4Crawler Rock SliderZ

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Description:

Note: We've made many of our Rock SliderZ plans available, see link above

A popular add-on for 4x4s are nerf bars, that extend out from below the rocker panels. Sometimes called step bars, they are more for looks and convenience and I've seen on more that one occasion where the nerf bar bending under load can cause more body damage than the vehicle would of without the bar. For heavy duty use off-road, you really need something that will both protect your vehicle's body from damage and also keep you from getting hung up on an obstacle. Many people build their own bars and some companies are now offering heavy duty nerf bars or rock sliders. Most of these designs make use of welding the bar to the frame and rely solely on the strength of that weld and the support brackets to hold up the weight of the vehicle.

I used to run a rock slider from a now defunct company. These bars worked great and featured a bolt-on design that was more than strong enough for even hard core rock crawling. When I made some changes to my vehicle, I found it was necessary to either modify or replace the rock sliders. I chose to design my own version, correcting a few deficiencies in the original design and make it fit my modified vehicle better. So. I designed and built the 4Crawler Offroad Rock SliderZ for functionality:

A bar that was bolted on
- I prefer not to weld on the frame any more than I have to :-)
- If damaged, a bolted on bar is easier to replace
- If the vehicle is later body-lifted, a bolted on bar is easier to lift or remove and replace
Make them strong enough to support the weight of the truck
- Both for vehicle recovery, sometimes it is necessary to use a HiLift jack off the bar to raise the truck
- When "surfing" over large rocks, you may have most of the vehicle's weight riding on the bar
A flat top to be able to stand on
- Important for trail hands to help counter-balance the vehicle in a tight spot
- And it makes getting in and out of a lifted truck oh-so-much easier
I wanted the bars to work with various amounts of body lift
- The design can accommodate mild (0-1") and tall (2-3") body lifts
A bar that would both protect the body and be a useful tool for off-road use
- A bar that lets you slide up and over a rock rather than high-centering on it is very handy
- Often, the bars can be a useful point to jack up the vehicle from when stuck

Here's what 4Crawler Offroad came up with. If you run run wider than stock tires and wheels, you can add 1" or 2" kicked out sections to the front and/or rear of the slider to help slide off and away from rocks so the tires can grab them. This allows the center section of the bar to be just a bit wider than the body for protection, but no wider than absolutely needed. These are not some wimpy nerf bar, the 4Runner bars weigh in at about 35-50 lbs. each, other models more or less depending on length.

Here's a shot underneath, showing the outrigger braces from the outer to inner bar. The inner bar runs the full length from wheel well to wheel well providing full protection for the underside of the body. As a side benefit, it also hides the frame on body-lifted trucks. From the inner bar to the frame, you can see the two main supports. They bolt to the frame and provide more than enough strength to support the weight of the truck. The inner bar has another function, too. Under extreme loading, the bars will flex upwards until the inner bar contacts the body pinch weld, at which point the load is transferred to this very strong parts of the body. By spreading the load over the entire length of the pinch weld, there is little chance of damage occurring.

The underside of the bar is smooth from front to back, nothing sticks down any lower than the frame, the outer bar is cantilevered up at an angle for an additional 2" of ground clearance. The ends are tapered to slide on and off of rocks easier. All the ends are capped with heavy steel and all joints are fully welded to prevent internal corrosion. The bars themselves are available unpainted or in a paint finish that is easily touched up in the field.

Besides providing protection for the sheet metal on your truck, the bars also are functional as steps for ease of entering and exiting the vehicle, as well as for accessing items stored in on on top of the vehicle. The flat top of the square tubing provides secure footing and on painted bars, a 3M grip tape is installed for extra traction especially in wet conditions. I prefer the rubber tape to the more common grit tape since the rubber tape is much less abrasive, which you'll appreciate if you ever rub a bare leg across it!

I've been asked whether the ladder like outrigger bars get hung up on rocks on the trail. To date, I've never had any trouble with this. I've run my bars over some of the toughest trails in California, Oregon and Utah including the Rubicon, Fordyce Creek (Sierra Trek), the McGrew Trail, several trips through the Hammers in Johnson Valley, Dusy-Ershim, Moab Utah - including Pritchett Canyon, Rusty Nail and other trails, and have only once even seen a scratch on the ladder bars from a rock. My old American Metal bars had a similar ladder design and I ran those 3+ years without a problem.

Why did 4Crawler Offroad use a bolt-on design? There are a number of benefits:

A bolt-on bar offers ease of installation, no welding required
A bolt-on bar can be welded on if desired, it is not necessarily true that a weld-on bar can be bolted on
A bolt-on bar can be fully pre-finished, unlike a weld-on bar
Some vehicles come with factory mounting holes for step bars, so these are used where possible

Why does 4Crawler Offroad use a self-tapping bolt vs. a clamp-on mount?

While clamp-on may seem like a slick way to go, it complicates the design.
The clamp must be a tight fit to the frame.
- There is often a significant variation in frame widths due to mfg. tolerances, that would require custom fitting the clamps to the frame.
You also need room on all four sides of the frame to install the clamp.
- Any gas or brake lines, e-brake cables, brackets, etc. on the inside of the frame may need to be relocated.
By mounting to the outside of the frame, its possible to place the mounting brackets where they work best for supporting the bar, rather than placing them where there is room for them.
The bars can be mounted with either self-tapping bolts only or with a combination of self-tapping, thru-bolts, or sleeved-bolts for the bottom holes.
And of course the bars can also be welded in place if you prefer.

So, is a bolted-on slider able to stand up to use and abuse on the trail? Have a look at the pictures below and see for yourself:

			Your Picture Here
1st Generation	2nd Generation	3rd Generation Front+rear 1" kick outs pictured	4th Generation


Rock SliderZ vs. step bars	Side view from the rear	Sideward projection


		Typical 2000-2004 Sliders Gen1, Std. width pictured


		Typical 2005-2006 Sliders, Gen2, Extra wide pictured

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