottom side of the board? Or maybe glass in a block on the bottom side to screw a fastener into?

I've no experience with attaching fiberglass boards, I'm just tossing out ideas
Bobby

 

Imho, Bobby's got it. Either bond and 'glass in some studs, or a drilled and tapped 1/2" steel block that you can run either studs or a bolt into.

 

Don't glass, it's a mess and once the original FG has cured it will only be a physical bond and not a chemical bond (what holds the laminations together within the FG). Use a good structural adhesive or even JB weld if that's what you got and glue a plate to the underside of the running boards. Depending on how much clearance you have, I would use at least a 2 inch wide piece of 3/16ths strap steel with a couple of studs tapped and welded in place. To get the placement just right I would make up the plates, bolt them in place on the supports, fit the running boards between the fenders, and then lift the boards high enough to apply the adhesive. This way the mounting studs on the boards will be in perfect alignment. Home Depot and other hardware stores carry a range of structural adhesives used for bonding concrete, etc. , any of these should work fine.

 

I was thinking about how I've seen nut plates installed in hoods for the hinges. They're encapsulated within the fiberglass. I agree that bonding plates to the RB's would be ideal. But it couldn't hurt to go one step further, and bury them into the glass, as well.

 

Wayne, what has more strength...polyester resin or epoxy?
Any fiberglass that is laid over the top of a cured fiberglass part is only as strong as the bond between the existing part and the new FG...the only thing that is providing that bond is the polyester resin. I didn't mean the question above to be a trick question...the answer is obvious, polyester resin is only suitable for bonding the glass strands in a FG layup, it has little inherent strength of its own.
Like I said, adding FG in this situation is a mess and adds little to no strength.
BTW - I spent 2 years in a Fiber Reinforced Plastics (FRP) program and I am certified by the state to fabricate FRP products.

 

I have ribbed FG RB's, and I'd be skeptical any of those is going to hold up. The boards really flex if you use them to get in and out. Add the summer heat, winter cold, I'm just not convinced it will last. The smooth boards will flex even more, I imagine. Maybe you could use an aluminum step plate to conceal at least one set of thru-bolts.

 

I agree with Charlie. Stud plates glued to the boards would be plenty strong. Just be sure you get them where you want them the first time. That was the way I had intended to mount my fiberglass boards before I got the bright idea to build custom boards out of metal.

I made my plates out of 14 ga steel....drilled and tapped for the size stud I wanted to use......screwed the studs in enough to give a slight recess on the back side and welded them up.









I have seen the demo done with the 3M structural adhesive where 2 pieces of metal are glued together and then using hydraulics tried to pull them apart. The metal failed and glued joint held. Little doubt it would be strong enough for your application.

 

you guys !!! always come up with the right answer...

Bobby, glassing in was my first thought but then I also wondered about strength of the resin...

I tend to agree with Charlie on the adhesive... I've seen the body panel adhesive used and it is tough.

Drew...thanks for the good pics this has to be the perfect solution and what I had in the back of my cobwebbed head... quick and easy to fab up and install can be done easily as well... just do it like Drew's pics show scribe the location, remove it all, turn it over and place the mounting plates... heck... even I can do that !

I think I also have a tube of the adhesive already !!!

thanks guys... you confirmed what I was thinking would be the best way

I've searched the net and really couldn't come up with a 'step one' to finish article on installing beds... there will be one when I'm finished...

later and thanks again and BTW only those with a death wish would step on slick fiberglass running boards !!

john

 

I was talking to a bodyman buddy just today about panel bonding adhesive. He was telling me that he was very sceptical of it at first. He said that after he bonded two panels together and then tried to pull them apart only to have the metal faill way before the adhesive failed then he was sold.

Nice step by step process there Drew, great pics of it all

Bobby

 

body man got hung up in the paint booth yesterday so I was on my own...

raised the bed/fenders up like they should be... I didn't realize the bed sits ON the bed wood... so I was 3/4" too low... loosen everything up...add the front panel and shim it all with 3/4" wood shims... looks better too...

Drew.... here's my attempt at running board mounts... thanks for letting me steal your patent on them

later
John

 

Glad to help on the mounts. I'm sure you would have come up with a solution. It helps at times to see what someone else did.

I've picked up a lot of good tips, tricks and ideas from this site.

 

I helped a friend install a set on a Ch3vy a while ago... and if I remember right it had reinforced ridges that had a channel for a bracket like the one that looks Drewski 2 made but thicker and narrower but same concept... Good luck and keep us up on your progress!