A Comprehensive Guide to Buying 4WD Rock Sliders

If you’re a 4WD owner who wants to take their vehicle off the beaten trail, then you know that you’ll need some added protection. You might already have the usual enhancements – a bull bar, side rail or headlight, but one accessory most off-roaders don’t give enough props to are 4WD rock sliders. Rock sliders rest between the back and front wheels of your vehicles and they protect your rocker panels from rocks and debris. They can also serve as a pivot point when manoeuvering over large rocks and obstacles, and they can serve as a stepping surface when you want to get in and out of your vehicle.

But before you start looking for the ideal 4WD rock sliders for your vehicle, there are a couple of important factors to take into account in order to make the right purchase. You need to choose the materials they’re made of, whether you want them to be coated or not, and whether you want them bolted or welded to your vehicle.

Materials
The most commonly used materials for manufacturing rock sliders are DOM steel, HREW steel, and aluminium. HREW tubes are strong and economical, while DOM is stronger but more expensive. Both these materials are drawn over a mandrel and cold-worked, meaning they’re smooth and have an improved steel molecular structure. Deciding between these two materials mostly comes down to personal preferences and your available budget. Aluminium, on the other hand, is more fragile and more expensive, so it’s not really recommended for rock driving or climbing.

Coatings
For serious off-roading, it isn’t really advisable to get sliders with a coating, simply because no coating can withstand the abuse you’ll put the sliders through. Paint is the most affordable type of coating, but if you’re looking to add some more protection to the sliders, you might want to consider a hard bed-liner coating. If you want to enhance the way they look, you might be interested in getting powder-coated rock sliders.

Bolt-on Vs. Weld-on
Rock sliders can be attached to your vehicle using either one of these methods. If you want to use the bolt-on method, you’ll have to drill holes in your vehicle’s body. This means that you’re adding them as a permanent modification, which can reduce your vehicle’s sale value. Consider that if water sips in through the holes, it may cause corrosion. Further, if you plan on adding other accessories, you’ll have to make sure they’re compatible with the rock sliders.

On the other hand, the weld-on method includes welding the rock sliders either on the frame or the body of the vehicle. You can’t attach the welded-on-body sliders to the body of the vehicle if it’s a non-unibody vehicle. In that case, you’ll have to apply rubber bushing in between the frame and body in order to keep the isolation. If you’re welding the rock sliders to the frame, you’ll have to get frame plates attached over the frame of the vehicle. This is the better option out of the two, as it distributes the stress evenly over the entire vehicle and makes the overall frame thicker.