What Rock Sliders are you using

Also live in the Seattle area, couldn't find anything local so I
went with the CBI sliders, like em a lot
Serve many purposes, but most of all, they look nice
Bought them bare and painted myself

 

Genuine sliders can carry the entire weight of the vehicle to slide over obstacles, thus preventing severe damage to the frame and/or body panels.

Simple nerf bars and steps cannot support the weight of the vehicle, so they offer very little in the way of actual protection when they hit an obstacle.

 

Gotchya, and seemingly it doesn’t matter (in theory) whether the sliders are welded or bolted as either are rated for the entire weight of the truck. Is that right? Though fromnreadinthis thread and others clearly ppl have preferences for bolted vs welded.

 

Slider mount to the frame and protect the body. Nerf bars and side steps mount to the body (typically the rocker panel), and can amplify body damage.

 

Bolt-ons can lead to corrosion issues (silt and sand trapped behind mounting plates and abrading the frame rails and trapping moisture), but are removable when you sell the truck. They are also typically heavier.

Weld ons are typically lighter and perhaps stronger, but immediately void the warranty on your frame and are permanent.

Weld-on is the preference for people building a dedicated bush rig, which is very few of the 3rd Gen taco owners, so most here go bolt-on.

 

Makes sense. Thanks for the quick info and sorry if to much of a dumb question.

 

Not dumb at all my friend. I’m struggling right now to make up my mind between the two options.

 

The difference in strength between bolt-on and welded solutions is an age-old argument. It usually comes down to a matter of convenience and just how much effort you're willing to put in for every extra little bit of security/protection. Welding provides a slightly more secure foundation. Is it worth it, though? Is your rig a dedicated off-road beast, or a daily driver hitting the trails on weekends?

A similar example may be aluminum vs steel skids, or 3/16" vs 1/4" skids, etc. Does one provide more protection than the other? Yes. Is it worth the added costs (in weight or money) or effort for your specific use case, though? That's subjective.

 

Here’s a video of the RCI bolt-on in action:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qSLFuG6dAcU

 

Maybe I should just drive out to Idaho. I actually was just driving by Prinsu/CBI and had thought to just stop in and pick up the racks I had ordered but they had just shipped them. Put 2500+ miles on the truck (from the 23 it had when I bought it driving from Sea>pdx>Boise>SLC>West Yellowstone>Bozeman>sea

 

Weld on's can also lead to corrosion. Coatings internal to the frame can/will be burnt off in the process, leaving bare steel to rust away. Not easily repairable in the boxed sections.

 

Seems like everything my truck is prone to corrosion... but maybe that’s because I live by the ocean and up in the mountains (and snow/salted roads) all winter long.

 

For sure. I think is all cases, sliders are not a “mount it and forget it” type option wether weld-on or bolt-on. Unless you live in a very dry area, the bolt-ones need to be dropped periodically. Also some fluid film etc under the plates prior to install.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=34pUbl8tDfs

 

Funny you said that, at the time I also thought about driving and making a trip out of it, but eventually had them shipped, think I paid around $800 with the shipping, nice customer service!

 

start a new thread please

 

1400? Were they chromoly?

 

truckbrigade.com has free shipping on cbi products. Same prices as cbi, but without the outrageous shipping costs. Was going order CBI sliders from them, but went caliraisedled instead.

 

Longbed, DOM, powdercoat, kickouts. Here they are with taxes and shipping:

 

That changes everything... at $1050, they're back on my short list! Thank you for that tip!

 

I bought CBI sliders for a LB bolt on, and it ran around $800 shipping included