Are your current rocker panels in need of repair, are they rusted out, or bashed in from wheeling?  Replace them with some heavy gauge steel instead of the wimpy stock steel replacement parts.

When I got project RocKready home on the first night, the rocker panels had some rust holes in them and really did not look that bad.  After I made it road worthy, I started looking for all the body cancer.  The floors were a mess and they came first.  Then I looked around the body and noticed the bottom of the front fenders and the rocker panels themselves had a few holes in them.  After cutting out the initial rust holes in the rocker panels I found that the problem there was much more serious.

I ran over several options in my mind about what to do.  I even posted some questions on a few on line bbs's to get some other input.  One option was to patch the holes and treat the inside with rust converter.  This did not appeal to me because it was just going to be a temporary fix at best.  Then I started thinking of replacing the rocker panels with stock replacement parts.  After getting some pricing information and looking at what I had to remove, I decided against this as well.  Another reason for this was that I had planned on making some Nerf bars to protect the new rocker panels.  After looking and talking with a few folks, I knew that the bars would not support the weight of the K-5 fully without being pushed up into the rocker panels themselves.  There are a couple of reasons for this.  The frame on my K-5 is basically c-channel, its not boxed like most Jeeps.  It is also quite a way from the frame to the rocker panels.  Both of these combined to make the Nerf bars flex upward a pretty good way.  

I finally decided to remove the stock rocker panels and replace them with some heavy gauge 2"x 3" tube.  This would replace the rusted out stock parts, give me new and stronger support for the floor pans, give me the added bonus of adding about 2" of ground clearance at the rocker panels, a very big plus for me because I needed all the clearance I can get.  Last but not least the thicker wall tube can take a very good hit and stay in tact.  It will let you hit rocks and other obstacles without fear of mangling body work.  

Follow along as I show you what I did and how well these Rocker Knockers have worked out for me.

The Removal and Install

 The first step in doing this is to obtain the proper supplies and tools.  If you are like me, even though you get all of what you THINK is needed, you will always, always find out that you missed some part or tool or scrap piece of metal that you need and have to go and find it.  

To remove the rocker panels you can use several different methods.  The fastest most easy way to do it would be with a Plasma Cutter, as I don't have one of these I did it the hard way.  I used a Hack Saw blade, tin snips, sawz-all, and an air chisel.  Note I said ALL, it was not multiple choice.  Some parts of the rockers were better gotten at by one tool then another, removing the darn things was the hardest part.  Once removed you can see how bad a design it was to begin with.  You can get mud, and water into both ends of the rocker panels from above, and once its in there you cant get it out.  It just sits there and slowly rots them away.  

Now before you actually get to cutting yourself, you need to take stock of how you want yours to turn out.  I used 3" wide by 2" high stock and that put the outer edge of my rocker panel behind the door when closed.  If you want wider than the 3" for say a step, or maybe a little more door protection, you have three options, you can make your rocker panels lower so the door can close over it, or you can cut off about 1/2" of the bottom of the door  and weld the seam back so that it will clear.  Or you can do what I did and make the door actually close and cover the edge of the rocker.

The next part of my advice is this MEASURE TWICE AND CUT ONCE.

This is a shot of the Passenger side rocker panel before removal.  If you look close at the front part of the access hole I cut, you can see where the metal tore because of so much rust. Click Image for Larger Picture

This is a shot of the drivers side rocker panel before cutting it off.  The access hole on the front goes clear through to the inner panel as well, this was the worst side of the two.                 Click Image for Larger Picture

This pic shows the passenger side rocker panel removed and in it you can see the cab support below the open door on the right side of the pic.  Don't mind all the junk in the floor, its quicker than going back and forth to the tool shed.               Click Image for Larger Photo

Here is another shot of the passenger sided rocker panel removed.  You can really see the cab support here and also on the left the large opening that let all the water and mud into the original rocker panel.  You can just make out the cut front fender on the far right. Click Image for Larger Photo

The bottoms of my front fenders were rusted out and bent up pretty good.  I decided to remove them and continue the rockers up to the bottom of the front inner wheel well also.  There is a bolt at the bottom of the fender that holds it on, I was going to weld on another tab after cutting to take its places, but found that the inner fender bolts that go to the cab work just fine to keep it in line.

After removal, I took a  very course metal cup brush on my 4" grinder and cleaned all the undercoating and paint away, then treated the surrounding area with rust converter.  I then took the metal that I had and made a rough cut for length, leaving it long on both ends to keep my options open.  I used  jack stands and some scrap pieces of 2x4 to hold the rocker in place while I took some measurements and to get a good look as to how this was turning out.  Looking under the floor on the inside of the rocker panel, I noticed that there was not a very good way to attach the back of the rocker panel to the floor pan.  I took out some 1" angle iron I had and found the perfect solution.  I cut it to the right length, made marks on the rocker panel to show how high up and where to locate it side to side and removed the rocker panel and tacked it on.  After the initial trial fit with both pieces and some minor adjustments I welded them on and started on the other side.  Once the first side was done the other was a piece of cake.  

This shot shows the initial weld in of the new tube rocker panel.  You can see the open end before boxing it in and also get a good idea of the length. Click Image for Larger Photo

This shot shows how the new tube rocker panel is attached under the floor, you can see the angle iron that is attached to the rocker and the floor pan. Click Image for Larger Photo

I almost forgot to tell you that if you cut out your rocker panels as far as I did, that on the rear fenders, where the rocker panels stops.  There is a metal rod that acts as a brace to keep the old panel stiff.  It bolts between the bottom of the old rocker panel and the bottom of the inner fender.  You will have to remove this and since the rocker panel is not tube and is not a thin piece of metal it does not flex, so the rod is no longer needed.

All the next photos show the Rocker Knockers after some usage.  They show some good shots of the finished product and will give you an idea of how durable they are.  

This is the rear wheel end of the passenger side showing the end boxed in and the full welding to both inner and outer metal as well as the cab support.  You can also see that the outer fender is well supported by the rocker. Click Photo for Larger Image

This shot shows the front of the passenger side and gives a good shot of the bottom of the front fender.  You can see the patches in spots on the bottom of the fender where I removed some rusted metal Click Photo for Larger Image

This shot is showing the under side of the passenger side.  It shows how the cab support is welded back to the rocker.  I did have to dimple the bottom of the cab support to make if fit flush. Click Image for Larger Photo

This is an underside view of the back of the passenger side showing how the inner heavy gauge metal support plate is cut and welded back in to the new rocker panel.  You can also see some battle scars on the bottom. Click Image for Larger Image

Here is the passenger side completely welded in and ready for body protection as well as showing off the new extra 2" or so of ground clearance. Click Photo for Larger Image

Here is the drivers side rocker panel welded in, you can get a little better idea of how far into the rear fender well that it extends in this shot. Click Photo for Larger Image

Here is a test of the rocker panels strength (No it was not on purpose) The entire weight of my 6500 lb beast  is laying on the bottom of the drivers door and the rocker panel.                         Click Photo for Larger Image

It's kinda hard to tell with the lighting, but this shows how far in my door was crushed.  The bottom edge was pushed up over the rocker and the rocker panel held the weight with no sweat. Click Photo for Larger Image

I have been very pleased with the looks, and performance of my Rocker Knockers since I installed them.  The only thing that I have considered doing different since installing them would be to remove about 1/2" of the bottom edge of the door and re weld the seam. 

This was very intimidating when I first started thinking about doing it, but it was actually not near as hard to do as I would have imagined.  I hope that some of the ideas that I have had on modifying my K-5 will help you along with some projects and modifications to your rid what ever it may be.

See ya on the trails!

Glenn

For more info please email: depdog@off-road.com

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