GOAT Fab sliders installed

[Squirrel13]

Put the Goat Fab sliders on this morning. Turned out great. I coated the faces that touch the body with fluid film then tightened them. Hopefully this will mitigate moisture becoming trapped between the metal. I didn’t order the pinch seam cover plates. I felt the slider hides it very well.

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[Finbox]

Why are these sliders not attached to the frame? It’s literally right there. Why attach it to the body?

 

[Andyp]

These sliders are designed to attach to the body. There are other brand sliders that are frame mounted. Here's one, if that's the type you are looking for.
https://rcimetalworks.com/product/rock-sliders-21-present-bronco/

 

[HalfmuleFarmer]

Why are these sliders not attached to the frame? It’s literally right there. Why attach it to the body?

I’d love for a knowledgeable owner to expound on ‘rock sliders 101’ for the less experienced out there (like me). I can guess why mounting to the frame is a good idea, but then, like the first reply here I wonder why there are so many products out there that don’t. Are body-mounted sliders cheaper and for suckers? Are sliders just a ridiculous cosmetic product if not frame mounted? There seem to be a lot of issues that sliders try to address: 1) rocker panel damage prevention, 2) kick out functionality 3) lower door paint chip mitigation, 4) step for short people and wives, 5) looks tough. The downside of super burly frame-mounted sliders seem to be cost and weight. Help me out trail veterans!

 

[Glade Runner]

I’d love for a knowledgeable owner to expound on ‘rock sliders 101’ for the less experienced out there (like me). I can guess why mounting to the frame is a good idea, but then, like the first reply here I wonder why there are so many products out there that don’t. Are body-mounted sliders cheaper and for suckers? Are sliders just a ridiculous cosmetic product if not frame mounted? There seem to be a lot of issues that sliders try to address: 1) rocker panel damage prevention, 2) kick out functionality 3) lower door paint chip mitigation, 4) step for short people and wives, 5) looks tough. The downside of super burly frame-mounted sliders seem to be cost and weight. Help me out trail veterans!

I just put the GOAT fab sliders on a few weeks ago. They mount to the same thing the factory rails do, so I’m not sure what the issue would be.

 

[oneryan]

Goat Fab advertises that they will support the entire weight of the vehicle.. frame mounted or not, what more do you want your slider to do??

 

[HalfmuleFarmer]

Goat Fab advertises that they will support the entire weight of the vehicle.. frame mounted or not, what more do you want your slider to do??

Yeah, that’s my question. I’m no structural engineer, but that looks like a pretty heavy duty slider with a pretty solid install. What’s the liability here, exactly?

 

[userdude]

Yeah, that’s my question. I’m no structural engineer, but that looks like a pretty heavy duty slider with a pretty solid install. What’s the liability here, exactly?

Everything has limits, so in practice a very hard hit on a frame-mounted rail vs a body mounted rail will distribute that shock load through the frame instead of a potentially flimsier body.

On the other hand, the frame mounted rails are mounted further away and thus exert more lever action when struck. Not only can they fail, but when they do, they may twist your frame.

A structural engineer would have to do the calculations to explain how much of an improvement, but as someone mentioned, Ford mounts their trail armor rails to the body. You would probably need to introduce some level of impact (e.g. approaching car accident) to see a difference.

Either way, while you may get, say, 20% more impact protection on the frame-mounted, either way, twisting your frame vs pushing in your floor pan are both going to be difficult to fix.

@Tricky Mike Did you have frame-mounted or body mounted rails when you fell on that rock a little while ago?

 

[Tricky Mike]

Everything has limits, so in practice a very hard hit on a frame-mounted rail vs a body mounted rail will distribute that shock load through the frame instead of a potentially flimsier body.

On the other hand, the frame mounted rails are mounted further away and thus exert more lever action when struck. Not only can they fail, but when they do, they may twist your frame.

A structural engineer would have to do the calculations to explain how much of an improvement, but as someone mentioned, Ford mounts their trail armor rails to the body. You would probably need to introduce some level of impact (e.g. approaching car accident) to see a difference.

Either way, while you may get, say, 20% more impact protection on the frame-mounted, either way, twisting your frame vs pushing in your floor pan are both going to be difficult to fix.

@Tricky Mike Did you have frame-mounted or body mounted rails when you fell on that rock a little while ago?

Body

 

[DJ Vinny]

I just put the GOAT fab sliders on a few weeks ago. They mount to the same thing the factory rails do, so I’m not sure what the issue would be.

Those look great... Do you find they sit pretty flat for stepping in and out.. not sure i the 5 degrees they list is an issue?

 

[oneryan]

those are the same ones i have. love them but i am a little disappointed that they are rusting after just one winter.

the rust is coming from below the top plate.. i go through the wash once or twice a week so not sure what else i could have done to avoid it.

I messaged them and they basically told me to go pound salt

 

[Glade Runner]

Those look great... Do you find they sit pretty flat for stepping in and out.. not sure i the 5 degrees they list is an issue?

I have the angled version for better clearance on trails. They also make them in a flat version.

My daughter and I generally don’t use them, I bought them primarily for my wife’s use.

 

[oneryan]

mine are also angled. takes a while to get used to using

i actually just put my factory steps on for the winter and now i have to retrain myself

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