Rock Sliders in the Rust Belt concerns?

After perusing the forums I couldn't find a really solid answer on this. Is there anyone that runs with bolt on sliders year round in the rust belt states or in canada? Are you concerned with rust / rot between the bolt on mounting plate and frame? I have my truck undercoated with fluid film every year but I'm wondering if those flush panels may still act as a moisture and / or salt trap.

Anyone with experience with this, your opinion is much appreciated. Thanks in advance!

 

Well, im doing my first winter in the salt belt with bolt on sliders so i can let you know in the Spring lol.
i cosmolined the frame and inner mounting surface of the rock sliders. When I removed them this fall to cosmo everything there was a good amount of moist clay packed in there so I’m thinking it will definitely accumulate salt. Right now the streets of Boston are literally white with salt…

your post has me thinking that maybe i should remove them for the rest of winter….

 

Yeah I'm curious if that is the solution; to remove them each winter. I'm sure that will get old fast if it is. Hoping someone will chime in and say they've been fine leaving them on for ages. But if sprayed seasonally with a rust inhibitor would that be enough to keep things rust free in-between there? Or could that trap moisture in there? I recently removed my bed bolts to put on bed reinforcement brackets and noticed the woolwax (which I had used the first year) was too thick and actually kept moisture from draining out of the bottom of one of the welded nuts for one of the bolts closest to the tailgate, which is why I switched to fluid film.

 

@Sandman614 gave me this a while back.

https://www.kbs-coatings.com/rustseal-flow-chart.html

In the South Cackalacky winter I don't worry about it so much, but after a couple of years, I may pull mine and do this treatment.

 

I would make a point of doing it every fall, just like anything else you would winterize. When I lived in the Midwest US it's just a thing you do, like getting your snow blower ready.

 

Do you mean apply fluid film every fall or take them off every fall? ff respray I already do each fall because in PA it's the same as what boston23 described. I suspect the ff could seep enough so that I don't need to take them off every fall necessarily? But I do know that I'll need to take extra care to maintain my sliders in our climate.

EDIT: I later found this bolt on rock slider care guide. Looks like that's the thing to do is to take them off each year and clean out the grit.
http://www.lastgreatroadtrip.com/4x4-tech/how-to-maintenance/rock-rail-slider-maintenance/

 

I only have 1.5 winters on mine, but I’ve never considered removing them. I do sand of the rust and repaint them each fall because they get large gouges on them. Same for the hitch receiver.

 

We definitely should take the sliders off in the Spring to clean the mounting surface and frame at least.

Even the roof of my truck has salt crust on it. This poor truck….
First 3 years in New Mexico where things rust so slowly I would literally find historic “solder dot” cans on the ground in the woods and now in New England my truck is saltier than the rim of a margarita…

 

Planning to do it this spring, I haven't pulled my sliders off since I put them on in 2017, but my sliders are starting to flake and rust in many places, so planning to take it off completely and sand, repaint it fully. I'll give it a good cleaning on the parts of the frame where it contacts and treat as needed

 

I have a set on another truck and before i bolted them on i gave everything a coat of bedliner. I scuffed the surface of the new sliders with some 180 grit sandpaper and primed all surfaces with a rust inhibiting primer and applied a rattle can bed liner to everything. I put some grease on the mounting surface of the bracket and Neoprene washers between the mount and the truck surface. No major rust and when there is i can deal with it easily with a little sanding, i hit it with some mat black Tremclad then bed liner on top . Being a textured coating the bed liner hides and small fixes really well. Plus truck gets rust proofed every year which also helps.

 

I’m going to buy rock sliders during the Black Friday Sale but after reading this thread, I’ll wait til spring to install them.

 

I put sliders on my new Taco in 17. Last summer I took them off so I could touch up some rusty spots. This is what I found…




After sanding and repainting the frame, I put on a few coats of cosmoline on both the frame and the new sliders.
I took them off again this summer, and everything looks good. This will be an annual inspection now.

RP-342 and woolwax are your friend, use them… use them often!

 

Its now september and i never took the sliders off all summer