I'm ready for my first mod,(97 D1) and am leaning towards rock sliders. I have been looking at the Safari Gard and Rover Tyme ones, should I look at any others?

slickrock Fabrication and Northwest Parts are both very good and look a lot better than the Rovertym sliders (which I have). You'll want some that stick out a little bit to help keep your doors off the tree/stump/rock that your sliders are sliding on.

The NWP ones are also one oiece making them a lot easier to install.

--Craig

I was thinking about the Northwest Parts ones when I get a bumper from them... just for reference, do the Northwest Parts sliders have sharp parts like the bumpers and need some finish work?

I don't have em, so I can't really comment. The ones I saw on Tyler Chilman's truck looked really smooth and very high quality, but I didn't inspect them closely. I'll see if I can get Tyler to create an account and post his impressions.

The Slickrock Fab ones have recieved nothing but positive comments from everyone who has ever reviewed them. He makes top notch stuff and is a nice guy to boot (So are the NWP people btw).

--Craig

I have the RTE sliders with holes for a HighLift. Its well made, well built, and the service is great.

Any problems with the "revit-nuts" that they (RTE) use at install?

Not really. If you've used rivnuts before, its easy. If not, practice a bit and always, always lube the installer between nuts. WD40 or silicon spray works fine, you just want to keep it from binding.

I didn't have any trouble either. Those nuts are only used to place the slider. Once it is placed, a whole additional set of bolts goes all the way through the frame and through the second piece of the slider. They don't support much, if any actual weight.

Here is what Tyler wrote about the NWP sliders.

The sliders are very nice, good design, tough and I updated them with a fresh coat of Rhino liner paint to make the finish super strong. I have not done any major sliding on rocks with them, just a few bumps here and there, altogether very happy with them.


--Craig

I've got the RTE sliders for my D1. I really dislike how they look not to mention how quickly they rusted. If you decide on the RTE sliders, do yourself a favor and get them bare and powdercoat them locally. I have no ideas about a powdercoater here, but by default they would be better than RTE's coater.

Slickrock makes some really nice sliders. They really follow the curvature of the doors much better than the RTE.

Or, jsut touch up as needed with flat back Rustoleum.

This is good stuff, next question. I have not spent any time looking at the "sills" were the slider attach, but it looks like the sill is a "box" type frame, yes?

Mike, what I have a gripe with is the fact that RTEs sliders aren't exactly cheaper than any others that have much better powdercoating. My SG bumper has been scraped, banged, & generally beaten up and still looks great. My sliders are newer than the bumper but looks older than anything on my truck.

rich-

in a word, "kinda". the sill that the sliders attach to are on the body of the truck and are a formed box. most sliders, like the NWP, don't attach directly to the frame, which is also a box section.

i have the NWP sliders for my D2 and i like them a lot. they stick out around 3" from below the bottom of the doors. i got my sliders bare and painted them myself. that way they're easy to repaint if needed. the other nice thing about NWP is that they're local so you save a bit in postage. btw, they're moving (reportedly) away from the PNW so no might be a good time to get 'em.

andy

Ok, first I would like to thank everyone for their input, I found it very valuable in helping me sort this out.
I purchased some sliders from "Slickrock Fabrication" today, should be on my doorstep in a couple of weeks.
Would the install be helpful to document for the web site?
Thanks again!
Rich

Excellent choice! You are going to love those sliders.

It would be fantastic if you were to document the installation. That way, the next time someone is considering the purchase of these sliders they can see what is involved in fitting them.

Consider writing it up in a blog. If you document the install in your blog (need to create one first), we can create a link to the blog entry in articles section when you are finished. This way you will have a running journal of the mods you've made to your truck (blog) and we can still include it in the tech articles without you having to write it up twice.

I'm looking forward to scratching up the sliders with you. :-)
--Craig

I'm good to do the blog thing, I might need some hand holding thou.

Sure. I might write it up real quick as an FAQ too. :-)

Sliders are installed, Lori did all the wrenching, I just took pictures. She is already looking at armor for the underside of the truck. She is looking at southdown, I've created a monster!!!!