Rocker Panel Modification and/or Replacement

Hey all. This is more specifically for gen. 1 owners.



My rocker panels are complete trash! I love this truck and it runs great, but I do not love the fact that I'd have to ever even consider walking away from the vehicle only because it has rusty trash rocker panels that might cost me $1500-3000 to repair or replace.

I'm finding a paucity of threads on the board about the subject and I just cannot believe there aren't industrious and ingenious dudes on this board who've not yet solved this problem for their own Taco.

So, this thread is dedicated to that purpose. What have you done to repair the problem? Show and share your builds and tips. Please no ridicule and obvious comments about just walking away from such a truck. Things can get fixed.

I see from google searching that there's some jeep owners who've posted stuff about just cutting and welding in rectangular steel to replace factory OE rockers entirely. Not sure if its copyrighted but I'll paste in this link to pintrest in order to give you an idea on one thing that looks appealing as a solution.

https://pin.it/woaniciqmctesc

I'm not a trained body mechanic, but I have the gumption to chop mine off and do this myself. I've been asking around for junk and parts vehicles to get me some OE rockers chopped off a donor to replace mine. But the simplicity and ruggedness of some black steel fabricated rockers is appealing (and I imagine hugely more economical)! And I am surprised its not some sticky thread already on how all you rock crawling peoples make something like that a mandatory mod before you take your Tacomas out in the wilderness and hills.

Thoughts?

 

I think the reason this isn't a popular "mod" is because the bigger issues as far as rust goes, is usually the frame. I've seen many bodies that are perfectly intact with swiss cheese frames. So at least from what I've seen, if the body is badly rusted, the frame is probably even worse. There's a reason they call rust car cancer. With rust that bad, I'm betting you're going to keep finding more and more of it, the more you strip it down.


Things can always get fixed, and a lot of people have done a LOT to rusty frames/bodies to make them whole again, but if you have a rusty frame + rusted out body, is it worth it? Perhaps. But we're talking frame-off resto. Even the guys on those resto TV shows try to find a rust free body if possible.

Really, the only reason you'd want to tackle replacing rusty body panels is if it's well quarantined to a small area, or if replacement body panels just aren't available. At this point, you can fairly easily find donor Tacomas (maybe a rusted frame but intact body). A body swap is far easier to do too, especially for those of use who aren't professional body guys.

 

Thanks for your thoughts jbrandt.

OK... new addition to the list of hypotheticals. Pretend in your replies to this thread that the frame is great. My frame is good. It had the frame recall done and I don't have the issue you're describing, just patchy BODY rust that can be kept up with. Its just that my rockers are the worst of it all.

Of course I can imagine reasons why many have not tackled this problem. I'm living with this reality, I don't have to imagine. But I'm looking for real answers on what others have done about it and not "walk away from it" kinds of responses.

 

Here's something. Check out these rockers. Not the most glamorous, but a FAR cry better than mine. Anybody know how that's done or if it is a purchased thing?

 

Looks like bed liner.

 

I’ve seen people replace the rockets on jeeps and shit with like 1x4 rectangle tubing

 

I have yet to find that done on a Tacoma and posted anywhere on these boards or the internet in general. I'm hoping by keeping this thread going that somebody chimes in on a tutorial on how to do that on a Tacoma (1st Gen.).

 

There isn't a "tutorial" needed because this is just something that's too easy to do, and done often by the off-road community.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/has-anybody-bedlined-line-xd-their-rocker-panels.218842/

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/what-parts-are-you-putting-bed-liner-on.297011/

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/help-prepping-chipped-rocker-panels-for-bed-liner.282078/

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/line-x-rocker-panels.153615/

 

I think he’s referring to the cutting out and welding of the rockers, not bedliner.

 

Got it.

That's body work that'd cost some money to do.

 

all the above. This thread should be a handy place for anyone dealing with rocker panel issues to find it all. Thanks! But yes, I was more referring to the 1x4 or 2x4 steel plates to weld in after cutting off the rockers entirely.

 

Money... who said anything about money! I'm talking home DIY and all it costs are the supplies. I know what the body shop wants for this all (see 1st opening comments in the thread)

 

OMG that might be the very truck I posted the picture of earlier today

 

I fixed mine. Mine weren't quite as bad as yours on the floor pan (back) side, but the rockers were trashed. About all you need is a mig welder and a 4" grinder with a cutting wheel. I bought my rockers from dealer.

One problem you'll encounter is if you have an extended cab. There is not a rocker section available for that, only Reg Cab type. HF sells some crimping pliers that make a nice joint in the metal for the section on the xtra cab area. I just tack welded a piece of Lowes' sheetmetal to the side member, above the bad section, then shaped the replacement piece. I did that on the passenger side where there was more of the remaining metal to get a good shape. Then ground the weld loose and used in on the driver side. Worked well.

I have a few pics. I didn't make a build thread. First one shows where the purchased part ends. You have to make the rest yourself.



You can see the Lowes' material shining through the body filler



You can see my before condition in this one. Most people would have probably scrapped this truck, but it only had about 150,000, 4x4 drivetrain and interior were good condition, and I just wanted a project. I hate body work and have always avoided it. This forced me to get a little better.

 

Excellent! That's what I'm talking about! Thanks Wsidr1 ! Anyone else got build pics to share and methods?

 

Anyone try this 'necked-up method? (foam filling then bondo over it and paint) I'm curious to maybe do it as a quick fix to hold me over UNTIL I finally ever find a donor vehicle to transfer rockers off of. BUT... I imagine the foam could likely make the real job a royal nightmare when I go to rip it open and get down to the areas I need to weld real rockers to. Thoughts? Unless removing the foam is as simple as spraying some kind of solvent on (ex. acetone or other).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClLdggEgNQI

 

I did some searching on the net and came up with a rocker panel that fits my 2004 Tacoma DC

https://toyotaparts.bochtoyotasouth...jb21hJnk9MjAwNCZ0PWJhc2UmZT0zLTRsLXY2LWdhcw==

 

Stan, I have seen those kinds of sights. Needing both inner and outer rockers for BOTH sides would add up to about $920 in parts. Its part of the reason I started this thread... looking for economical fixes. And, by the way, they say "extended cab" in the ad, but its a mute point because I trying not to spend $900. At max I'll buy used rockers I can get off a parts car, or simply use an even more economical fabrication/patching job in the mean time if my name never comes up on the donor list (like people waiting for a kidney for goodness sakes). And maybe my truck will die of something else before I get nicer rockers.

 

There’s such a thing called slip overs I guess it goes right over the old one. A friend of mine did his F250 ford with the slip overs he said he herculined the back of it before he put it on. I looked everywhere online but couldn’t find any for the Tacoma

 

Nope... i couldn't find slip ons either