Slider Retrospective

[FMC80]

All, great feedback. It’s good seeing first hand accounts and reading your thoughts. Thanks!

 

[Up&Over the Hill]

100% agree with LongDuck.... BIOR is an absolutely fantastic slider...not to mention his bumpers and swing outs....I (wife) love the design and ease of entry in the vehicle

 

[thatcabledude]

Ha... You’re “little ones” aren’t going to care one bit if they’re flat, angled, or non-existent. If they aren’t already, soon they’ll be climbing uncomfortably high on playground equipment and hanging upside down from tree limbs. Hopping up into a truck is nothing.

 

[FMC80]

Ha... You’re “little ones” aren’t going to care one bit if they’re flat, angled, or non-existent. If they aren’t already, soon they’ll be climbing uncomfortably high on playground equipment and hanging upside down from tree limbs. Hopping up into a truck is nothing.

Valid. My dudes are like rabid, poop slinging monkeys. I just don’t want it to be a pain in the ass for the wife and kids every time. There’s great utility in the sliders beyond protection; I’ll probably opt for the 10 degrees so my old ass doesn’t break something every time I try to get in or work on top of the ride.

 

[Saddletramp]

BIOR step sliders offer the slider protection and the mud and debris protection to the side of the truck. My truck versus a Jeep for example. Very little mud on the doors because of the step sliders from BIOR and other times nothing helps.

 

[iptman]

If I'm in a situation where a step slider hangs me up but an angled slider wouldn't then I'm on a trail I shouldn't be on with a fat ass 80. I have the MT sliders (did they change their design?) and I've been extremely happy with them. They don't go past the flares or stick out any further than the doors.

 

[davidp14]

I'm thinking about getting a set of thsse bio step sliders. Can one of you please take a pic looking at them from the front end like @iptman did above? Also website says they have cat protection, do you feel thats adequate for moderate wheeling?

 

[Saddletramp]

Does this help? I have pivoted off my sliders many times as you can see.

 

[ajax1]

I went with Slee, first set I made. If not Slee I would go bump it Offroad, Mike makes good stuff

 

[ChaseTruck]

Ladies and gents,
Looking for your assessment of the sliders you have on your cruisers. More specifically, I’m looking to see if you have sliders that serve as side steps as well versus ones that are angled upward. I know WK sliders have the option of 10 or 15 degrees and I’m curious about your thoughts on whether you would’ve changed your mind on one over the other.

I assume the angled ones offer more flexibility when rock crawling or going through tighter spaces; is it a significant difference? The flatter ones offer more ease of entry for vertically challenged occupants but what’s the trade-off?

Would love to read your opinions to help me and perhaps others make a more informed purchase.
Warm regards,
FMC80

Standard WK sliders on the '93 80; original MetalTech (not OPOR) on the '97 LX. Anti-skid tape on both. bent the stock running boards on the LX the first time out (she can mangle anything, as proven time and again on her '40); that got us going. IIRC MT had a sale... I look as sliders primarily as protection from below; I don't try to rely on the slider to protect the truck from stuff from the side.

 

[davidp14]

@Saddletramp. Yes. Thats exactly what I wanted, thank you.

Thanks to everyone for the input

 

[SoCal80series]

I went with the Slee. They have one with traction for using as a step.

 

[TexFJ]

which ones bolt around frame and which ones need to be welded to frame? Also it seems that BIO goes through frame for cat protection?

 

[Box Rocket]

If you have sliders that have an outer tube (and not just a rectangular steel step like some have) it's not going to function any different as a step if the slider is flat or if it's angled upward. You're stepping onto a round tube in either case. They only difference would potentially be the height of the slider and in this case we're talking about a difference of maybe 1 inch?? on a flat slider vs an angled slider? Even with sliders that have a top plate most of your weight (when using it as a step) is going to be on the outer tube from what I've experienced. So I think it's a non-issue whether a slider is angled or not if it has an outer tube. The only sliders that I think offer any difference in terms of being a step are ones made only from rectangular tube and are flat like the one @Saddletramp posted above.
Rectangle tube sliders work well as a step and can be great sliders too. They are strong and the flat surfaces slide easily on obstacles. We made rectangular tube sliders for both of my son's minitrucks. Their trucks will get wheeled hard and needed a strong slider but also needed a good step because the belly height of the minitrucks is very high when the trucks get lifted.
Untitled by Adam Tolman, on Flickr


I have had Trail Gear tube sliders on both of my 80s for almost two decades now. Yeah they require a bit of custom fabrication to address the front leg of the sliders and fitting them around the exhaust but otherwise they are easily the best bang for the buck sliders out there IMO. I have beat the snot of of both sets of mine and they have never dented or bent. I'm not tall so I use them as a step and my wife who is 5'3" definitely needs to have them as a step.
IMG_3250 by Adam Tolman, on Flickr