100 Series Sliders: My 4-year Review of White Knuckle sliders (AHC 2-leg version)

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cruiserpatch

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A few folks have commented on my recent switch from the White Knuckle off-road sliders- here are my thoughts about the product should anyone be interested.

Allow me to start off by saying that this is NOT intended to be a hit-post or an attack on anyone's product. I'm merely attempting to present my experience in an effort to aid others' search for the product that best suits their needs.

I purchased the sliders in December of 2020 and just now removed them (early 2025). Below is an incomplete list of trails/places I've wheeled with the White Knuckles:

  • Windrock Off-Road Park, TN
  • Morris Mountain ORV Park, AL
  • Clayton, GA
  • Coalmont OHV Park, TN
  • Arkansas Ozarks
  • Rose Garden Hill, UT
  • Fins & Things, UT
  • Poison Spider, UT
  • Poughkeepsie Gulch, CO
  • Holy Cross 4x4 Trail, CO
  • Wheeler Lake, CO
The list goes on...

At one point my 1999 Lexus weighed 7600 lbs (holy heck!) - I wheeled it in Moab, Utah fully weighed down and have a reputation for not holding back...

One of the first things I noticed with the white knuckles (after wheeling hard trails) was that the upper portion of the u-bolt mount actually contacted the body of my 100- it created a rather loud rumbling sound on some trails. As time passed the body of my truck bent up and out of the way, self-clearancing for the slider mounts.

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Photo above (left): April 2025 showing the damage to the body from the white knuckle bracket (sliders removed)
Photo above (right): October 2022 the sliders stuck up far enough to contact the body in extreme conditions

As time progressed I learned to loosen the u-bolts and let the sliders drop down a bit- I would then tighten the u-bolts to reduce the banging sounds.

Early on in my adventures I used the sliders as a lifting point many times (I broke a lot of stuff).

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Photo: July 2022 raising the vehicle so I could isolate the front diff post-failure at the Poughkeepsie wall

When I finally removed the sliders earlier this year I had to cut the u-bolts off with an angle grinder (see photo below). The threads were beyond FUBAR. There was no point in trying anything else. Multiple times while wheeling I would feel the vehicle getting caught on the slider bracket/leg since it stuck out below the frame rail...back up and bump it baby.
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Photo: bent u-bolt with thread pattern indented into the bottom of the vehicle's frame rail

In Setpemebt of 2023 I rolled my vehicle onto its side at Windrock Park in Oliver Springs, Tennessee (trail 35). With the help of @ga12r1 we were able to successfully right the vehicle using his 200 Series' winch, a snatch block, and- you guessed it- the white knuckle off-road slider (on the passenger side). We tied my vehicle's winch to a tree in front to prevent it from rolling down hill once it was on all fours again. Lee actually ran out of gas so I had to tow him down the trail until he got enough gas to the pickup line in the tank...let the good times roll
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Make no mistake, these sliders stood the ultimate test over the past four years of my use. They withstood some of the toughest trails a 100 Series could even bother attempting and at the end of the day they were still attached to the truck by the end haha!

I give these sliders a solid Patch-Proof out of five.

A few more thoughts below (hit the max for photos in this post)
 
This is my second truck with AHC specific WKOR sliders - absolutely no complaints!
 
I picked up a set last month and am gonna take them to the powdercoater next week (dark bronze to match my pc'd RockWarrior wheels). Can't wait to get 'em on.
 
I have Metaltech sliders and i have the same damage/indent where the feet/perch would meet the body too. It happened coming down onto a rock as my tire slipped off a slippery rock. Made a loud thud and creased the body. I took a hammer and a steel drift and made the dent bigger so it won't contact again :D
 
After a 1" body lift I doubt I'll have slider-to-body contact- especially with these new @BudBuilt sliders 👀

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No other competitor comes close to the strength of mounting as BudBuilt IMO. After seeing Lee's on his 200 Series I knew I had to get some commissioned by Chip/Bud.
 
One last complaint about the white knuckles (entirely avoidable if I didn't wheel as hard as I do):

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The two posts contacted the pinch weld on the rockers on both sides of my truck. I'll include a link to a YouTube clip showing the amount of flex in the slider in a rather low-stress hit on Wheeler Lake:

Again, not necessarily knocking the white knuckles (or any slider for that matter- some frame to body flex is inevitable with the stress I put the vehicle under). Just thought some folks might want to be aware of these things before they buy.
 
After a 1" body lift I doubt I'll have slider-to-body contact- especially with these new @BudBuilt sliders 👀

View attachment 3885826

No other competitor comes close to the strength of mounting as BudBuilt IMO. After seeing Lee's on his 200 Series I knew I had to get some commissioned by Chip/Bud.

What's the story on these, specifically the mounting points?
BudBuilt seems to offer zero products for the 100 series.

 
I’d say this would be a problem with any slider that mounts with a U bolt if you wheel hard enough. (Provided there isn’t a design aspect that locates the slider prevents any movement.) Welding them on definitely fixes the issue, but creates others of its own.
 
I've been considering welding on my next set of sliders as I don't see any downsides to it. They're just extensions of the frame. What issues do you see welded sliders creating?

It would make refinishing them a bit more difficult and of course, once you weld them they’re more or less permanent. Neither are huge issues, especially if you wheel hard enough to need welded on sliders.
 
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What's the story on these, specifically the mounting points?
BudBuilt seems to offer zero products for the 100 series.

For now 👀

I commissioned a set of sliders from them with the goal of getting the ball rolling on some skid plates eventually too
 
I've been considering welding on my next set of sliders as I don't see any downsides to it. They're just extensions of the frame. What issues do you see welded sliders creating?
I would strongly discourage anyone from doing this. Welding onto the frame will melt the paint on the inside of the frame rail, exposing it to moisture, as well as fatigue the frame itself from the heat.

Even worse, if the slider has no movement in it at all, it’s possible (although unlikely on our box frames) to bend or stretch the frame.

There’s a great video out there about why it’s a bad idea to weld sliders onto a 3rd gen 4runner frame but it uses a c-channel frame in some spots if i remember correctly…

 
I’d say this would be a problem with any slider that mounts with a U bolt if you wheel hard enough. (Provided there isn’t a design aspect that locates the slider prevents any movement.) Welding them on definitely fixes the issue, but creates others of its own.
^^^^This. If wheeled hard, there isn't enough friction between the slider mount and the frame to prevent the slider from 'sliding' vertically on the frame. I've thought two serrated plate washers, one on the slider mount and one welded to the frame could alleviate the problem.... but I never tried it.
Steel Serrated Plate 1/8 Increment 2X6X1/2 With 1/2 Slot – Illium  Industries

My u-bolt sliders (not WKOR). Broke the U-bolt even.... and you can see the indentions on the frame when the slider rides up.

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If you wheel "hard enough" you can break anything, including the frame. Having bolt on armor gives you planned failure points. I'd much rather have a broken U-bolt and even a bent/broken slider than a compromised frame!
 
True... but we haven't seen any/many folks damaging frame due to slider impact. So, I think the fuse is underrated. Plus the 100 frame is wider than any prior LC frame, therefore there is less leverage.
 
My AHC lines are currently crammed between a u-bolt and the LRA tank. I still think I’ll weld them on. I can’t imagine they’ll ever really need to come off, and if they do, I’ve got a sawzall.
 
Most weld-on sliders are only welded on one side of the frame. Without engineering data, we won't know which is gentler on the frame. As for removing sliders, I can't remove my front fenders without removing my sliders. But each slider design is different and so YMMV.
 
If anyone can test the mettle of this design it is you. Will be curious to see how they hold up.
BTW, is there another plate on the otherside of the frame to distribute the stress?
 

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