Rock sliders

Hello all, new to the forum so I apologize if this has been covered. I am looking for rock sliders for my 2020 tundra trd pro but I don’t want to break the bank I’ve done research but I don’t know the strength differences between cold rolled, DOM, HREW, or aluminum? I’ve seen sliders go for as little has 350 to as much has 1700, I’m just not sure what the minimum wall thickness is I can get away with is, thank you for any advise you ask can give, I would like to add this is an overland build not a rock crawler so I don’t need anything extreme just want to make sure I have protection from the odd bolder or tree stump lol

 

A little more info on what you expect from the sliders would be helpful. Are you actually going to off road and might need them to support the weight of the truck, or are you just wanting the nice tucked look they provide with a bit of a step like utility?

I'll say this, do not buy aluminum if you plan to actually use them. Aluminum is soft and won't slide. Rocks will dig into it and grip/gouge it.

 

It will be used for overlanding so I’m not looking to wheel out in Moab or anything extreme I’d just like protection from the unseen boulders or obstacles I might encounter

 

That's good info to start with. Overlanding is a kind of overused generic term, though. Some crawl out to remote locations with scrapes and bumps while others stick to established/maintained trails and both will call it overlanding.

If you are in the latter group, you can use just about anything as an ablative layer. Had some nerf bars on an old Dodge and they saved me from a tree stump. They were cheap, and served their purpose, but did not survive the encounter.

If you are in the first group that is a bit more off road you will want quality sliders that can support the weight of the truck. You'll also be looking for more coverage between the wheels. These aren't cheap. I have the RCI sliders and I have no intention of doing big off roading type things, but I did go on Imogene Pass. It's listed as an easy off road trail, has gorgeous views, and I got lazy and picked a bad line. One mistake and those thousand dollar sliders paid for themselves.





The point is that you want more protection than you think you will use.

 

So avoid the 700 dollar smittybuilt and go for 1500 cali raised is what you are saying? I was afraid of that! But thank you for your advise, I am just getting into the hobby so I will be starting off with the gravel back road trails but the more experience I get I would like to just venture out to where the tundra can handle, thank you again

 

No one ever plans on using the sliders but trust me it’s worth the price. Mine have saved me around some narrow trails and tree stumps. I’ve got the westcott designs units.

 

Honestly, the RCI are only around a $1000, so I wouldn't pay more than that. I would only go for ones that do not require drilling to be used as true sliders and can hold the weight of the truck. I also wouldn't pay to have them coated. Clean them up when you get them, and rattle can primer and paint on them. If you ding them up it's way easier to touch up something you did yourself. I was dumb and bedlined mine because I was sure I'd never hit anything. Now I have to strip them and paint them.

 

Steelit would be good for this.

 

There's already rust, so I have to strip it. Steel-it is a bit spendy compared to Rust-oleum. lol

 

I was thinking about line-x or rhino lining, so thank for that nugget of info, maybe I’ll just put that grip tape on top instead

 

Definitely a better way to go. You could just do a bedliner on top for grip as well. You just don't want it on any surface that a rock might dig into. It peels like a banana, as posted previously. It took the primer with it when it peeled.

 

I haven’t heard off westcott I’ll look those up too, thank you

 

Sliders 100% worth it. Just make sure to get the kickout on this giant truck. Mine saved me from alot of damage at the gas station when I turned too tight into a safety pole at the pump island. My cali raised kickout corrected my dumbassery. Instantly paid for themselves.

 

I just cleared the bare steel and put grip tape on the step points. Super cheap and I’ve been happy. These are WKOR sliders and I love them. They’re rock solid and offer wheel to wheel protection.

 

The WKOR that @AZBoatHauler pictured are, IMO, some of the best sliders out there. I ran All Pro for a couple of years and beat the snot out of 'em. Then I upgraded to the WKOR. SDHQ sliders are very solid too. I just prefer that little bit extra length of the WKOR. I haven't seen the RCI sliders but their skids took a lot of abuse before I changed them out.

 

RCI Bolt on, Kickout, top-plate (for dog) DIY Por15 & Rustoleum Spray paint, just put them on a few months ago. They sit tight to the frame, high ground clearance but work well as a step.

Install absolutely sucked, but it was worth it in the end. I have NOT drilled into the frame yet, just used the existing holes and RCI confirmed in writing they will be fine. Lots of great options in the USA, we were limited as to who would ship at a reasonable cost.

They are basically used as steps for me with the added protection if needed.

Love them.

 

For what is worth I think the cali raised are the best. Thick, heavy and they have a support bar in the back by the kickout. Plus their install is good and it has a full mounting plate instead of individual bolt mounting points.

 

I installed the cali raised sliders with step out and top plate. If anyone goes this route, pm me if you want some install tips.

 

WKOF are the best. They don’t protrude very far from the body though so if you’re looking for pinstripe protection these are not gonna cut it.

I look at it this way, we’re all driving $50k+ trucks. I want mine to be dent free for a while so $1500 isn’t too costly for insurance.

 

I'm waiting on mine to come in the mail. They said around 2-3 week lead time. I'm excited to get them installed

 

But when you are trying to build out the truck and the project manager(aka the wifey) controls the budget you have to be able to come up with something more cost effective, I can’t convince her I need to spend over a grand on everything I want to put on my truck, which is why I was asking about the different types of steel, why spend 1500 if a 700 dollar slider can perform about the same

 

Can you tell us what slider you found that is $700? I would like to see these.


I'm a cynic so I'm going to guess the only way the can be sold that cheap is if they are not a true slider, but instead a slider style running board, or if they are made out of something like mild steel. Same kind of thing you see with aftermarket bumpers. Sure C4 Fab's bumper is twice the price of some of the others, but it's not put together poorly or made from heavy, soft steel.

 

If they make them for your truck, BFF are legit. Or White Knuckle.

 

On carid a brand called smittybuilt, they use cold rolled steel 3/16 diameter tubing, but this is where my questions are since a lot of products claim to be rock sliders when they are just nerf steps, how can you tell before buying if the steel will be strong enough to support the truck since not all brands include pics of forklifts lifting the truck up

 

Do you have a link you can post? Sorry, I'm at work and a little busy, but some you can tell by looking. Others you have to start asking questions.

 

I will try, I apologize I’m new to this forum stuff and I’m new to owning an iPhone

 

https://www.carid.com/smittybilt/m-1-series-black-sliders-mpn-616845.html

 

They will look like this.

 

Did you weld those braces to the frame or are do they come that way from the factory? I haven’t been under my tundra yet I’ve only had it a few months

 

Those look like 2 supports a side? Nothing about those says slider to me, although they look good. Call Brute Force Fab and wait 6-9 months or White Knucle if you want serious protection. Some of the other responses like RCI could be great as well, I just don't know them as a 1st Gen guy.