Body Ding/Scratch Protection

[dafuture]

I'm having a bit of an issue I'm hoping people can give me some insight on. I bought my truck brand new last Tuesday, but so far due to parking in the commuter lot at work, it's already accumulated 3 scratches in different places. I'm already pretty upset since it was in mint condition when I picked it up (minus the light swirls in the paint courtesy of the dealer's prep crew). I did some poking around and found color matched body side moldings, but it seems like most people just use rock sliders or running boards instead. Anyone have any advice on what works best?

Just a side note, but I specifically picked a 4Runner without running boards because I'm tall and I find they get in the way of me getting into and out of the truck.

Thanks!

 

[snow junky]

Rock sliders work great and will teach them a lesson when they hit it with their door.


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[mazatal]

Take it out for a ride and get it dirty, lots of mud and maybe some dead stuff so it smells bad. Let God wash it when it rains. Works for me and the HD muddy Budbuilt bumpout sliders..

 

[RusPro17]

My side Tyger bars sit out past my wheels on my Pro. If your 4Runner sits a little high and then most cars will be hitting the side bars when they park next to you if they open there doors too far. You may not need the bars to get in your 4Runner but it helps from getting door dings.

 

[RusPro17]

 

[JPOVS]

Another tip, may not work so much in your 4Runner unless your parked next to another tall vehicle is to align your mirrors with the swing out profile of there doors. This way there doors hit your mirrors and not your doors or body panels. It works better in my Jetta, and of course helps if the other people next to your spot are there first.

 

[dafuture]

Sounds like so far everyone thinks rock sliders work best. Any particular ones people recommend? I'm just starting my research, so I don't much in the way of parts companies outside of OME, ARB, and Icon haha. Ideally I'd like to try and stay around the $400 mark.

Does anyone have the Rocky Road sliders?

 

[flea1983]

I’d say the door ding guards would work best for you, especially if you don’t really want running boards anyway. Sliders/boards will work in some cases, but won’t work if you’re parked next to a lifted truck or if the vehicle next to you has the rear doors that curve around the rear fenders.

 

[mcarey86]

Sounds like so far everyone thinks rock sliders work best. Any particular ones people recommend? I'm just starting my research, so I don't much in the way of parts companies outside of OME, ARB, and Icon haha. Ideally I'd like to try and stay around the $400 mark.

Does anyone have the Rocky Road sliders?

There is a "Consolidated Slider Thread" you should try to find.


That said, I don't think sliders will help THAT much. I've found many doors can and will still hit my door. They are better than nothing, but nearly any car with a back door that curves up around the wheel well, will 100% hit your door.

Unfortunately, kids are often the responsible one when it comes to launching a door into another car. And they are often in the back.

If I were you, I'd get those bump strip things, try to pick the best spots available, and just stop looking for new blemishes.

I always park as far away as possible, in corner spaces so only one side is exposed, etc. Seems to work pretty well for the most part.

 

[dafuture]

I’d say the door ding guards would work best for you, especially if you don’t really want running boards anyway. Sliders/boards will work in some cases, but won’t work if you’re parked next to a lifted truck or if the vehicle next to you has the rear doors that curve around the rear fenders.

There is a "Consolidated Slider Thread" you should try to find.

That said, I don't think sliders will help THAT much. I've found many doors can and will still hit my door. They are better than nothing, but nearly any car with a back door that curves up around the wheel well, will 100% hit your door.

Unfortunately, kids are often the responsible one when it comes to launching a door into another car. And they are often in the back.

If I were you, I'd get those bump strip things, try to pick the best spots available, and just stop looking for new blemishes.

I always park as far away as possible, in corner spaces so only one side is exposed, etc. Seems to work pretty well for the most part.

I did think about both of these things. Ultimately, 99% of the time I'm parked in our local commuter rail parking garage, so no kids. Since the garage fills up so quickly, there's really nowhere to hide the truck either. It's pretty much just people who don't care about other cars. It's interesting that they you both have experienced situations where the sliders weren't helpful. I may just have to bite the bullet and do the moldings. I am going to look for that consolidated thread regardless.

Typically I'm not too worried about a scratch here or there, but this being my first brand new car and the fact that I've only had it for about a week makes me pretty sensitive. I just wish people weren't so inconsiderate.

 

[flea1983]

I did think about both of these things. Ultimately, 99% of the time I'm parked in our local commuter rail parking garage, so no kids. Since the garage fills up so quickly, there's really nowhere to hide the truck either. It's pretty much just people who don't care about other cars. It's interesting that they you both have experienced situations where the sliders weren't helpful. I may just have to bite the bullet and do the moldings. I am going to look for that consolidated thread regardless.

Typically I'm not too worried about a scratch here or there, but this being my first brand new car and the fact that I've only had it for about a week makes me pretty sensitive. I just wish people weren't so inconsiderate.

FWIW I haven’t had anyone ding my doors yet, just put sliders on a few weeks ago. Just think the door guards would work better overall since they’re made for it. And you said you didn’t like running boards so you wouldn’t have to worry with them. Sliders are an expensive add-on for someone that’s not gonna off-road and doesn’t like boards.

 

[dafuture]

FWIW I haven’t had anyone ding my doors yet, just put sliders on a few weeks ago. Just think the door guards would work better overall since they’re made for it. And you said you didn’t like running boards so you wouldn’t have to worry with them. Sliders are an expensive add-on for someone that’s not gonna off-road and doesn’t like boards.

That's more than fair. They may work a little bit better in some situations, but ultimately neither is a good solution. I read some mixed things about the moldings, and I'm also a little concerned about how it'll affect the paint underneath if I ever have to take them off.

Right now I'm thinking about going with the Rocky Road sliders, given that they'll offer some protection but are still low profile enough not to get in my way. I may off road in the future, but at the moment I don't know of any places nearby I could go. I'd probably have to head to upstate NY or PA to do so, but it is possible.

 

[flea1983]

That's more than fair. They may work a little bit better in some situations, but ultimately neither is a good solution. I read some mixed things about the moldings, and I'm also a little concerned about how it'll affect the paint underneath if I ever have to take them off.

Right now I'm thinking about going with the Rocky Road sliders, given that they'll offer some protection but are still low profile enough not to get in my way. I may off road in the future, but at the moment I don't know of any places nearby I could go. I'd probably have to head to upstate NY or PA to do so, but it is possible.

The lower the profile, the less effective they’ll be I’d imagine. I’m not really sure how well the door guards work tbh, but would imagine they work better than anything else. If you’re looking to do some off-roading at some point though, sliders are a good investment.

 

[jrandom]

Scratches, if your that crazy about it the only way to avoid dipsh!ts scratching your stuff to wrap it, expensive, you wont get any more scratches.

 

[STX4Runner]

I have Rocky Roads and they work fine for their intended purpose...rock sliders. They don't stick out far enough in my opinion to be good door ding protection. I think the thought that rock sliders offer door ding protection is BS. Unless you're parked next to a car, they won't do jack. Any SUV or truck will have doors at a similar height and the curvature of their doors will allow them to still ding you.

 

[dafuture]

The lower the profile, the less effective they’ll be I’d imagine. I’m not really sure how well the door guards work tbh, but would imagine they work better than anything else. If you’re looking to do some off-roading at some point though, sliders are a good investment.

Whether I'm going to go off-roading is definitely part of the question (I'd definitely like to). Given that it's Black Friday time, it might not be the worst time to try and find a deal.

Scratches, if your that crazy about it the only way to avoid dipsh!ts scratching your stuff to wrap it, expensive, you wont get any more scratches.

I mentioned earlier scratches don't generally bother me that much. I'm just frustrated given that I've only owned it for a week. If there was a little added protection I could throw on for a few hundred bucks, I thought it might be worthwhile.

I have Rocky Roads and they work fine for their intended purpose...rock sliders. They don't stick out far enough in my opinion to be good door ding protection. I think the thought that rock sliders offer door ding protection is BS. Unless you're parked next to a car, they won't do jack. Any SUV or truck will have doors at a similar height and the curvature of their doors will allow them to still ding you.

I was wondering about that exact thing when I finally found a thread with some pictures of them installed.

As far as parking situation, I'm always parked directly next to cars. I spend 5 days a week with the 4Runner in a packed parking garage. Anything with a taller right height probably won't be affected by sliders, but for the most part, it seems to me that the people who throw their doors open are those with lower cars. This is just a function of people needing to open the doors wider to give themselves enough room to get in and out when their cars are low to the ground. I had this same issue with my GTI. With the 4Runner, I can easily get into and out of much tighter spaces.


Regardless, does anyone have any other ideas for protection? I'm open to options, I just don't want everything to be dinged up so quickly.

 

[Bigrupp]

Whether I'm going to go off-roading is definitely part of the question (I'd definitely like to). Given that it's Black Friday time, it might not be the worst time to try and find a deal.



I mentioned earlier scratches don't generally bother me that much. I'm just frustrated given that I've only owned it for a week. If there was a little added protection I could throw on for a few hundred bucks, I thought it might be worthwhile.



I was wondering about that exact thing when I finally found a thread with some pictures of them installed.

As far as parking situation, I'm always parked directly next to cars. I spend 5 days a week with the 4Runner in a packed parking garage. Anything with a taller right height probably won't be affected by sliders, but for the most part, it seems to me that the people who throw their doors open are those with lower cars. This is just a function of people needing to open the doors wider to give themselves enough room to get in and out when their cars are low to the ground. I had this same issue with my GTI. With the 4Runner, I can easily get into and out of much tighter spaces.


Regardless, does anyone have any other ideas for protection? I'm open to options, I just don't want everything to be dinged up so quickly.

I can't say that my sliders have protected me from all door dings, but I've got enough marks on my sliders- some of them from quite hard impacts- to say that I would definitely recommend putting some on. Especially if you think you'd like to take her off-road. C4Fabrication's are awesome.

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[cutty01]

Magnetic Body Armor

Disclaimer:
1) I am very vain and while scratches are a badge of honor, I prefer to preserve my paint job
2) I apologize in advance for posting a jeep picture on a 4Runner site

I took a 4wheelin class a few months ago and saw a jeep with magnetic body armor. I think it was Smittybilt. I like the idea of having removable protection that I can slap on when I go offroad to prevent racing strips. Is there anything like this for the 4Runner? I did a search but couldn't find anything. I was thinking of buying the magnetic sheets and making my own.

 

[mcarey86]

Disclaimer:
I took a 4wheelin class a few months ago and saw a jeep with magnetic body armor. I think it was Smittybilt.

That's cool, but I've got to imagine putting those on and taking them off will do a HELL of a lot of damage to your paint unless you plan on washing your vehicle and the plates every time you are going to put them on.

 

[dafuture]

That's cool, but I've got to imagine putting those on and taking them off will do a HELL of a lot of damage to your paint unless you plan on washing your vehicle and the plates every time you are going to put them on.

I'd have to imagine the same. Not to mention I'm not a huge fan of the look either. I don't know how well they'd attach to anything other than a Wrangler too, since our cars definitely have more in the way of curves.