Rocky Road Super Sliders, deffinetley not worth the trouble.

So I ordered a set of the Rocky Road super sliders a while back. I did a bit of research on this forum and others regarding the quality of the product as well as the potential design flaws (mounting to both the pinch weld on the body as well as the frame). After some reading I was not able to find anyone who had used these sliders and did not recomend them and to me the design makes sense. I did hear quite a few people complaining about them but not from their own experience with the product. Also, I dont weld and the powder coat and bolt on was a good selling point for me personally.
So I pulled the trigger on a set of RR super sliders back in the begining of the summer. After 5 weeks, as quoted, the sliders showed up. The sliders seem very stout and beefy. Being quite excited to bee free of the worries of rocker pannel damage whilst wheelin and door dings whilst parking, I took them over to my old man's house so that we could do the install. Well, to my disapointment and dismay the driver side slider was manufactured slightly off (1/4") but that was enough to make the install impossible as the slider was too wide to fit between the frame and body. I called customer service and after a few measurements and pictures were taken and sent to customer service they agreed to send me a new driver side slider (the passenger side was fine) as well as a shipping label to return the mismade slider. Turnaround was fairly quick and I received the new slider 2 weeks later. Again I went over to my old man's house to have him help me with the install. And again, to my disapiointment I realized that I had received a well fabricated slider... For the passenger side! So being in possesion of two well built passenger side sliders and one defective driver side slider (I had still not received the shipping label to return the defective slider) I had to, again, call customer service. I spoke with them and described my frustration and lack of trust in their company. Without hesitation the CS rep, Matt (not the rep with whom I had previosly dealt) made it clear that I could be refunded in full if I wished. I explained that I liked the product but had reservations about doing business with their company. He offered to discount my order by 10% ,which I accepted, and send out a new driver side slider as soon as possible (which ended up being about 10 days). I repackaged the defective slider and one of the two passenger side sliders and had UPS pick them up after receiving the shipping label (there was a $10 charge for the pick up).
Today (per UPS) I am, hopefully, getting the "functiional driver side super slider" and, hopefully, installing them with my pops. I have decided to take the full refund if there are any additional "inconviniences" from RRO. At this point learning how to weld and powder coat myself may have been more convenient than the adventures I've been through. I will update and, hopefully, post pics of the install once it's done.
I still have not seen the 10% of my purchase price refunded yet.

 

Here you can see the slightly crooked weld in the driver side slider. the measurement on both ends should have been 5&3/4" but was 6" at the rear.

 

These are not sliders...

 

Why are they not sliders?

 

Would you feel confident using these to jack up your truck using a hi-lift?

 

After seeing them and exactly how they mount I would. The product seems very tough and as far as mounting to the body that's how sliders have mounted to unibody vehicles for years. The fulcrum point when lifting with a jack will produce such a short lever that bending towards the body seems very unlikely.

 

Are those the only mounting points?

 

There are 4 points where the 1x1 (smaller square tube) mounts inside the pinch weld. There are also the two legs that bolt to the frame. Any impact should be taken by the large square tube and evenly distributed along the length of the body seam so long as the "hitch" steel does not give or bend (as heavily guaranteed by a seemingly less trusted manufacturer).

 

I could see these as light duty sliders but they are going to put too much load on the body to take any real hit. I don't understand why they would use 2"x 2"x .188 wall structural tube or "Hitch steel" as they call it for the main bar and use tiny 1"x1" for the mounting point to the frame and body. I see what they are doing moving the fulcrum point out further with the body attachment but I can just see them smashing the under side of the body if hit hard on the rocks because the frame mounts are not really doing much.

I've seen these in person on a 4runner and the customer had to gusset and weld them to the frame to keep them from ripping the body up from movement. In the end they were cut off and our sliders were then welded on.

 

Thank you for shedding some first hand knowledge, that always carriers more weight, imo, than the opinions of people who have not used out seen the product before. What are your sliders? I'll possibly be shipping for some after RRO sends me a new one for a different model vehicle.

 

Rocky road nightmare

 

These are my sliders. http://www.bayareametalfab.com/80-Sliders_p_1.html

Trail rated!

 

RRO has a bad reputation. I can't speak of these sliders but I've never been impressed with their products

 

I know the owner of rocky road outfitters and my brother is good friends with him. I did some work for him and in exchange he offered me a pair of these sliders. He assured me they were plenty strong and said that they have only had to replace one out of numerous sets sold on all sorts of vehicles. The ones I saw looked well made but I just don't like the fact that they mount to the body and to the frame. This completely turned me away from getting them even though they were going to be free. They are a stand up company and great people that make sure to take care of their customers but as others have said, the slider design is not idea for rock sliding purposes.

I would think that even without using them from sliders, having them connected to the frame and body over time would cause issues. There is a reason why there are spacers between the body and frame to allow them to flex differently in offroad situations. Bolting the two together limits that flex.

 

Those look pretty awesome and the price is reasonable. The option for a bolt on is appealing to me as I don't weld. The RROs originally seemed to fit the bill because I liked the bolt on, powder coat and low profile design. I'm displeased with their services currently and will definitely consider your sliders should I be returning the RROs. I'm planning to do both bumpers in the near future and BAMF is looking like a damn good option.

 

LOL no way in hell i would use those as sliders..... mounting on the body and frame... NOPE you would not want to do that

 

There are so many people who are critical of the mounting style yet with the exception of JLee nobody has had first hand experience with the poor performance being described. The reviews of people who have used these are quite positive. If anyone has tried these and disliked them I would like to know why before I install them. I'm looking for real world experiences to help me decide on whether or not to use this product.

 

I know you are looking for real world experience but the sometimes things dont need to be tested to be ruled out. I also would be hesitant to rely on every positive feedback you see regarding products. Just because there are positive reviews doesn't mean the reviewers used the product as sliders are intended to be used.

If you are just putting them there to use as steps and occasional protection then I am sure you will be fine. If you plan to really use them as sliders and constantly have the weight of the truck supported by them, then I would get something else. I would guess that the majority of the reviewers out there aren't using the sliders as I have described. I say that because I dont think the majority of people, myself included bang around on the rocks all the time with their vehicles. There are those that do though.

The other thing I don't get is if you are so worried about them, why not just return them and get something that has been tried and tested by people who use their stuff. The super sliders are $400+ if I remember right and most other companies aren't to far off of that mark.

 

i think i ended up paying 515ish or 550 for my SOS concepts full bolt on sliders which have a HUGE frame plate and 2x2in tubing ... have zero issues using a high lift on it.