Who Here Has Installed APEX Rock Sliders on a 2nd Gen Tacoma?

I'm curious if anyone here can assist me as it's not as simple as I expected it would be. I read AllPro's several times & I have to say that they leave much to be desired. Very vague and lacking of important details for someone who has never done this before. Four photos and a paragraph or two of vaguery isn't what I would call installation instructions. I'm already seeing several things that were left out that could have been included to make this process easier. Hell, one of the steps even says to 'use bolts for the rest' or something to that affect. No mention of if you're using the nut plates or the nylock nuts or how to access or what existing bolts need to be relocated or what items need to be removed before installation.

A YouTube video made by AllPro would go a LONG ways in assisting customers with installation of their product. At minimum they need to produce real installation instructions with a step by step, side by side explanation of the full process on installing these. I've seen more comprehensive instructions on a set of silverware.

I'm sure rolling around on the garage floor underneath these trying to wrestle it around on a floor jack alone doesn't help but it still is quite frustrating the level of post-sale support that seemingly exists for this product. Before anyone says anything I even called and talked to someone named Sam I believe and he wasn't able to tell me anything. He got my number to call back after talking to the installers and called me back with 'you just have to look at it more and
try harder' basically. Okay.

I starter on the driver's side and put the nut plate in the crossmember as instructed prior to bringing the slider up. It says that you can position it through the 'smaller hole' once it's in place and I have no idea what this is talking about. Sam was asking me about year and mine is a 2010 so I'm wondering if there's is a slight difference from year to year that makes this an easier process. The front part of my frame is entirely boxed in making the three forward most holes (including the bottom one on the bracket that extends down and is supposed to use the nut plate I was just describing) nearly impossible to access from the back. I really don't see how I'm supposed to get a nut or nut plate on the back side of these.

There has got to be something I'm missing here and I finally got frustrated enough to give up yesterday. I'm not stranger to working on vehicles so it's not just that I'm a r00k who doesn't understand basic concepts. I got the APEX because they were better and easier to install but this seems almost like I got the wrong part. If someone has done this first hand and can tell me exactly how they accessed those three points as well as walk me through any other speed bumps they encountered along the way and how they addressed them that would be awesome. I'm close to just putting these up for sale and moving on with my life it's been that frustrating.

Thanks for the help!

 

Sub'd!Curious myself on some input!Considering some AllPro sliders in the future!

 

Anyone?

 

if it makes a difference, I have a '14 DCSB, and my APEX sliders were a PITA to install by myself too.

as for the crossmember nut plate, I recall being able to stick a finger or two into the crossmember to hold that nut plate in place (which means mines isn't fully boxed). sorry, I don't have any pictures, but I'll try get some later today. and yes, the 3 front bolts will be a test of your will and patience. lol. I had to put on a long sleeve shirt, and reach my whole arm into the frame to get that forward-most bolt in. it was seriously the worst thing. if you don't have smaller arms, you're gonna need to find someone who does or rig some device to hold that nut plate in place so you can bolt on the slider.

I had lots of issues with the driver's side because the brake lines were in 3-4 of the holes that were supposed to be used. I thought it was weird that I needed to bend my lines that many times to get it to bolt up. I ended up only doing 2...

 

There's no way I can fit my arm into the boxed in frame portion from the back. Maybe if I was a 150lb girl possibly but I'm a 240lb vanilla gorilla with swole arms.... ain't gonna happen. I put the nut plate in the cross member and I see no way to reach it to put it into place once the slider bracket is in place. There's nowhere to reach it from. Maybe other year trucks look different than mine underneath but this is crazy.

This is what I'm talking about though when I say the instructions are garbage because you talk about using brake line holes and bending brake lines and.... dafuq? They REALLY need to put up some more comprehensive instructions because this is BS and I'm really close to just throwing this on Craigslist and calling it a day. At this point, I couldn't be more disappointed with this purchase.

 

I know what you mean. a couple other local members got the same sliders, but they have LB's and 12'-13' models and their installs were wayyyyy different than mines. I went as far as trying to call All Pro and e-mailed (with lots of detailed pics) them a couple times to get help/insight with the install, but they never responded. I kinda wish I either went with Pelfreybilt bolt-on or just straight weld-on sliders

 

No you're not




Hahahhaa just kidding. Up to you buddy

 

I have the Heavy Duty sliders but they came with the Apex plates. All I really remember st the moment is the front plates and the drivers rear nut by the gas tank was a pain in the ass. Will try to remember to crawl under my 2011 this evening and try and remember how I solved the puzzle then post an answer.

 

Just remembered this thread and got under the truck to take a look.

The plate in the crossmember wasn't a problem for me. On the back side of the crossmember, right behind the exhaust hanger, is an oval hole. Its close enough that I could stick my fingers down into the crossmember to position the nutplate for a bolt and lock washer. If you don't have a hole there I can send you a picture so you can drill/cut your own.

The two front bolts into the side of the frame had me baffled for a minute but the solution was simple. Just duct tape a nutplate to the end of a piece of flatbar or wood lath. Fish it into position and use a lock washer on the bolt side. Did the same thing at the drivers side rear where I was screwed by the gas tank.

I only needed to drill one or two holes in the side of the frame. I wanted the sliders completely bolted up first to make sure the new hole(s) were in exactly the right place so that meant drilling with a 90 degree angle drill. Instead of spending $200 or more on a drill motor I picked up this inexpensive angle attachment from Harbor Freight. . The thing is no good for production work but worked perfectly for a couple of holes.

I got lucky and didn't need to relocate brake lines.

Couple of other tips. Use a floor jack and two jack stands to position the sliders. To drill holes in the bottom of the frame use a new sharp bit and use the floor jack to apply pressure like an upside down drill press. If you have a buddy helping he can use a block of wood and a length of 2x4 as a lever under the drill while you run the trigger and guide it. Frequently dip the bit's tip in cutting oil and go slow. Heat kills drill bits in a hurry and they cut faster while going slow anyhow. Be sure to spray the holes you drill with brake cleaner or some other solvent (wear safety glasses or better yet goggles!) to remove cutting oil residue and then touch up with aerosol chassis black before installing the nut and bolt.

I used this calculator to select the correct drill bit size. I think they supplied 3/8" bolts and I wanted a close fit so used 25/64" bits. http://www.amesweb.info/Screws/ClearanceHolesInchFasteners.aspx

That's all I can think of at the moment. If you have any other questions let me know.

Edit - Couple more tips. Paint the nutplates to prevent rust. I used chassis black. And check to make sure the nutplates easily thread onto a bolt or you will never get them tight. I had two where the threaded hole seemed to have been slightly distorted from welding heat but running a tap through them cleaned 'em up nicely.

 

Well @Ostrichsak, have you installed them?

 

I've got a 2012 DCLB, and the install PDF varies wildly from what's actually under my truck. I get the idea that they just made one install document that doesn't account for all the different models and years of truck.

Everything on the sliders lined up with something on the frame, but a lot of it was way different than the photos and descriptions in the PDF. To deal with it I just ran to Fastenal and bought a bunch of matching grade 8 nuts, bolts and washers and put a bolt through every hole in the frame I could fit one.

The only holes I drilled were in the bottom of the frame.

Definite good advice on checking the threads on the nutplates - run the bolt through them and match up which bolts work best with which plates, if that makes sense. Good luck!

 

Another tip - Use auto body seam sealer to seal up the voids between the gusset and logo stitch welds. It will prevent water from getting into those areas that can't be painted and will prevent rust. Seam sealer is fantastic stuff since it won't crack or shrink and can be painted. Will try to remember to post pics tonight.

 

No, I have not. I appreciate your post and the time you took to post it but I had a window of time in which I could install these and now I've just been too busy. This project hit the back burner and every time I see them sitting on the floor of the garage taking up space and thinking of the effort it's going to take to install them I'm thinking more and more that it's just not worth it. I'll probably contact All-Pro but this whole situation is frustrating to say the least. The expectation for basic installation instructions isn't asking to much IMO but this is a joke on All-Pro's part. The subsequent customer service when I reached out for clarification while installing was also as close to useless as they can get w/o actually tell me to 'get bent' on the phone. I did my part as a buyer and read the installation instructions several times before ordering and decided based on their illustrations and instruction that it wouldn't be a problem. "Well hell, it's only two pages long and has only a handful of steps plus I'm no moron & have decades of experience working on my own vehicles and those of others to include vast experience modifying them so this should be simple" I thought. Wrong!

All-Pro has really dropped the ball on this one and nobody seems to care when it's been brought to their attention. Not super motivated to attempt to reach out to them again at this point to be honest.

 

Agreed that the instructions are very lacking. But it really is a fairly simple and self evident install once the sliders are jacked into place with the holes aligned. Just process of elimination for which fastener to use in which place (other than needing two longer bolts in my case for the rear sides). Give it another try and you will be successful.

 

I have had them for about 3 years. I have all of the bottom lip bolt holes (the ones you have to drill through the frame) and many of the side ones but the very front and back ones are not installed. Also, the bottom holes on the frame brackets were not countersunk... It gave me an excuse to go buy new CS bits.

I also had to place some thick rubber hose around the brake lines where they are in contact with the Bolt/Nuts.

 

Installed a set today with no real problems. Didn't bother looking at any directions, it seemed pretty self explanatory. Only wish they would have supplied longer bolts and larger washers. Took a few hours but I have a lift.

 

I'm about to install these tomorrow, picked them up for 150 bucks off FB marketplace. Sounds like a fun install!

 

so how was the install?

 

All and all very straight forward. With two jack stands, I was able to do it all myself. I think there were only two bolts I couldn't reach inside the frame. I had to get all new hardware, just followed the file I found online with so the bolt specs. Very do-able