Cali Raised LED - 05+ Toyota Tacoma Rock Sliders

@CaliRaisedLed
Is there a difference between double cab short bed and access cab long bed sliders?

 

This is spot on!

I installed my DCLB sliders yesterday on a lift rack with 2 professional mechanics assisting me (I have a nice uncle that was willing to help!). I have to say the instructions @CaliRaisedLed provides DO NOT apply to the DCLB. We tried following them but after many of the steps and photos didn't line up with what we were looking at under the truck we essentially threw them out.

The hardware kit does leave a handful of 3/8"s hardware unused and the driver's side slider barely takes any 3/8"s hardware at all. But the real bummer is the hardware kit is short 2 1/2" lock nuts and we had to source those from the local hardware store!

Also as @tacomarin points out above, the 2 holes in the center of the slider don't really fit either 3/8" hardware or 1/2" hardware. This should be addressed by @CaliRaisedLed. I ended up reaming out the frame slightly and using some heavy duty bumper washers in place of the absent backing plates for the 1/2" hardware. Ideally @CaliRaisedLed should make a "double bracket" for this location on the DCLBs because it would serve the purpose my bumper washers did and give enough plate support for the 1/2" hardware to be used here. In my opinion the backing plate here should be tall and have 2 openings for each hole.

Overall I'm impressed by the design of these sliders. The powdercoat and build looks to be pretty good as well. However not having the proper instructions for the DCLB was pretty disappointing. If you are about to install these on your DCLB read this thread first and decide if you want to ream out your frame and source some washers or go the route of the 7/16"s hardware that @tacomarin went with. Either way should work just fine but I felt the 1/2" hardware needed to go in those 2 holes to support the weight of the center of the slider properly.

Now to see how these things work in action!

 

Christmas came early for me this year! Ordered these on Thanksgiving Day as part of the Black Friday Sale and they arrived 20 days later. I opted for deliver to local warehouse for pick up in San Jose
CA so was caught off guard when GPS took me to a flooring warehouse. Thought I had wrong address but guy at will call desk assured me he had a pallet with my name on it. In case you wondered, pallet easily fits between wheel wells but expect it to stick out a foot past the tailgate with tailgate down on a DCSB.

Next pic shows the great packaging, lots of carboard to protect powder coat. Sliders all high quality, clean no ripple bends and great weld quality.

 

And because inquiring minds like to know: Weight per slider was 42.6 lbs. Measured on bathroom scale so take it as +/- a pound or two plus another pound for nut & bolts.

 

PM'd you!

 

Hey everyone. If you haven't seen me post before, I am Chris and run Apex Fabworks and do all the engineering for both companies. First of all thank you very much for the feedback!!! We love knowing what is going on with our products and we take feedback seriously! It has been a crazy holiday but we are catching up and Jake sent me this thread today to look at your notes.

1. DCLB Instructions: You guys are right, I need to make some. I will be doing that over the new years break and we will get those up on the website.

2. Extra Hardware: For both Short and Long sliders, these are designed to fit both 2nd gen and 3rd gen Tacoma's. While most of you guys are 3rd gen owners, the extra hardware comes into play on the 2nd gen's. Don't be alarmed if you have extra, we just make a universal hardware kit for these. It also gives you a few extras in case something is missing.

3. Clamp Bolts: Thank you for the notes on those needing to be 1/4" longer, we will make that happen, that is a good note.

4. DCLB front holes on 3rd gens: Both of you guys posted the picture of the bigger holes. On the 2nd gens those are filled with the big frame rivets, that is why they are larger. But that explanation doesn't address your issue. I just drew up a new plate that will ship with our long sliders. It will have the proper size holes and work as a washer so that you can use the 3/8" bolts and have them set correctly. If anyone has DCLB sliders and wants a plate, just shoot me a PM and I will mail you one for free. This is a great note and thank you!

5. Filler plates: A couple people mentioned them being a little difficult to center. I will look into making them slightly wider and adding a broke edge to help them set on there. This should help with installs. Also, we just started offering pre-installation of the filler plates for $50. So if anyone wants us to put them on for you, just let us know. Everything will need to be painted or powder coated first however in order to avoid any corrosion or oxidation from the dissimilar metals. This option would be best if you do powder coated sliders.

I think I hit them all. If anyone has anymore feedback or notes you can shoot me a PM or post them up. We are here to help and appreciate all of the support from you guys!!!!

 

Chris, thanks for your update! This is great news all around! Can't wait to test these sliders out! It's nice to know the company you're buying from is listening to feedback and offering smarter and simpler solutions when issues do arise. Much appreciated and kudos to Apex and CaliRaised!

 

You guys are awesome. I definitely would have paid an extra $50 to have those filler plates put on ahead of time! If anyone is reading this thinking "I'd rather save $50 and drill and rivet them myself...." STFU, spend the $50, and sleep in an extra 2 hours on your install day. That is worth every penny!

On the front holes (#4)- the 3/8" washers are too small for the holes on the frame plates and will fall through. I would recommend either using 3/8" fender washers, 7/16" hardware, or ream out the frame holes to accept the 1/2" hardware, though the last option probably wouldn't please everyone. For the record, 7/16" hardware fit like a glove on my truck.

I'll gladly take one of those double plates when you get them made. I was also wondering if I might be able to snag some of those longer bolts and the two missing 1/2" lock nuts? I looked into ordering some on McMaster but I didn't need 10 of them...

Kudos again on quickly responding to customer feedback and for making a great product!

 

Completely agree! Spend the $50 like I did and have the filler plates pre-installed. Completely worth the money for sure.

 

I'm confused why this would take 2 hours. This took about an hour and maybe a bit less for me. I taped the plates to the rails in position, then used by my drill to start each hole, removed the plates, drilled the holes and then riveted them in. It's pretty easy and quick if you have a decent rivet gun and a new drill bit.

 

Okay an hour. Still worth it to me.

Edit - also your method of taping them on sounds way better than my method of clamping them on. Wish I had thought of that!

 

Thank you! Shoot me a PM with your shipping info and I will get everything out as soon as I can.

 

Chris: Great to see you responding to questions. I just installed these on my 2007 DCSB and ran into a few questions I hope you can help with and maybe others with earlier model as all other comments so far appear to be for 3rd Gen vehicles. My comments applies to a 2007 so I can't say how it may impact later years.

First, kit comes with 4 short and 2 long spacers for the frame clamps, For a 2007, it appears all 6 spacers should be short, I first put the long spacer at rearmost position per instructions but per 1st picture, it would not clamp on anything.


I ended up moving it on the front where the longer spacer helped get it over the frame lip but still has a gap between clamp and frame. (2nd pic).



I'll probably trim it down later but wanted to check here first before cutting it shorter.

3rd pic is more of a concern and shows a 3/16" gap between the slider and frame after all bolts were tighten. I suppose I could loosen all bolts and tighten the rear first but suspect this would just move the gap to the front. Instructions implies there is a frame spacer plate for 2nd gen trucks but this did not come with kit. I called Cali Raised and was told me these frame spacers are no longer needed so I'm a bit confused as it seems to me these may still be needed for the earlier models. Instructions are not perfectly clear so it's possible I did something out of order that caused this so I'm interested if others have seen same. As last resort, I'll go back and stack some fender washers here to get metal to metal contact.


This comment is unrelated to the slider design but worth mentioning for others. The center frame bolt is described as being used to help pull the slider up snug to frame. Mine stripped out after 10 years of rust and I used a 10mm-1.25 metric tap to rethread the hole, I did not trust the original bolt to be long enough to get enough thread engagement with the added thickness of the slider plate and damaged threads. I ended up replacing this with a longer 10-1.25 X 30 mm bolt to get a more threads engagement and then used a large C-Clamp to help snug the slider to frame. Has similar rust issue with the smaller bolt for the cable harness bracket and cleaned out threads with a 8mm-1.25 metric tap and replaced with new 30 mm bolt.


Appreciate any feedback or suggestions,, Otherwise a very good product

 

Can you shoot me a PM of the part that is not close to the frame. I see the gap but the picture is too close and doesn't provide me enough of a view to see what parts of the slider is not tight. I am pretty sure I know the fix, it's an easy one, but I need to understand what is going on. Thank you!

 

Here is a pair of a customer 0-degree Sliders all set and ready to go!
https://caliraisedled.com/collections/2005-2015-toyota-tacoma/products/0-degree-step-sliders

 

https://caliraisedled.com/collections/tacoma-rock-sliders/products/sliders
We have a pair of 25 Degree DCLB Weld on sliders in Stock Ready to go. First come, first serve.

Thank you!

 

Here are our powder coated 0 Degree Sliders!
https://caliraisedled.com/collections/rock-sliders/products/0-degree-step-sliders

 

https://caliraisedled.com/collections/tacoma-rock-sliders/products/sliders

Here is a pair of our 25-degree sliders all set up on a customers 3rd Gen Tacoma!

 

https://caliraisedled.com/collections/rock-sliders

Protect your truck with the Apex Fabworks Rock Sliders. These are a universal fit between 2nd Gen and 3rd Gen Tacomas . Made from DOM 1.75" tubing, we don't up charge you for better material or for features like kick outs. Our sliders are made the best way we know how for the best fit and protection standard, no up charge. You can choose between Bolt-On or Weld-On. Bolt-On sliders come with all the required hardware you need for the install and are installed with zero modification to your truck. Weld-On sliders have an added location feature, no more jack stands and wood blocks trying to figure out where they go, bolt them in place and weld them on.

 

Got my sliders installed this weekend. No wheeling with them yet but they have been doing a good job at keeping snow off the side of my truck in this winter weather.