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-   Archive through February 24, 2008 (http://www.wakeworld.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=551467)
-   -   Building a Slider (http://www.wakeworld.com/forum/showthread.php?t=540044)

lyle 01-30-2008 11:50 AM

So give me any pointers, thoughts, helpful hints, anything you got on building a slider. We are thinking of going with something pretty basic like what you see below. We are unsure of the measurements, thats what we need help most on. We want the middle to be big enough to ride, but small enough to clear. Any other basic ideas would be great too. Also, what type of pitch would we need to get good air? And if anyone knows of any good cheap decking material, that would be awesome.. Thanks guys.. <BR> <BR> <img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/65919/540045.jpg" alt="Upload">

sethenol 01-30-2008 11:54 AM

at minimum double the middle to 12ft.

toesideturtle 01-30-2008 12:06 PM

Way too small!!!! We built ours 10' up, 40' across and 10' down and it seems small.. Ours is about 24" above the water. We used 4x4's for uprights/2x6's on each side and Trex decking material for the sliding surface. You can get all the material at Lowe's or Home Depot for a couple hundred. I suggest using screws for putting everything together. Good Luck!

rodmcinnis 01-30-2008 12:48 PM

Agreed, way too small. Depending on how steep the ramps were you might not ever even touch the mid section but rather fly right over it. If it is more than a 30 degree ramp you probably wouldn't even contact the down ramp on the other side, it would become a kicker. <BR> <BR>At 24 MPH you will cover 35.2 feet in one second. The slider shown would be covered in a little less than 1/2 second. Not exactly enough time to do anything. <BR> <BR>I have a 30' slider that is about as small as I would recommend. I would also recommend adding some diagonal braces on the posts. <BR> <BR>Rod

wakeviolater 01-30-2008 2:49 PM

20' - 20' - 20'

lyle 01-31-2008 7:21 AM

Thanks for the input guys, after talking last night, I think we are going to try to go with 16ft sections. Keep the comments comming, Ill try to post an updated diagram shortly to be critiqued (sp?)

wakeboardern1 01-31-2008 7:27 AM

Quick question, where do you guys install sliders at? How do you get approval, and from whom do you get said approval from?

lovin_the_wake 01-31-2008 7:27 AM

"I would also recommend adding some diagonal braces on the posts" definitely

bigdave0924 01-31-2008 7:36 AM

Just build them... Somebody may get pissed and cut it down, but then you go to a different stop and build another one

andy_nintzel 01-31-2008 7:53 AM

I made a 16-16-16 A-frame like the one oyu are planning. I can tell you that if possible make it way longer. We used that slider for like 3 days before we took it down and replaced it with a 24-24-24. That was perfect, plus you can use 12 foot lumber. Also I would add 1 set of "legs" to the up and down sections theres a ton of stress on the jib when you ollie on to a up rail the last thing you want is for something to snap. <BR> <BR>The 16-16-16 was okay but, when you ollied onto it you landed about 8 feet up the slider, if you tried to gap the 16 foot flat, you would usually launch over the whole down section. Its amazing how fast things go by at 25mph. <BR> <BR>Also whatever you do dont make it a ride on.

jnewton7 01-31-2008 8:45 AM

I should add that this is going in a pond and we are pulling with a 4wheeler so we are are going to be pushing it on space with about a 50ft rail...right now we are planning a 16-16-16...I'll post a diagram in a bit...Thx for the comments...

fisha_sweet 01-31-2008 8:54 AM

20 20 20 no smaller otherwise you are wasting your time!!!!

eternalshadow 01-31-2008 9:35 AM

My first slider was 24' total and it was way too short. The only nice thing was that if you made it just over a 1/3rd of the way and you fell you pretty much didn't hit the water until after the slider. <BR> <BR>We built ours on a shelf, so deep side was 4' shallow side was 1', made falling a bit interesting but even falls in the 1' water weren't bad because it was a nice sand. <BR> <BR>Construction was about 20 degrees, 6', 12'flat, 6'. We used 4X4's for the posts, 2X6 for the deck and some stainless reinforced 1' pvc tubing spaced 2" apart on the decking. Secured it to the deck by grinding slits in the tubing and banding the tubing to the deck. <BR> <BR>If I did it again, I'd increase my transitions to at least 8' and my flat to between 16 and 20. I'd also drill holes in my tubing so that I could screw it to the decking instead of using the banding.

wazzy 01-31-2008 9:49 AM

yeah it's gotta be bigger.... otherwise you are on &amp; off before you know it....

jnewton7 01-31-2008 10:42 AM

Ok here's an updated diagram with more length and support. <BR><img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/65919/540238.jpg" alt="Upload">

eternalshadow 01-31-2008 11:43 AM

Jeff how long are your 4x4's going to be and how far are you spacing them? Depending on the height of the slider you may not need quite as much support. <BR> <BR>Although it's always safer to go with extra support.

andy_nintzel 01-31-2008 12:02 PM

I agree, I used that many for a 72 foot slider, that might be over kill on the 4X4 support, plus they are stupid expensive. Otherwise not a bad plan, you may want to make the cross supports longer to aviod the slider from shifting back and forth.

watson_134_lf 01-31-2008 2:24 PM

<img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/65919/540344.jpg" alt="Upload"> <BR> <BR>the horizontal supports really helped my slider stay sturdy

wakeviolater 01-31-2008 4:11 PM

Jeff, <BR> <BR>your on the right track. You are using WAY too much material. Keep cost down, use half the number of verticals and supports fromthe verticals to horizontials. <BR> <BR>You can use alot less material if you change to 2x6's on your horizontials, then you can get by with only 4 verticals (16' spacing). As long as you use the vertical/horizontial supprots the overall integrity will be there, but you will spend half as much on material. <BR> <BR>keep costs low, and strength high!

wakeviolater 01-31-2008 4:17 PM

with only 4 verticals you will want to place the verticals in stratigic places. <BR> <BR>two should be placed where your inclines meet the flat. <BR> <BR>the other two will be on the inclines. Place them where the wakeboard will first be making contact. I wouls estimate that spot to be around where you have "2x4" writen on the incline. <BR> <BR>this will make sure you have the vertical load in check, but still place your \/ supports on ALL verticals to horizontials. <BR> <BR>let me know if this makes sense or not. <BR> <BR>I would still like to see you go to a 20-16-20, at least. <BR> <BR>DO NOT MAKE YOUR INCLINES MORE THAN 15 DEGREES. I suggest starting at 10 degrees.

westsidarider 01-31-2008 6:31 PM

take a list to the depot or lowes and get a tally on expenses. you will quickly find that its not cheap to build even the smallest rails. <BR> <BR>on a side note you might want to visit the closest housing construction site and grab whatever you can out of the piles of scrap. usually you will find that there is alot of what you need and the foreman is pretty cool about letting you take whatever you need.

toesideturtle 02-01-2008 11:47 AM

We used 2x6x16's for the 40' flat section-alternate the lap for strength/ 4x4's @ 8' on center for upright support. The up/down ramps are 10', but extend 1' down into the water. Built slider last year, still standing strong. Also, by putting your uprights @ 8' o.c. you could screw standard length plywood for shear.

rodmcinnis 02-01-2008 12:43 PM

How is your slider going to be connected to the bottom? <BR> <BR>How deep is the water where you will install it? <BR> <BR>Is the bottom soft mud, sand or rock? <BR> <BR>As shown the only side to side support for the slider will come from the posts getting buried in the bottom. I would expect that the posts would need to be two to three feet deep in order to provide adequate lateral support. It could be really difficult to pre-build the slider and then get the holes dug in the right spots, especially if the water is murky and visibility sucks. If the water is more than two feet deep it may not be practical to prebuild. <BR> <BR>If you are going to put the posts in first and then build the slider you should shorten things up just a tad. I doubt that you would be able to get the posts located exactly so if you were shooting for post 8 feet apart and missed by an inch then an 8 foot 2x4 won't reach. Better to set the posts 7-1/2 feet apart and cut the 8 foot 2x4 to fit. <BR> <BR>The idea of plywood between posts would certainly make the slider very stong lengthwise but it would also make it take a terrible sideways pounding from wakes. I doubt it would stand up very long with big wakes hitting the broadside of the slider covered in plywood. <BR> <BR>If the water wasn't too deep, the bottom muddy and reasonably smooth and regular (doesn't need to be "flat" but it would need to have a consistant slope) you could have the bottom of the posts terminate in a "T" (invert that T) with some diagonal braces. Like the slider Alex is working on. Carry it out, set it in place, throw a sandbag on the bottom boards. The bottom boards will work their way into the mud and be reasonably stable. It might not work as well on a sandy bottom but you could add some re-bar stakes to nail it down. <BR> <BR>If the bottom is rocky and irregular you may be out of luck unless you make a custom "foot" for each post. <BR> <BR>Rod

toesideturtle 02-01-2008 1:42 PM

You can use a water pump to jet the 4x4's down as far as you like---we put our post @ 8' o.c. or a little less rather than being long like rod said. As far as the plywood, you don't have to use full width. We did use a couple of 2x4's for angle bracing at both ends oposite the up ramps.


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