Beafing up the side plates??

[Euc51]

Have any of you welded a plate over the slots on an older ts side plate? Will this hurt the performance without those "vents" there?
I rallied my kit pretty hard last year. Straightened the side plates twice than actually had one crack as well. I was thinking about just welding a solid plate over this "week" area.
Anyone else done this?

 

[M5-]

Yes I have done that exact thing for a buddy. Worked fine for another three years

 

[Robster]

Do it! The Timbersled sides are crap as designed. Not designed with usual load in mind though. Best thing is to redo them totally and get higher grade with no slots (unless you have a programme to calculate load and put them where they should have been and with the right pattern) and just powdercoat it.

//R

 

[WRTsledder]

I did the same thing 2 years ago. I ended up buying a whole sheet of 6061 T6 and cutting out my own sides (cheaper than buying the sides from TS). Same thickness (0.188") and no holes, way stronger! I left it bare with a little polish because powder coating changes the temper. Last year I updated the kit and went from a 120 to 137 with a CMX track and Ice Age rails. I had lots of the 6061 left over so, I made new longer tunnel sides. Waaaay Better! Attached are some pictures of the 120 sides when I finished them, they are a little more scratched up now than in the pictures but otherwise in good shape (I would scuff them up and paint them anyways - tended to hold snow). If you are interested in them, PM me.

 

[M5-]

There you go your best bet is to buy WRT's 120 6061 side panels, problem solved