Help me convince my wife I NEED sliders on my 97

[trouser_trout]

Hello to all,

The only way my wife will be convinced that the LC should have sliders is if I can show her how much more safe the truck wil be in the event of an accident. Can any of you provide information regarding the on road safty aspect of installing sliders? Any crash test data, etc.?

Happy Holidays,

TT

 

[cruiserman]

I'm with your wife. You don't need them.

 

[landtoy80]

I removed the junked the running boards. WIFE MAD
When at Slee's I showed her the NEW running boards, the Slee Slider w/Running Boards.
I said this is a better running board.
I installed them that afternoon.

 

[Cruiser Newb]

Lets see here... tell her that when ur wheeling, and you accidentally miss (don't see) a rock. Then you ask her would you rather have that rock grinding up on some nice sliders that do come in handy, or would you like some body damage on the lower part of your doors? The body damage will cost more than having a nice pair of sliders on.

 

[Gumby]

Take off the running boards. She'll get tired of trying to get in the truck in a dress without a step.

If you're worried about just taking them off and getting grief, find a parking lot lightpost with one of those cement bases. Rub up against it a little bit. Then you'll have to take them off.

 

[landtank]

I'm with your wife. You don't need them.

I don't see where this is helping.

 

[Riley]

Like Todd said. Also if you are gonna wheel it then explain how $800 spent now will save a few thousand dollars in dented metal and damaged cats. If you're not gonna wheel it then don't bother.

Be warned - sometimes my wife complains (a little) if the sliders are real dirty and she gets dirt on her pants.

 

[FirstToy]

Honda Accord hit my Hanna Quality slider- destroyed the front end of the Accord. There was a Honda yardsale on the ground next to my truck.

slider stopped the car from running all the way down the bodyside to the front.
I have to replace 2 plastic cladding panels, rr wheel & tire (he hit the rr wheel & tire first)

Some scuffs & gouges on the slider.

If I had running boards, they would have ripped out of the body mounts & waffled up into the body or otherwise caused alot more damage. The Accord would have continued into the rear door and run along the bodyside. As it is, not one metal panel was scratched.

unfortunately I was not there but witness account and yardsale tell the story.

 

[offroadkid]

How tall is she? The truck is lifted right?

(Insert comments from the offroadwife)
I'm 5'3" and the way I see it, is that the sliders' primary function is to help me get up into the truck. Definately a selling point. Now the problem you have to avoid has already been mentioned above. If she is short, she will have to "slide" out of the truck and any dirt on the sliders WILL get on her pants. High heels are almost impossible to deal with. Josh's sliders are round (I don't know if they all are) and my heels slide around and rotate, making this a very dangerous endeavor! So basically, my advice is to allow her to see how easy it makes it to get in, but to NOT allow her to experience the problems of getting out.

The thing that sold me on sliders is the cost savings that they represent. I am not at all interested in paying for body damage to be fixed! We have previously experienced a small amt of body damage on our old Taco, and the old brown LC, and I was not at all happy about that.

Back to me:
Yea, what she said!! HTH!!

 

[Riley]

FirstToy - Good outcome all in all. I've been wondering if the sliders were high enough to align with the bumper of a passenger car, I guess so. They are freaking strong so they will protect in a T-bone providing the car bumper is low enough.

TT - Tell her you also need a lift to get the sliders to the right height to align with car bumpers. They also protect against door dings in parking lots.

 

[FirstToy]

actually it was more like ABOVE the Honda bumper- headlights, etc. but the bumper was involved I guess.
I imagine if I was as tall as a J-sprung 80 on 305's, the car would have gone under like a giant rock--still would have had the wheel damage and that stuff is hard to say siince I didn't see any of it.

My g/f doesn't mind the sliders. It's the added lift that is inconvienent for her.

 

[T Y L E R]

This is easy ....

Show her a pic of a truck being lifted up by the sliders .. Slee's site for ex.

Next , remove the door panel on the 80 , and have her get a feel for how thin the door skin is .

Next , explain that if you are hit broadside with the sliders in place , that the dumbass will be forced to slide beneath your truck , leaving your bodies intact !!

Be safe ,

TY

 

[cruiserman]

I don't see where this is helping.

Given his reasoning for wanting sliders, he doesn't need them. If he were crawling over boulders, and he wanted to keep his rocker panels pristine, then he would need sliders. But for a car accident?

Why sliders?

 

[reffug]

I feel good about mine in case of a car accident. If my truck were to be broadsided this is just one more layer of added protection IMHO.

 

[cruiserman]

This is easy ....

Next , explain that if you are hit broadside with the sliders in place , that the dumbass will be forced to slide beneath your truck , leaving your bodies intact !!

. . . and rolling the rig over.

 

[FirstToy]

If you read the original post, he just wanted reasons to convince the wife. I don't think he stated his own reasons.

I got mine for rock protection but I happened to get lucky with car protection too.

 

[T Y L E R]

. . . and rolling the rig over.

I'll take my chances in the roll Cruiserman . Been to enough accidents to make an informed decision .. can't count how many rollvers I've attended where ALL the occupants are standing around before I even got there .. fine and dandy . And those were mostly small to mid-size autos . I've also seen the carnage a T-Bone will do to human cargo .. tried working on a young guy last year .. both he and his friend got hit in broadside in they're car by a full sized pickup with a custom iron bumper ... it's impression was left in the door perfectly . Neither of the young men survived ...

But then you guys are worried about what ? Body damage ? I'm thinking about another type of body damage here I guess ..

TY

 

[landtank]

Cruiserman, I don't think it's our place to judge the man just support his need to justify sliders. I mean, the guy obviously has a hill to climb and telling him he doecn't need to isn't getting him to the top.

 

[trouser_trout]

Thanks for the quick responses. I do have a 2.5" OME lift with 285 tires. I really don't do much off roading. Only now and then to get to a couple of fishing holes. I may do more in the future. I know I really don't need the sliders, but need and want are two different animals. The wife and I are thinking about having our first baby and I guess the safety aspect is also a way for me to justify (to myself) spending the cash on something I don't need.

FirstToy- I will site your example, if anyone has anything similar, please let me know.

Thanks Again,

TT

 

[Riley]

/start hijack

My son and I were reading this thread.... and he see's my comment about protecting the "cats". He looks at me with a funny look and says "cats ?".

I respond with: "Well some of the guys like to tie cats up under their trucks using little leather straps and then go wheeling".

Now he's really wondering, not being sure if I'm pulling his leg or not. I put him at ease and fess up that I was just BSing him.

"Oh good, you never know about some of those MUD guys" was his comment.

I thought it was pretty funny, I had him fooled there for a minute.

/end hijack