What options for sliders?

[llloyd]

Posting this for my brother who isn't very good at the interweb. He just got a 97 Lexus LX450, came with the supercharger, lift and tires on the way. But so far no plans for sliders. Unfortunately for all involved he has more balls than brains so it seems up to me to find a good option before he goes f***ing up this truck like he did his Ridgeline.

So the obvious choices are slee and hanna, both of which look and from what i gather are great. But wow are they expensive. The alternative seems to be a custom job which works out at less than half the price. Heres where I get confused though, I get the impression that the custom one (at least the place I talked to) welds the slider to the actual frame, rather than bolt it on. Wouldn't this just result in frame damage instead of body damage when it inevitably comes in contact with some large rock?

Also are there any cheaper options? I know a friend with an xterra was only paying like $300 for his.

Any advice greatly appreciated, thanks.

 

[Sno bored]

Go to search at the top of the page, go to advanced search put in "sliders" and check under 80 series. There will be many pages and hopefully you will find the answers you are looking for.

 

[llloyd]

Go to search at the top of the page, go to advanced search put in "sliders" and check under 80 series. There will be many pages and hopefully you will find the answers you are looking for.

I did search and thats what i came up with. Several of the linked companies in the sliders section of the FAQ don't actually make sliders for the 80 series. I did not find anything about the sliders being welded to the body which is what I'm curious about. Plenty of people say they have custom but not much info on how they did it or speifically if the frame is a bad idea.

 

[TiredIronGRB]

https://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?p=748582#post748582

 

[Beowulf]

I did not find anything about the sliders being welded to the body which is what I'm curious about.

This would be a very bad idea. I think you mean frame and some people do weld them to the frame but most feel this is not the best way to go for various reasons. IMHO, the bolt on gives you more options for removal and changing brands... less invasive.

Plenty of people say they have custom but not much info on how they did it or speifically if the frame is a bad idea.

I have custom bolt-on sliders made from George's plans about 5 years ago. I would not do it again but I had to pay someone to fab the sliders. For those that have the metal working tools and the necessary skills this may be an option. AFIAK, nobody that has built a set for themselves is very excited about doing it again for a "friend" (meaning no or very little $$ for their labor.) And nobody that has built their own sliders from George's plans has decided it is profitable enough for a side business.

I have consistently recommended to anyone that asks, that they would be FAR better off by buying a set of sliders from Christo Slee, or Ken Hanna, or maybe the new offerings from MetalTech and (I think) Luke at 4x4 labs. I have seen the Metal Tech sliders and really like them.

-B-

 

[ginericLC]

All of the slider manufactuers you are going to hear about build good sliders. There is a reason they are all expensive. There is a lot of labor involved in building them. I would say that there is more labor than other vehicles due to how the frame angles and going around the cats.

I ended up with the Metal Tech sliders. They are a slightly different design than the others. I liked the rolled edge of the main slider. It gives better clearance and the cat guard can't be beat. It is 1/2" very stout. Previously I ran a set of custom sliders on my other 80. I liked those too. But spending days and days on them versus an hour bolting them up made buying them an obvious choice.

 

[OGBeno]

Don't forget Lance at Iron Pig.

He makes some BEEFY stuff for the 80 series for a reasonable price.

I think he is the best option for those of us in the Eastern Time Zone. He is also redesigning his 80 series rear bumper/tyre carrier as well as underbody skid plate (it will now cover from the engine oil pan all the way to the end of the xfer while replacing the factory cross member under the xfer).

IIRC, Richard Stubbs also prototyped a set of sliders for Cruiserhead05 (Brandon).

You can always bring your truck to a fab place and see what they can do for you. On the cheap side, you could always just take some 2"x4"x 1/4" box tube and weld them to some 2"x3" box tubes right to the frame.....

I got some serious rocker damage this past weekend and slider are up next--and fast!

 

[rgsiii]

I got some serious rocker damage this past weekend and slider are up next--and fast!

Onur, this is worthless without pictures.:

 

[fzj80kidpen]

Beno,
Sorry to hear about the rocker damage.
Thats why I promised myself to not wheel the 80 until I had sliders.
lloyd,
I have made some using the George plans and it takes about 20 hours of work time. I could do it again in less obviously but they are worth $800 if you can just bolt them up. You will have $150 in metal, $25 or so in wire, some gas, $30 in grinding wheels & cutoff wheels. Just depends on if you are compelled to work with metal or not. I like it.

 

[teerexfzj80]

I would give it to Lance at Iron Pig for the sliders and the skid plate. I spent some time with him at the CMCC last weekend and he knows his stuff. I have Slee Sliders and Skid plate now and was grinding them hard and they did just fine, but if I had to do it over again, I'd hook up with Iron Pig.

 

[llloyd]

Thanks everyone for the information, I'll be sure to post some pics when its done!

 

[OGBeno]

I would give it to Lance at Iron Pig for the sliders and the skid plate. I spent some time with him at the CMCC last weekend and he knows his stuff. I have Slee Sliders and Skid plate now and was grinding them hard and they did just fine, but if I had to do it over again, I'd hook up with Iron Pig.

Yeah, what George said. He wheeled the piss out of his stock 80 with no bumps or bruises.

I wheeled the piss out of my slider-less 80 and now have some nice body work in the future....if I get around to it.....

And George was warning me the whole time!!