Rock Sliders vs Side Steps

Looking at getting either side steps or rock slides and I wanted to what you guys have on y’all’s trucks? I have a 2021 TRD off-road short bed

 

Do you want steps to help you get into the truck, or sliders to protect your truck from damage offroad?

If you want the former, get side steps. If you want the latter, get rock rails.

 

You can get the best of both worlds with @Shmellmopwho's sliders if you happen to be in SoCal-- half of the angle of rock sliders so you can still use them as steps but a little more clearance

 

Most slider manufacturers will add a top plate to use as a step.
I see steps on Tacomas and think about the amount of clearance they lose.
If it's street driven only, steps are fine. It's about how you intend to use the truck.
Sliders also look 100x better, imo.

 

what brand is ur slider?

 

With a new truck, I would go with 100% bolt-on regardless of whether I picked sliders or steps.

Coming from a second Gen Tacoma, I want to do nothing to my frame that might interfere with a potential future rust penetration claim. This is probably a bit paranoid on my part, but once bitten, twice shy.

Sliders are going to be stronger, but they will also be made of steel, so if you in the rust zone like me, you’ll have to maintain them.

For example, I had a powder coated steel front skid plate on my second Gen that looked good for about 3 winters, then rust started to form. The powder coating made it more challenging to maintain.

If I went for sliders, I’d probably elect to not have them powder coated and instead just paint them myself. This would allow me to maintain them in the future. Figure on removing and maintaining every couple years.

OEM Toyota steps are aluminum. They are lighter in weight and won’t rust. They bolt to existing plugged threaded holes in the truck body. They are very simple to install.

They are good for steps, and help keep door dings at bay, but they aren’t strong enough to serve as sliders.

FWIW, steps are about 50% the cost of decent sliders.

 

@Shmellmopwho aka Shmellfab, he’s got a thread here:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...slider-adapters.374697/page-171#post-27191320

 

Sliders can serve as steps.

Steps are really poor sliders, easy to damage.

If you never off road, get steps from someone who has taken them off to install sliders.

 

Please tell me that's actually where you live.

 

I choose the Cali Raised Step Edition rock sliders, best of both worlds.

 

Yep, it is!

 

Check out our Tacoma Step Edition Rock Sliders. We have them on sale for 15% off right now and have a 0-4 week lead time.

https://caliraisedled.com/products/2005-2021-tacoma-step-edition-rock-sliders

Please let me know if you have any questions

 

Looking good

 

I actually prefer the sliders without the step plate but don't wanna spend so much if im not gonna be rock crawling. I'm considering Avid bolt on rock slider style steps. I like the look of rock sliders but without the added weight and they can still serve as steps/door ding protector.