Time to Switch to Rock Sliders?

[MattJ]

Am looking forward to putting them to the test at [trail name removed - thanks Frank!]. I like the way they bolt directly into the frame, wrap around the stock Rubicon rails with a 20-degree angle, and don’t contact the body panels anywhere. And they are HEAVY. 120 pounds total, almost like having another passenger at all times.

[Frank]

These are the reasons we say ask questions before you buy something so you dont upgrade twice. Looks goodin strong . GG wont be much of a test but good luck with them and no trail names in the public section please. FjR68

[Car Jack]

How did they do at GG? I was in the stock white JKU on street tires and my Girly Man Smittybilt step tubes took some damage. Mostly fixed with my tow strap and a tree once home. But I realize that I need something there that's going to work. Those things look great. Did you do the 20 degree angle? It's definitely on my to do list.

[MDSRACING398]

They looked great parked!

[MattJ]

Did you do the 20 degree angle? It's definitely on my to do list.

Yes - up 20 degrees. White Knuckle also adjusted the mounting points for me since I put the OEM Rubicon rails back on to hide the body panel damage from the N-FAB tube steps.

Mark is right - I parked and rode along with Brad. With 16 Jeeps I figured it would be better to pitch in by helping with recovery situations rather than adding another Jeep to the trail in muddy conditions. But I went back and checked the video: there is definitely one LESS tree on that obstacle where I cracked a hole in my hardtop last year. Did anyone else notice that? You can see me hit the first tree at 1:24 in the video below. Someone must have taken a chainsaw to that second tree to get revenge, because it's gone now . . .

https://vimeo.com/243486894/4fbcfb9587

[Car Jack]

Just ordered my White Knuckes. DOM unpainted, 20 degrees, no rubicon rails. My Smitty Bilt tubular steps are starting to look like stuff I put on my scrap metal trailer after that "easy" class 6 road.

[Car Jack]

The White Knuckles are on. Way more work than simple bolt ons. My drilling was somehow not exactly in the right places so needed to dremmel some of the mounting holes on the rails. Not a lot. I've seen others report that they welded theirs on which would probably make them indestructible. I'm able to use the outer tube as a step, which I didn't expect.

[MattJ]

Yes - the outer rail works great as a step. What paint and process did you use for a coating?

I've ripped my powdercoating up pretty good, but I just use chassis paint to patch them up after each trail run. In the future, I'm going to add the step of using a Scotchbrite disc to polish the gouges down flat before I touch them up with the chassis paint.

[Car Jack]

I cleaned up any slight surface rust with a wire brush then metal prep. Zinc Oxide coated the things. Then primed and used a shellac based sealer (because I had some) and went to town with all the leftover paint I had hanging around. So there are spots in there that are red, white, yellow. Finished it with black. I expect they'll get very scratched up, so it's more "race car" painting than nice painting. If I remember, I'd like to get some grip tape to put on top so they'll be better as steps, but if I don't, it's fine.