School me on rock sliders...

Hey TW,


I've read it here hundreds of times. Running boards are not rock sliders. Learned the lesson the hard way today with my predator tube steps.


With that in mind, time to upgrade to rock sliders. What am I looking for in rock sliders? Good fabricator, style, length etc.

I intend to mostly use my taco in desert environments chasing quail, and the more rugged the location I reach the better the quail hunting tends to be. Goal of the sliders for me will be protection of the truck, as I don't intend to hit off road trails or become a weekend warrior.

Thanks for any help or recommendations.

 

If you have a double cab your options are plenty, an access cab then not so much. I like these: http://mobtownoffroad.com/product-category/rock-sliders/

 

Where are you located? There are vendors all around, and if there's one local that could heavily sway your choice so you save in shipping. I personally have All Pro APEX sliders and love em.

 

I second Mobtown.

 

Well for what it's worth:
2 main categories bolt on and weld on. Weld on are known to be stronger but bolt on designs are fairly comparable now a days.
After that you've got all round tube, hybrids (round and square) and all square tube. The square tend to be the strongest. Them you have different metals DOM and HREW along with domestic or imported steel.
With all of that, it boils down to budget, time frame (the popular brands tend to have a long lead time) and what's aesthetically pleasing to you. One thing I might recommend to you is pick a mfg who offers filler plates as they'll add some additional protection from the course material that will get flung up in the desert and they can give a good stepping point if you're getting in and out of the truck quickly (cruise up on a covey of quail). Some mfgs that offer filler plates will also allow you to customize the angle of the outer tube. Hope this is of some help for you.

 

I just got OPOR from Metal Tech. They have 15% off until end of this month.

 

Mobtown Offroad sliders are the best. You have now been schooled.

 

BudBuilt

 

Yes these are really nice and I like their mounting system on the bolt ons. I opted for relentless fab as their mounting is very similar but had the option of no kickouts and added filler plates. Long wait time though.

 

Yikes another Pred Step calamity!

 

What are you doing here???!!! Large banned you!

Ps unfortunately I didn't make it to the voting

 

In all seriousness, our sliders are a grade above the rest. We took a lot of time to engineer a set of bolt-on sliders that you can trust. Most other bolt on sliders have a flat mounting flange that bolts to the frame. This isn't ideal because the flange will flex when the sliders are under load. We worked around this by designing a frame boxing clamp system and utilizing pinch clamps. This total system works in addition to the same frame through bolts other vendors are using to lock our flange to the frame. The only way to get the same strength our sliders provide is to drill a bunch of holes in the frame or weld them on. Let me know if you have any specific questions. We are always here to provide customer service.

 

Lots of good info here guys. I appreciate the great responses. I definatley like the ability to use as a step. The step that was ripped off today was on my daughters side of the truck. She definitely misses it.

Located in Orange County CA.

Can someone explain what kickouts are?

 

It's just a section of the outer round hoop that bumped out a bit further away from the body of the truck. Usually located just in front of the rear wheel, it helps push the rear end away from obstacles.

 

Follow up question. Looks like the sliders are a DIY type of activity (for bolt on anyways). What am I looking at as far as timing to install and tools needed?

 

Our's are a little more involved because of the extra clamping and attachment components. Assuming they are already painted, you're looking at about 2 hours to install. The driver side takes most of the time because of all the wiring and brake lines on that side.

 

You can have the straight all the way to the back.... Or with Kickouts...meaning that straight all the way to the rear door and the it protudes more in the back close to where the bed starts. Basically giving you a step to the front of the bed. Check the website and photos...you will see the difference there...

http://mobtownoffroad.com/product-category/2gen-tacoma/rock-sliders/

 

http://www.n-fab.com/products/sfID1/211/sfID2/106/sfID3/197/productID/1023

I'll be getting these. Run the steps for every day use, take em off when you go off road

 

I can vouch that drilling the frame is a bitch and a half. My total install took about 5 hours and the drilling was about 1.5-2 hours of that.

Talk to @Shmellmopwho because I believe he's in LA. He could probably make you a set of weld on (and install them) for sub $500 (total guess)

 

Sliders are sliders. I would go with a reputable vendor/builder i.e. Demello, Allpro, CBI, etc. In the end it's just a tube of steel that helps you slideeee across the rock and protect your doors. Go with whatever budget you have ... and no nerf bars!