- Joined
- Apr 9, 2021
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- British Columbia
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- www.bronco6g.com
- Vehicle(s)
- 2021 Ford Bronco
- Your Bronco Model
- Badlands
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- #1
I posted this to my build journal as well, but thought it warranted a separate thread for people who may be searching for rock sliders specifically:
So I recently removed my Gatorback mud flaps - I still have them in my garage, and I truly think they are the best looking mud flap option on the market. They have held up well for the 20,000 km or so they were on my truck, and protected it very well. Ultimately though I prefer the look of no mud flaps, and regaining the ground clearance.
That being said, I still wanted something to protect my doors from rock chips, as well as find a step for my wife to get in and out of my truck easier. I looked at many different options, from LineX spraying my rocker panels to PPF to steps that mounted to my OEM rock rails, and everything in-between. Then a bunch of you mentioned how great @GoatFab is, so I checked out their options. After much back and forth on which one to choose (I'm a bit in-decisive), I went with the rock sliders with top plates (powder coated).
First off, a shout out to @GoatFab - I have zero affiliation with them, but they are AWESOME! Not only did he answer my DM's, but he was gracious enough to look at some options to work with me. As you know, I live in Canada (just a friendly reminder for @Tricky Dick in case he forgot), and shipping from the USA is super expensive. At the end of the day I was very happy with efforts to work with me on this.
When the item showed up, it was very well packaged. One end was slightly opened, but that was due to the FedEx driver likely dragging it from his truck to my garage door. Inside was totally fine, and everything was safe and well wrapped. Once I unboxed it all, I laid out the hardware for the rock sliders and pinch weld cover. Uh oh - I was missing one of the bolts for the rock rails - NOOOOOO!!! I DM'd @GoatFab and he actually called me within 5 minutes - First to explain how to install the pinch weld cover and rock rails (I'm not very handy and wanted to ensure I was doing it right, as I was installing this alone) and he also mentioned he would mail me out a new bolt right away the next morning. However, upon installing my pinch weld covers, I glanced on the road way and saw the missing bolt! It has slid out of the box, likely when the FedEx driver was delivering the item. Issue resolved! But their customer service is top notch, and that alone goes a long way with me.
For the install, I first attached the pitch weld covers. Super easy, but one thing I screwed up on was installing them upside down. The holes are drilled slightly to one side of the cover, so you want to make sure the holes are on the "bottom" of the cover, closest to the ground. You'll see what I mean when you install it. If you do it backwards, the cover hangs slightly below the pinch weld. Also, you need to remove the two painted bolts (per side) from the front of the vehicle. This was a bit of a pain as it has a thick layer of paint on it. It's a 10 mm socket to do, and you may need to scrape away a bit of paint for it to come off. Reuse these washers with the new bolts that come with the cover, and you're good to go. I ended up having a few black washers from my mud flaps that worked, so I used those instead.
Once the pinch weld cover was on both sides, I installed the rock rails. Well... These are heavy as heck, and I was doing it myself. One quick win that saved my ass: Get two 5 gallon buckets - You can get these at most hardware stores, and you likely have one or two for washing your vehicles already. I placed these buckets under my truck on each end, placed a thick piece of cardboard on that, and then placed the rock rail on top of it It brought it up just under where it mounts, and if you have the brackets of the rock rail sitting inside the bucket, you have the ability to roll and turn it at the angle you need. Lifesaver! Crawled under the truck and used one arm to push the rock rail into place at the right angle, and attached a couple bolts loosely to hold it in place. The rest is straight forward. Do not tighten everything until the end.
I'm extremely happy with the build quality, customer service, and how quickly these arrived at my house. I'm hoping they offer the door protection I'm looking for from rocks, the accessibility for my wife, and just the overall protection of the vehicle - Plus they look bad ass. I love the look of my Bronco even more now, especially with the mud flaps off and these bad boys installed!
I've posted some pictures below of them installed, as well as a side-by-side picture of the GOAT Fab vs. OEM rock rails that came with the Bronco.
Any questions, please ask away!
Side-by-side GOAT Fab vs. OEM rock rails:
Front Bracket:
Middle Bracket:
Rear Bracket:
So I recently removed my Gatorback mud flaps - I still have them in my garage, and I truly think they are the best looking mud flap option on the market. They have held up well for the 20,000 km or so they were on my truck, and protected it very well. Ultimately though I prefer the look of no mud flaps, and regaining the ground clearance.
That being said, I still wanted something to protect my doors from rock chips, as well as find a step for my wife to get in and out of my truck easier. I looked at many different options, from LineX spraying my rocker panels to PPF to steps that mounted to my OEM rock rails, and everything in-between. Then a bunch of you mentioned how great @GoatFab is, so I checked out their options. After much back and forth on which one to choose (I'm a bit in-decisive), I went with the rock sliders with top plates (powder coated).
First off, a shout out to @GoatFab - I have zero affiliation with them, but they are AWESOME! Not only did he answer my DM's, but he was gracious enough to look at some options to work with me. As you know, I live in Canada (just a friendly reminder for @Tricky Dick in case he forgot), and shipping from the USA is super expensive. At the end of the day I was very happy with efforts to work with me on this.
When the item showed up, it was very well packaged. One end was slightly opened, but that was due to the FedEx driver likely dragging it from his truck to my garage door. Inside was totally fine, and everything was safe and well wrapped. Once I unboxed it all, I laid out the hardware for the rock sliders and pinch weld cover. Uh oh - I was missing one of the bolts for the rock rails - NOOOOOO!!! I DM'd @GoatFab and he actually called me within 5 minutes - First to explain how to install the pinch weld cover and rock rails (I'm not very handy and wanted to ensure I was doing it right, as I was installing this alone) and he also mentioned he would mail me out a new bolt right away the next morning. However, upon installing my pinch weld covers, I glanced on the road way and saw the missing bolt! It has slid out of the box, likely when the FedEx driver was delivering the item. Issue resolved! But their customer service is top notch, and that alone goes a long way with me.
For the install, I first attached the pitch weld covers. Super easy, but one thing I screwed up on was installing them upside down. The holes are drilled slightly to one side of the cover, so you want to make sure the holes are on the "bottom" of the cover, closest to the ground. You'll see what I mean when you install it. If you do it backwards, the cover hangs slightly below the pinch weld. Also, you need to remove the two painted bolts (per side) from the front of the vehicle. This was a bit of a pain as it has a thick layer of paint on it. It's a 10 mm socket to do, and you may need to scrape away a bit of paint for it to come off. Reuse these washers with the new bolts that come with the cover, and you're good to go. I ended up having a few black washers from my mud flaps that worked, so I used those instead.
Once the pinch weld cover was on both sides, I installed the rock rails. Well... These are heavy as heck, and I was doing it myself. One quick win that saved my ass: Get two 5 gallon buckets - You can get these at most hardware stores, and you likely have one or two for washing your vehicles already. I placed these buckets under my truck on each end, placed a thick piece of cardboard on that, and then placed the rock rail on top of it It brought it up just under where it mounts, and if you have the brackets of the rock rail sitting inside the bucket, you have the ability to roll and turn it at the angle you need. Lifesaver! Crawled under the truck and used one arm to push the rock rail into place at the right angle, and attached a couple bolts loosely to hold it in place. The rest is straight forward. Do not tighten everything until the end.
I'm extremely happy with the build quality, customer service, and how quickly these arrived at my house. I'm hoping they offer the door protection I'm looking for from rocks, the accessibility for my wife, and just the overall protection of the vehicle - Plus they look bad ass. I love the look of my Bronco even more now, especially with the mud flaps off and these bad boys installed!
I've posted some pictures below of them installed, as well as a side-by-side picture of the GOAT Fab vs. OEM rock rails that came with the Bronco.
Any questions, please ask away!
Side-by-side GOAT Fab vs. OEM rock rails:
Front Bracket:
Middle Bracket:
Rear Bracket:
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