Slee slider steps install notes - 2018 LC (1 Viewer)

[FerrisBueller]

I installed my Slee slider steps on my 2018 LC two weeks ago, and it was a good install experience. Let me answer a few questions up front that I had going into the install, and that you likely have right now if you're considering installing them yourself:

1. How many holes do I need to drill into my frame?
You need to drill 1 brand new hole, and enlarge 7 existing holes. All the holes you drill / enlarge are for rivnut installation. You will also make use of many other existing frame holes that do NOT need to be drilled, but will use stick-nuts to secure the bolts.

2. How many rivnuts do I need to install?
Eight total. That's 5 on the driver's side, and 3 on the passengers side. For some reason, the first one was difficult to install (probably because I had not done this before). The other 7 installed very quickly without problem.

3. How long did the install take?
It took me about 6 hours. If I were to do it again, I think it would probably take 5 hours. It simply takes time to be methodical and make sure you understand and do everything right the first time. Slee's instructions are very good - there was one hiccup, though, and that cost me probably about an extra 30 minutes of install time. Each step in the instructions shows a list of what hardware is needed, and the text for the instruction calls it out. However, when mounting the main (2 center) supports to the frame, it lists the large lock washers but doesn't call them out in the instruction text. So I ended up not getting those lock washers on at first, although I realized my mistake before tightening everything up and it wasn't too bad redoing that part.



The Slee instructions are excellent, reviewing them made me much more comfortable before I purchased. Download them from the slider product page:

SLEE- Formed SliderSteps - '08 -'21 Land Cruiser / LX 570 - Slee Off Road

Features Bolt On Design 3/16" Steel Construction Tread Step Plates to prevent slipping 4 Legs per Slider for Support Textured finish Powder coat finish Optional Items: LED Light Kit AHC Protection Plates 200 Land Cruiser Series Fit KIt * Required to fit sliders to 200 Series Land Cruiser

sleeoffroad.com

@TeCKis300 has a thread for installing these sliders on an LX, and it was very helpful for me to look through his notes before I got started. I recommend reading his thread, too.

Slee LX Slider Notes

Since I'm at it, might as well capture some notes. Will develop this thread more as I figure out more things First impressions - Packaging Shipped as palatized freight in prodigious box. This thing is packaged to the nines to preserve the fine powercoat finish. Suitably impressed...

forum.ih8mud.com

Before I get into more of the nitty-gritty install details, here are some obligatory before / after pictures. I really like how they mostly retain the stock look, but are actually more subdued than the stock running boards.

1st: original running boards.
2nd: no running boards (this looks best in my opinion!)
3rd: Slee sliders (best protection, and looks much better than the running boards!)

And here's a close-up of the original running boards vs Slee slider steps:

The general order of operations for the install went like this, and I'll describe in more detail in the next posts in the thread:

1. Receive & unpack freight delivery from Slee.
2. Remove stock running boards.
3. Place all sliders pieces under LC to better visualize and get 100% sure what frame holes you will use.
4. Drill 1 new hole on driver's side frame.
5. Enlarge 4 existing holes on driver's side frame (I do the passenger side later...).
6. Paint the bare metal in the holes just drilled (rust prevention).
7. Enlarge 3 existing holes on the passenger's side frame.
8. Paint the bare metal in the holes just drilled (rust prevention).
9. Driver's side paint will probably be dry by now, if not then wait for it to dry.
10. Install driver's side rivnuts (5 total).
11. Passenger's side paint will probably be dry by now, if not then wait for it to dry.
12. Install passenger's side rivnuts (3 total).
13. Assemble various components onto the sliders (off of the truck, somewhere cool and shady!)
14. Hand-thread the top main support bolts into the frame.
15. Hang the assembled sliders onto the LC frame from the bolts in the previous step. This was the only step that really required 2 people.
16. Install remaining nuts & bolts (loosely).
17. Use a jack to lift the sliders to have the correct 3/8" gap (minimum) from the body, and tighten bolts / nuts. The sliders dropped down slightly during this part, so my gap is slightly more than 3/8", but that's fine. 3/8" is just the minimum.
18. Re-tighten everything again
19. Break off all the extra length of the stick-nuts that are poking out all over the place.
20. Go make good use of your new sliders!

More details to come...

 

[TeCKis300]

Those before and after pics are excellent. Great write up as well.

Most notable to me now that they're in use is how solid the step feels compared to OEM.

 

[FerrisBueller]

After I placed my order, Slee (an actual employee, not an automated system) emailed me with the expected shipping date. I knew the date would be a problem because I would be out of town when the sliders would arrive, so I emailed them back and asked them to delay the shipment by another week. Slee was very responsive and accommodating. They agreed to ship later, on the date I suggested.

Once the slider shipped, it only took about 3 business days to get them (from CO to TX).

The packaging is rock solid. Slee includes tilt-detector devices inside the box so you can tell if it was mishandled (for insurance purposes in case of damage). Although it looks like the package was tilted more than it was supposed to be, it was also pretty clear that there was no way the contents were damaged. The foam they pour into the box conforms around the contents and keeps everything stuck in place to the bottom of the box.

You'll notice in the pictures that there is a small box inside. This contained things like the included hardware, the extra LC-specific hardware that you have to purchase along with the sliders, etc. I also opted to purchase the rivnut installer tool. I did not purchase the 17/32" drill bit from Slee (for drilling the frame holes), as I found a highly-reviewed equivalent on Amazon for much cheaper. I won't link to the Amazon drill bit I purchased, as it was only okay in my opinion.

 

[FerrisBueller]

Remove the existing running boards with a 12mm socket. Six bolts per side. This only takes a total of about 1 minute for all 12 bolts with an impact driver. A pretty neat feature of the running boards is that there's a little hook on them to keep them hanging there even after all the bolts are removed. After the bolts are removed, just slide the running boards (either forward or backward, can't remember), and they'll drop down. They're super light weight, my guess would be less than 5 pounds each.

At this point I place some large cardboard pieces on the ground on either side of the LC, and then placed the Slee sliders and all their parts on the cardboard, lined up where they would be installed. There are so many holes in the LC frame, that this is the only way to really see which holes are the ones you will use for the install. Even then, it's unclear at the rear of the frame which holes will be used, since there are 4 right next to each other. That's okay, because as you keep going you become more oriented toward where things go with the help of the installation pictures in the Slee instructions.

I also removed the frame hole-plugs per the Slee instructions to better visualize everything (shown on the cardboard with the slider components in the picture below). Note that Slee generically states something like "you might not need to remove all hole plugs, and some can be re-installed later". I removed all of them, and discovered after the fact that you don't need to remove the CIRCLE plugs, just remove the other oblong / rectangular plugs.

Here's a picture of where the frame plugs were that I removed. Remember, you actually don't need to remove the circle plug (one on each side), even though I removed it here.

At this point I really noticed how many things Toyota has secured to the frame along these sides where the sliders will be installed. I began wondering how many of these would have to be loosened / shifted for the slider to fit correctly. The answer is NONE OF THEM need to be loosened or adjusted! Slee did an excellent job making sure the slider supports do not interfere with anything.

 

[FerrisBueller]

Now you get right into drilling the frame. It sounds intimidating / stomach-lurching. It actually isn't that bad, and I felt comfortable with it the entire time.

The first hole you drill is a brand new hole, on the driver's side, 1.25" forward from the existing front-most hole. I marked the point, and began drilling. The new hole ended up being slightly lower than the existing hole, but that's fine - the bracket that attached here has a very long slot that allows a pretty large range of height adjustment to make sure everything can line up correctly.

Next, enlarge 4 more holes on the driver side (still using the 17/32" drill bit). This picture shows the new hole (blue arrow), and the four other enlarged holes. The orange arrow shows the hole that is on the bottom of the frame instead of the side of the frame. The frame was actually too low to the ground for my drill + bit (which is very long) to fit between the ground and the one hole in the bottom of the frame that needed to be enlarged, so I had to slightly jack the frame up about an inch to get a good drilling angle.

 

[FerrisBueller]

After drilling the driver's side holes, you want to paint the bare metal that the drilling caused to prevent rust / corrosion from forming. I used Rustoleum rust-preventer spray paint, gloss black because I already had it. Using spray paint would be pretty messy, so I channeled the spray using a makeshift paper funnel. Basically I folded a sheet of paper twice (hotdog-style fold both times), then rolled it up so it was a bit bigger than the drilled hole size. Press the paper up against the drilled hole, and the spray can nozel up against the other end, and spray for only about 1 second. It covers the bare metal very quickly and will start running a ton if you spray for longer than that. Be careful with when moving the paper funnel from hole to hole, it will try to drip black paint. I found I could only use the paper funnel for one side of the truck before it became too saturated with paint.

Have a couple paper towels next to you to wipe away any drips right after you spray each hole.

Makeshift paper funnel for spray paint:

Now that the driver's side is done, go and drill to enlarge the three holes on the passenger side. Then paint them, too. Here are the drilled & painted holes on the passenger side:

By the time you've finished the drilling & painting the passenger side holes, the paint on the driver's side should be dry (if not, then wait until it is).

Install the 5 driver's side rivnuts. Thread the rivnut onto the rivnut tool like this, but keep threading it on until it touches the base nut on the tool.

Then push the rivnut (while threaded to the tool) into the first driver's side frame hole that you drilled. If it's too tight, you may need a hammer to help tap it in. Most of the rivnuts slid in no problem, and two needed some gentle taps with a hammer. Holding the rivnut + installer tool in place, use two wrenches to tighten / compress the rivnut. The wrench on the base nut closest to the frame should stay stationary, and the wrench / socket on the outside nut should be the one you turn (clockwise). It will resist turning quite a bit as the rivnut compresses, and you should keep tightening until it simply isn't possible to tighten it any further. You will definitely feel the difference when it's fully seated, it goes from having tight resistance to complete 100% resistance when it is fully seated.

Here's the 5 rivnuts installed on the driver's side:

Now that the driver's side rivnuts are installed, the paint on the passenger's side should be dry. If it's not, then wait until it is.

Now go install the 3 passenger side rivnuts like you did on the driver's side.

 

[FerrisBueller]

Now assemble the various pieces onto the sliders (this is slider assembly prior to the sliders going on the truck). Install the non-slip sections on the top, and the mounting arms at the front and back. Just follow Slee's instructions, it's straightforward. It's helpful to use a swivel socket and socket extension to get in some of the tight areas around the mounting arms. The hardware for the mounting arms should remain loose, you'll tighten them up later once the sliders are on the truck.

Next, you hand-thread the top main mounting bolts onto the LC frame. Keep them as loose as possible, while still having enough threads engaged to support the weight of the sliders. The sliders will slide onto these loose bolts and hang from it while you install all the other hardware. Don't forget the lock washers on these first set of mounting bolts, I missed that part in the instructions, and had to go back and add them after the fact once I realized my mistake. The Slee instructions are a little confusing at this point because you're constantly flipping back and forth between the main set of the instructions (which are for an LX) and the instructions in the appendix that are slightly different for the LC install. The hardware here is different for the LC than for the LX, so keep that in mind.

It's also going to be a bit tedious bending and winding all the stick-nuts to the appropriate places inside the frame for the bolts to mate with (these are carrying the bulk of the structural integrity, not the rivnuts).

Sorry, I missed getting a picture of just the loose hardware before mounting the sliders.

Now lift and slide the sliders onto those loosely-installed top bolts, keeping the washers on the outside of the slider mounting plate. The slider will just hang in place once you have it on there. It is too awkward trying to do this by yourself, trying to lift the slider, while trying to see and align with the loosely-installed bolts. I found it worked well to have my son lift the back end of the slider, then I laid on the ground and lifted the front end of the slider above me. That way I could see everything very well and get the slider mounting slots up and over the frame bolts.

Here's what it looks like with the slider hanging from the loose hardware. You can see the stick-end of one of the stick-nuts poking out from the rectangular hole to the right.

You're almost done!

Loosely install all remaining bolts and nuts (except for the cross-member supports that aren't installed yet).

Then start tightening the main bolts (those that connect the two massive central support arms to the frames). Do this slowly, and measure the gap between the top of the slider and the body. You want a minimum of 3/8" (per the instructions). I used a jack underneath the support arm (use a rubber pad to avoid scratching) to raise it to achieve the correct gap. This is another time that you'll appreciate the design effort that went into the sliders. There's a convenient slot in the bottom of the main support arms where a swivel socket + extension fits perfectly.

As you tighten these main bolts, make sure slider alignment up/down and left/right is correct, per Slee's instructions. Pretty much all the brackets have long slots where the bolts install that allow both vertical and lateral adjustment opportunities. After the main bolts, tighten the front and back bracket hardware.

Using a jack for vertical alignment:

The easiest way to measure the gap is to place a 3/8" allen wrench in the gap and adjust until the allen wrench is almost touching the body.

 

[FerrisBueller]

With the main supports tightened up, you now install the cross-member brackets. Instructions are straight-forward and install is easy. Note that on the passenger side, the rear support bracket goes at the rear mounting point for the gas tank skid plate (between the skid plate and the frame). You use the Slee bolt here instead of the stock bolt, which have the same thread pattern but the Slee bolt is longer. The instructions have you also remove the gas tank skid plate's front bolt, which might not be necessary, but I think makes installation easier. I also replaced that front bolt with one that Slee provided.

Now go through and tighten ALL hardware. This includes all the hardware between the mounting arms and the frame, and the hardware that connects the front and back brackets inside the sliders (again, use a swivel socket + extension).

Now go tighten all of it AGAIN!

All hardware installed, including the cross-member support brackets:

Don't forget to use some pliers to break off all the stick-nut pieces that are sticking out everywhere, or you're going to end up with weird scratches and damage to tires / brake lines / etc. at some point.

As a final step, I installed the original running board bolts into their original holes, to help keep water / gunk from getting up in there.

You're done! The install process really isn't that bad, right?

 

[Wisluggo]

Great write up!

 

[FerrisBueller]

Most notable to me now that they're in use is how solid the step feels compared to OEM.

Yes, completely agree!

Great write up!

Thanks, I feel like I included more details at the beginning of the install, but that's because I think there's more uncertainty at the beginning. As you get into the install, it gets more and more obvious how to do everything.

 

[Simpleman]

Very well done. Appreciate the details and the pics. Thanks.

 

[JadeMonkey]

Great write up. For anyone with an LX570 you'll only need to drill 1 hole to install 1 rivnut. Make sure you get something better than a high speed steel (HSS) drill bit or you mostly likely won't even be able to get 1 hole through the frame. Also make sure you download and print the directions in color if your sliders come with the old black and white instructions.

 

[tdcruiser406080100]

With the main supports tightened up, you now install the cross-member brackets. Instructions are straight-forward and install is easy. Note that on the passenger side, the rear support bracket goes at the rear mounting point for the gas tank skid plate (between the skid plate and the frame). You use the Slee bolt here instead of the stock bolt, which have the same thread pattern but the Slee bolt is longer. The instructions have you also remove the gas tank skid plate's front bolt, which might not be necessary, but I think makes installation easier. I also replaced that front bolt with one that Slee provided.

Now go through and tighten ALL hardware. This includes all the hardware between the mounting arms and the frame, and the hardware that connects the front and back brackets inside the sliders (again, use a swivel socket + extension).

Now go tighten all of it AGAIN!

All hardware installed, including the cross-member support brackets:

View attachment 2474793

Don't forget to use some pliers to break off all the stick-nut pieces that are sticking out everywhere, or you're going to end up with weird scratches and damage to tires / brake lines / etc. at some point.

View attachment 2474795

As a final step, I installed the original running board bolts into their original holes, to help keep water / gunk from getting up in there.

You're done! The install process really isn't that bad, right?

View attachment 2474796
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View attachment 2474798

Excellent write up! This really helped installing my Slee Formed SliderSteps yesterday. Thanks! I did this by myself so had to get creative mounting to the frame. Used a small floor jack that I keep in the travel trailer to balance the loosely assembled slider on a piece of wood to initially hang then level. An extra set of hands would be easier and faster but it’s doable completely solo. Even with the puppy licking my face and running off with parts/tools. First time using rivnuts. Thought it would be good idea to use my Bosch battery impact on low. NOT a good idea! I stripped out the first one and had to drill it out. Drilled out easily.. the metal is pretty soft. Good thing Slee provided a couple extra. I held the large nut with channel locks and used box end to turn the smaller nut. You really do need to feel when it “sets”. I did start to wonder how well the rivnut will hold. But when all is tightened up it is absolutely solid. The Slee slider is well thought out and high quality. Very happy! Looks good too. Thanks again for your post.

 

[FerrisBueller]

Excellent write up! This really helped installing my Slee Formed SliderSteps yesterday. Thanks! I did this by myself so had to get creative mounting to the frame. Used a small floor jack that I keep in the travel trailer to balance the loosely assembled slider on a piece of wood to initially hang then level. An extra set of hands would be easier and faster but it’s doable completely solo. Even with the puppy licking my face and running off with parts/tools. First time using rivnuts. Thought it would be good idea to use my Bosch battery impact on low. NOT a good idea! I stripped out the first one and had to drill it out. Drilled out easily.. the metal is pretty soft. Good thing Slee provided a couple extra. I held the large nut with channel locks and used box end to turn the smaller nut. You really do need to feel when it “sets”. I did start to wonder how well the rivnut will hold. But when all is tightened up it is absolutely solid. The Slee slider is well thought out and high quality. Very happy! Looks good too. Thanks again for your post.

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Glad the post was helpful. Your install looks great!

 

[iowacruiser]

This is such a great write-up! Thank you @FerrisBueller
I received an email today from Slee that their Sliders were back in stock & quickly ordered. Very excited to get them & looking forward to the install. @tdcruiser406080100 - I have the same rig so also appreciate you sharing your experience.
Have either of you guys considered the LED light kit? I know they’re specific to the LX570 but have noticed other builds with rock lights so wanted to pick your brains on how difficult that would to add to the LC. Thanks again for sharing your install!

 

[tbisaacs]

This is such a great write-up! Thank you @FerrisBueller
I received an email today from Slee that their Sliders were back in stock & quickly ordered. Very excited to get them & looking forward to the install. @tdcruiser406080100 - I have the same rig so also appreciate you sharing your experience.
Have either of you guys considered the LED light kit? I know they’re specific to the LX570 but have noticed other builds with rock lights so wanted to pick your brains on how difficult that would to add to the LC. Thanks again for sharing your install!

Dont expect them to be rock lights. They are very low power.

 

[orttauq]

Lights and sliders out of stock already!

 

[99toylc]

I know right? Got home from work and wanted to order... out of stock !!!

 

[blu 60]

I know right? Got home from work and wanted to order... out of stock !!!

Am in the same boat, Christo called said they were sold out in an hour, more coming really soon he said. My new 2021 is still on the boat to Long Beach - one of the very last ones so I guess I’m not in too big of a hurry.

 

[sleeoffroad]

We have two more batches that will become available later in April. Did not expect that it would sell out that fast. I will try to reset all people's email notifications so you don't have to sign up again. I just have to see if the system allows for that.