Hanson Rocker Install

[fdezone]

Okay, I purchased a set of Hanson Rockers through the American Bronco mass buy. Chuck asked for a write up, so here goes. First of all, I gotta tell ya, I don’t have a garage or a basement, so therefore, I am very limited on tools. I have to improvise a lot and make due with what I have on hand. Some of what you might see may seem a little ghetto.

Here’s their web page.

http://americanbronco.com/page5.html

Now, if you go with the Hanson Rockers, you have two options, uncapped ($180) or mitered & capped ($280). I went with the capped version for the added strength. If you choose to do so, Scott at American Bronco will email you a diagram of a Bronco with locations for you to provide him with your specific measurements, that way, he can pretty much tailor make ‘em for your particular setup.

My rockers arrived this afternoon. They came shipped bare metal and you know how it is on the east coast, so I immediately went out and picked up a couple of cans of primer and flat black spray paint. I only had a chance to give ‘em a good coat of primer this evening, remove my fender flares, and then it started getting dark on me. Oh yeah, I took my flares off because they’re the fiberglass type and I’m trying to stuff 35’s or maybe even 37s with just my 3.5” SL and 1” BL. Therefore, I plan on making a couple of other mods in the process. I planned this in advance since when I was taking my true measurements, I noticed that the metal behind the flares did not follow the same curvature as the flares themselves. That brings up another point. You can run your rockers to the flares edge, or add protection, you can run ‘em underneath and have your flares come to rest on the rockers. As for me, I plan on going the route of removing the inner front fenders, fab’n up an engine cage, and extend the rear wheel wells. That’s the dream anyway, so I figured I might as well man up and jump into it now. I know I probably should have went ahead and eliminated the rockers all together, but to be perfectly honest, I was a little hesitant at first, and later after I had already ordered them, I said o-well, F-it, there’s nothing to it, but to do it! So…

Here are a couple of pics to document my progress for now. I’ll continue to make updates until the rocker installation is complete. There’s really not much to it. They’re made of 3/16” hot rolled steel, are shipped bare metal, and they come with a set of mounting instructions and necessary hardware. I received a total of 18 bolts, 5 for each bottom lip and 4 for the top lip. Other than the routine tools, the directions state that you might need to use a grinder to help blend the ends in to contour them to your specific needs. An 11/32” bit to drill your mounting holes, and some silicone to seal and/or mask as necessary.

Contents.


Welds.


Mitered and capped ends.


With a coat of primer, nothing fancy, I mean they’re rockers right?


With and without the flares.




Anyone interested in a set of fiberglass flares? I'm thinking of rolling without 'em or ordering a set of Gorilla Warflares or maybe even the new Silverbacks, I'm not sure yet.


Front 33 & 36 comparison.




Rear 33 & 36 comparison.




Maybe with the rear axle pushed back a bit. Notice the weird cut on the bottom forward edge.


I think I'm gonna need taller springs?!

[blazinchuck]

beautiful job Axle. I gonna move this to the "How Too" section. Nice pics and great details. Cant wait to see the finished product.Chuck

[ELWOOD]

Axel, I want your rims :lol: Nice.. I wanna see someone do a write up on the protofab rockers...I think they replace the whole mess.

[fdezone]

Made some templates and opened the wheel wells even further. Waiting for paint to dry before I install the rockers.

Rockers on for visual effect.




Template.


Front trimmed up some and then edges cleaned up with molding.




Same with the rear.






Scrapped rear.

[blazinchuck]

I'm not so sure you will need taller springs now...those bigger wheel wells should help alot.Chuck

[fdezone]

I don't think there'll be any room for them to tuck right now. I'm gonna have to eliminate the front inner fenders, install an engine cage, and extend the rear wheel tubs to accept the larger tire. Full-width axles would be nice too. It'll be interesting.

[blazinchuck]

Good luck, and as always...take pics :lol: Chuck

[fdezone]

Finally finished the passenger side.

[69bronco]

Those are sweet. Looks good.

[fdezone]

Finally finished the drivers side. That's all for now folks.