after my experience with Bentup and my rear bumper, I'd go with Roger! I'm very happy with my BL that I got from him, and I plan on getting sliders from him as soon as i can...

 

I would also highly recommend the box end design, for reason already stated. Ive seen too many rigs get hung up in tight spots and corners with those edges.
If your going for looks I guess it wouldnt matter, but if this is for pratical uses go with the box end so the sliders can do their purpose and slide you up and around obsticles.

my .02

 

Chris G., is that you (tx_maverick)?

I'm still not understanding why a box end design would prevent hang ups? If anything it would seem that the box end parts themselves would cause some trouble in sliding ...

 

"I'm still not understanding why a box end design would prevent hang ups?"

Can anybody else explain the above opinions? Using my imaginagtion, i would think open ends would slide off rocks easier but some disagree. I dont get it...

 

I think that is the two basic ideas. You can probably come up with situations where either type design will work better or worse than the other. I'vew had both types and like the open-ended design I came up with better. In fact at the obstacle above on the Rubicon, the 4Runner ahead of me had open ended sliders w/ kickouts and he walked right up that part, took me about 15 minutes to do the same thing. In fact it was those very sliders that I copied the open end tubes and kickout design from. Grafted that onto the double tube, bolt-on design sliders I had originally purchased and came up with what I felt was the best of all the good features of all the sliders I had run across at the time.

But if there were one "perfect" slider design, that would be the only one available. Lots of options out there, pick one you like the look of, that may work well in the terrain you wheel and one that mounts like you want.

http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/ForSale/...tml#Background

 

hey Tracy, yup you got me :-).

Well, im not exactly sure how I can explain it, without you seeing the designs in action.

If the only force being applied to the sliders was an upward force from below, or all obstacles were taken straight on, both designs would do just great in protecting body damage. However, when applied to most off-roading conditions you have forward and reverse motion bending, turning and twisting around obstacles. Without a bend to help slide obstacles away or under the slider they can get hung up on the turns or off camber angles.

Lets say for example your bending around a rock, going down hill to the left, the front tire's backside is tucked underneath your fender and from what Ive seen from many open ended designs (given I havnt seen them all)this creates a sudden wall of open ended medal thats going to get hung up on anything that your carefully trying to maneuver around. A closed end design would slide your truck up and/or away from this and you could use it (the motion created by the rock running the rail) to tuck/slide your way around the corner. Now the kick outs on open ended sliders I hanvt seen in action, but could see how they could improve manevering, i still just dont like the edge it creates.

Dont get me wrong though, with both design you would defiantly get your money's worth and if you are aware of the downfalls of either design (which there are some of all) then you can compensate for those, however, in my opinion and experience of seeing both types of designs in use in various terrains, i really recommend, if given the option, to go with a closed end design, but then again, this is only my opinion of what ive seen, and theres alot that I havnt seen. Anyone can make their own informed decision.

Off-roading is more driver then anything, just know what you have and what it can take and go from there. Get the ones that look the best to you :-) its all about the bling

Hope this may help??

 

Well, there are really all kinds of "what if" questions and in any given situation you could have trouble with any given part. For example, say there's a tree stump and for some reason you have to drive over it and your sliders are going along it. With the box end design, the stump could get stuck and literally stop you from going, whereas it would be able to slide out on an open end set.

Regardless of how silly a situation this would be, it's an example of how there is a remote possibility of everything causing problems. It boils down to what you think of the overall design, and from what I've read between the two, I went with 4Crawler sliders for a reason. In my opinion, Roger's design was superior to some others that I was looking at, and I liked how much thought and research he put into it.

There are negative and positive things about each design, but for what I placed importance on, 4Crawler was the way to go.

 

Just get some sliders! The thing I'd steer clear of is mounting em too close to yer rockers. I like mine out (biased) mounted out quite a bit from the truck that way I can use em as a pivot. That's just me!

Any way you go, good luck!

 

If there is anything Roger fabs/sells that you need, he is the one to get it from.

I personally like the round tubing outrigger type sliders w/ the rect tubing main rail, but if I was a rect tubing slider man all the way, I would have fabbed up something like RBs sliders or purchased his hands down.

 

Anybody else have a personal choice on what sliders (4Cawler or Bentup) you'd get? Im lookin for a couple more opinions before i dish out the cash. If any of you other long time members have something to add then please do, i would appreciate it.
Lastly, given the obvious, does 'tx_maverick' have anything to do with Bentup? Im just curious...

 

No, tx_maverick doesn't have anything to do with Bentup, as far as I know. He also does not have the Bentup sliders, but I think was just commenting on the design.

That said, it seems like most of the "long time members" here pretty much agree that 4Crawler is the way to go.

 

I pooped this morning.

 

That's fantastic, Jason.

 

No, and like stated above I dont own either. Why?

Im just a long time wheeler, short time forum member giving my opinion on what ive seen in action. I endorse no brand.

Just go for what looks good to you and wheel to its ability. Youll find out quickly what works and what doesnt. Life is a learning experience. So just get out and wheel. A million people can give suggestions on what theyve seen or gone through, but this is the internet, no scale on experience or skill, since those can definantly be a factor on how well sliders actually do their job. I would recommend finding a local off-road club to go out and hang out with. Go see for your self first hand the ablilties, and obviously the downfalls of the many, many designs.

 

:pat:

 

Just wheel without them. They'd likely hang you up on the trail anyway. I've done well w/o.

 

Wheel without them? I'd rather take the chance of getting hung up on the trail .00001% of the time than tear everything up and dent things! To each his/her own though. I just figured that if rocket is here asking about which to buy then he probably already decided he wanted some type of slider.

 

Why the signature change? Don't want us to know who you are?

Wheeling w/o sliders is just plain stupid...you are asking for body/rocker panel damage.

 

I prefer to keep my rocker panels in good condition. Thanks anyway poop boy.

 

I have pretty much decided on the 4Crawler SliderZ with a 1" kickout in the rear and straight in the front. I dont care about what looks better but what would work better in CO terrain. Thank you everyone for your input and advice.