SLIDERS? YAY OR NAY?

I'm fixing to do something similar with our Shrockworks sliders. They stand out far enough from the body, but they're only a two leg design and need more structure.

 

I don't have a great profile shot on hand of my bud built sliders, but they stick out a fair bit. Tight to the rocker might look better aesthetically, and might be just fine for rocks... but I agree, ones that stick out further from the body are going to offer better protection.

 

Exactly! On a full body rig, especially one with the dimensions of a Tacoma (when compared to wheel base and track width) I want to do everything I can to protect that body, from the bottom and from the side.

 

To answer the OP's question, though, I'd prefer to have them and never need them, rather than the opposite happening.

 

Hopefully install tomorrow. These are RCI for an AC.

 

Are we talking from experience...

 

I've had sliders that weren't so tight to the body and they never stick out enough, eventually you'll find a tree where you're tipped to the side enough that it'll still get ya. I feel my Mobtown could be a bit more snug to the truck actually, but I run skinny tires so the kick out is unnecessary. The downside to having the protection is you lose clearance, they do catch on rocks. There's really never a perfect set in the end. You also adjust your driving to suit the way you build your truck. I prefer to not rely on the armor, it's there if I screw up.

 

They're called rock sliders for a reason..

 

Just different approaches. Yeah, that's the intention, but the legs catch. This is also why I didn't like kick-outs, it forces the truck to pivot which may not be possible or what you want. If the other side of the truck can't move sideways then the truck has to ride up the obstacle. Like I say, you build your truck for your technique and how you & your spotter pick lines. There isn't just one solution.

 

Years and years and years of 'wheeling gnarly shit in Jeeps.

 

Ok. So what is your ideal slider than? Have any photos of your previous rigs?

 

With the help from TW, sliders are the first 4x4 thing that I bought. (Waiting on them to be fabricated by Mobtown )
The hardest decision is choosing between weld on and bolt on. I switched from bolt-on to weld on but the pros and cons of either for me are equally matched. Makes it really tough to be 100% happy. 99% happy about choosing weld on is plenty good enough for me ;D

 

I posted a pic of our truck with our Shrockworks rocker guards above. Only thing they need is more structure, in the form of another mounting leg. That said, they held up to the rocks they encountered in Colorado back in August. Other than the fact that they're Houston-based, I liked the Shrockworks rocker guards because they mimic the design of our TNT Customs rocker guards on our Jeep:

 

I think they look fine. Keep in mind the further something sticks out the more leverage it has to bend or brake, even possibly get in the way.
Good example for people who own street bikes that put sliders on. Some would actually do more harm than protect the bike. Sliders on a bike is to protect the integrity of the bike rather than saving it from scratches to the fairings. Some say the best sliders are the fairing itself But some want it to protect the fairings which is not realistic.
This is how I would imagine sliders for a truck would be. To protect the integrity of the truck from more damage if it wasn’t there. In a perfect world one would hope the sliders would protect the whole side of the truck but that is not reality. Most weld on sliders I’ve seen have about an inch spacing from the cab and the sliders. It’s plenty of room. If you some how, very unlikely, hit the sliders hard enough to bend the steal sliders to hit the cab I would be more worried about frame damage.

 

There's always more armor you can weld on to solve more what-if situations. So you have to weigh all factors. You'll eventually convince yourself you need an exo-cage rather than risk a single scratch to your truck.

 

They don’t sit lower than the frame

 

And the body sits higher, so why do we need them at all? Am I the only person in the history of 4x4 to have ever had a leg of a slider catch?

I will admit that set did sit pretty far away from my truck, though.

 

Those look like they need some more work. Current sliders have angled tubing in the front and rear to deflect obstacles away from the truck and protect you from getting hung up on the legs (in theory; sh*t happens) :

 

I know how sliders work. Those were built 15 years ago using the tools we had. Had to use all straight pieces or lots of cuts & welds to make angles since we didn't have a tubing bender handy. Way the old mini trucks sat the pinch seam was pretty far down and I didn't want to notch the seam to fit them any tighter. As it was the sliders clearanced the body over time.



They eventually rusted out, which is why I run plain Jane bolt-on Mobtown on my Taco that I own now. I worry about the frame rusting after burning off the factory paint and I can take them off to clean and paint them. Again, a choice. I prefer weld-on sliders, less flex, but I don't intend to beat this truck up as much as the old one either.

 

Honestly, I'd worry first about your paper thin skid plates and exposed trany oil pan than sliders.

I happened to get sliders first, and I'm working on some plans for skid plates. I was out wheelin and happened to flip up a good size tree limb into my rocker panel which inspired the sliders, but I still worry about my trany and those stupid thin skid plates every time I go out.