Demello Dominator Sliders... and the issues with them...

Before I get told that I don’t know what I’m doing, or how to use tools, I have been working on vehicles for the last 30 years. I am extremely competent with tools and installations. I have done things as far out as stitch welding a unibody, engine swaps in Japanese cars, full suspension in multiple vehicles, I owned a metal fab shop in the late 90’s and early 2k. I’m not some stupid n00b.

So, I ordered a pair of Demello sliders back in February. I was given a lead time, then the Coronavirus screwed that up. I’m cool with that. Shit happens.
I called a lot asking for updates. I received them, but I always was the one to initiate the communication. Otherwise it was crickets.
My sliders shipped, twice the lead time I was given. Still okay with this as the coronavirus has fucked everyone.
So they arrive. Packaged extremely well. No damage, in mint condition. Totally stoked.
They arrived on Thursday so I waited for Saturday morning to install.
Installation starts. Passenger side, all went pretty well, with one big exception. The 14m both that they give you a replacement for, the tabs are not correct. Either take the sliders off and re-drill the damned hole, or drill out the factory welded on nut and drop a 1/2” bolt in there. Same on the driver’s side.
The instructions are incomplete as you need to fab a makeshift tool to get shit in the boxed end of the frame, unless your wife is cool and has tiny hands.
Finally installed. Stoked as fuck. They look great. Then we went for a drive....

One thing to note here, is the sliders have forward and backward adjustability, but it’s about 3/8” at best. There is zero adjustment side to side. That said, because of how the brake lines are situated on the inside of the frame, there is probably less than 1/8” adjustment on the driver’s side. You get the full 3/8” on the passenger’s side, but I would prefer them to look symmetrical.

So driving around town on the less than stellar roads, the bars hit the cab when there is cab/frame flex. There is literally a finger of space between the bars and cab. Doesn’t change if you rack them as far back as possible. Still beats on the cab over bumps. They sit three fingers off the real quarter panel on the passenger side and two off on the drivers side. Back to the fronts, less than 1/2” from the cab.

I’m not trying to trash Demello. I have wanted their sliders since I had an FJ. Best looking sliders available. I wanted these to be better than I had imagined. Not a fucking chance. I bought a lemon and it is what it is.

Hopefully they send me two more bolts so I can secure the fronts, since the 14m bolts were worthless. @JDEMELLO feel free to hit me up, or I’ll call you Monday.

For $1050 plus shipping, I expected a little better than this.

***Edited to add, I fount the source of the banging. It’s not where I had originally thought it was. It’s so loud it’s hard to tell where it was coming from, see last two pics.

 

Are your cab mounts loose? It’s possible they might need to be re-torqued

 

Never even thought of that. The truck isn’t a year old, and only has 5k miles.

what are the torque specs? Do you know?

 

The internet says 34ft-lbs

 

Check. Torqued to at least spec. The wrench went click on the first attempt.

So yeah, that’s not the issue. I didn’t think it was, but for the argument of the internet, I checked.

There is 3/8” clearance between the cab and sliders. The cab is supposed to flex. These are defective, I do believe. There were issues like the gabs not lining up that make me thing defect.

 

Seen others with similar fitment issues, I.e. Being too close to the body. 1" body lift and you're all set

 

I just went through the exact same issue with another fab shop. These were custom designed, and when they finally arrived I too was super stoked. When I put them on, I realized they were going to be banging up against the pinch weld. I torqued the snot out of them getting them as low as possible, but they still knocked whenever hitting rough spots in the road. 6 months later, I finally just bought a die grinder and some burs and spent a few hours. The mount plates have horizontal slots for fore-aft adjustment. I ground out some of the slot turning them into a bit of a 'P', if you know what I mean. I had to pull each side off once more to take a little more off. But in the end, I'm hoping I'm good to go. I haven't heard them for the last week and I've been testing them on all the rough spots I see. I have about 1/4-3/8 clearance by my estimate. Here I am after adjustment.

Is this something you could modify your mount plates with? I was disappointed I had to do it. But if it doesn't come back, I'm all happiness.

 

They look like they angle-up and get way higher the further away from the frame they get. Are they supposed to be at that much of an upward angle? I would have thought they’d be made to be closer to being level......

 

I have Mobtown weld on , 0* ( no angle up ) no problems

 

Yes, they have a pretty aggressive angle on them. I had asked what the angle on these was the day I ordered them as I didn’t want something that hugged the body really tight. My wife is not fall, so they are a step for her. I was told that the Dominator bars are less angled than all the others. I expected them to closer to flat than they are.

 

Well I found the cause of the banging. It wasn’t where I had originally expected it to come from. It’s one of the square tubes that goes from the sliders to the mounting bracket. Problem is, these bolt to the bottom of the frame, not really able change that, unless they get unbolted and add a spacer.
That would require changing the shape of all the side mounting holes as well. So a couple of hours to fix a defect. Lame.

 

Pretty similar to the problem I had. Yours may be a touch harder to resolve. How much adjustment do you have in the side bolts? 1/8-3/16” might be enough to solve the problem. Is it that close on all the stringers?

As others suggested, some plates might be an easy solution if you need less than 1/4 and you have that much adjustment in the side bolt. If not the latter, you’ll have to grind out a little to get them to drop.

I looked at all my options, one of which was taking them to a local shop and having the legs dropped just a little. But that would require stripping, cutting, welding, and recoating. Probably $500 by the time it was all said and done. I spent $300 and did the grinding myself and now have another really nice tool in the toolbox.

 

Here’s my driver side after and before work. It didn’t take a whole lot of adjustment. You can see my lame attempt at not chipping the powder oat when I originally put them on with a heavy felt pad while I tried to figure out what to do.

 

The side bolts offer no vertical adjustment. They are slotted fore and aft, but up and down, same size as the bolts. I may be able to loosen them up, park on top of a piece of solid pipe, with a ratchet strap hooked to it. Bear down on the bars to gap between the tab and frame. Cut a 2”x2”x3/8” steel plate. Drill a hole and use that to add some space. Fucking serious PITA. That’s why I paid so much for these. Should have been a simple, easy installation. I figured that at that price, it would have been done properly.

 

Yep. Frustration city.

 

Shit i hope my sliders fit better
Arriving 2m
Good luck OP

 

• Using a piece of tape, stick the hardware in a long wrench and insert into the boxed section of the frame. Nothing to whine about.
  
• Brake lines in the frame can be bent by hand to clear hardware as needed.
  
• You're expected to notch the pinch weld as needed to clear sliders. This is true with a few vendors. All-Pro . RCI sliders can scrape the door on Access Cabs. Just compromises to tuck the slider as high as possible to maximize ground clearance.

 

Makes me happy I went with a weld yourself diy kit. Good luck op.

 

Tape doesn’t help get the washers on, but my wife was cool and put her childish hands back there.
Not sure how much I can bend the brake lines. Didn’t want to break them.
Didn’t know I would have to notch the pinch weld. It isn’t mentioned in the instructions, and it’s only in one spot. Four on each side and one bangs the pinch weld, only on one side.
I also specifically asked if these were at a 15* angle or less, as I didn’t want them right up to the cab.

 

When I ordered them, I spoke with Jason. I told him I had a 2019 Access Cab with a 6’ bed.