How many hours of labor to install rock sliders?

[Humble Leader]

I had mine shipped to my local off road shop from Greenlane. 3hr charge for me (KDSS specific sliders), that included putting the vehicle on and off the hoist… Unpacking everything etc. I watched, something I could’ve done myself too I’m certain but I live in a condo complex.

So yeah I think 3hrs would be more fair.

which shop did you use?

 

[phillyd2]

Even two hours would be a stretch but this would be a nice time for someone local to the OP to drop by and give him a hand.

 

[chrisridebike8]

How can it take more than an hour or two?

I just took delivery of a '23 ORP w/KDSS that came from the distributor with nfab's Predator running boards/steps. (And the old black Pro wheels, and a bunch of tacked on stuff thanks to the distributor for Virginia. At least it didn't come with the mandatory blackout letters, cargo cover, charging cords and various other junk. But I digress.)

I wanted the same running boards that came on my '16 Trail Prem - the ones with the pattern that matches the black cover on the rear bumper.

For taking the Predators off and putting on 6 new brackets, installing the full-length metal plates and then the plastic running board covers with the pattern that you see...

They charged me for 2 hours labor for a more complicated install.

They deducted the price of the Predators - $665 - from the cost of the deal and they had also deducted the price of the bug shield. Yay.

Oh, and they removed the bug shield for free.

LAUGH OF THE DAY.

When I went back to pick it up THE PREDATOR BOARDS AND THE BUG SHIELD WERE IN THE BACK. I said, "What's this?"

They said, "We don't want them, go sell them."

because a slider has a huge metal plate/bracket that runs most of the length of the frame and uses 12-15 bolts per side. this isn't a step (although it can be used as one). it's designed to support the weight of the vehicle and take impacts. couple that with KDSS which has hydraulic lines that run along the frame on the driver side in EXACTLY the spot where you need to bolt them up, and you run into issues with being able to get them mounted easily. they weigh 50-60 lbs per side and trying to wiggle them between the frame and the hydraulic lines SUCKS. these don't mount to the body. what's the laugh of the day? you paying someone 2 hours of labor for a running board install. don't come here taking shots at people when you don't know what you are talking about.

 

[Jetboy]

because a slider has a huge metal plate/bracket that runs most of the length of the frame and uses 12-15 bolts per side. this isn't a step (although it can be used as one). it's designed to support the weight of the vehicle and take impacts. couple that with KDSS which has hydraulic lines that run along the frame on the driver side in EXACTLY the spot where you need to bolt them up, and you run into issues with being able to get them mounted easily. they weigh 50-60 lbs per side and trying to wiggle them between the frame and the hydraulic lines SUCKS. these don't mount to the body. what's the laugh of the day? you paying someone 2 hours of labor for a running board install. don't come here taking shots at people when you don't know what you are talking about.

KDSS shouldn't be a big deal. I built my sliders from scratch, bent the tubes, welded, painted, etc. I think I had less than 8 hours total including install. That's on a KDSS 4Runner. I think the install for me would be maybe an hour or so. KDSS added some time in the design/fab stage on the driver's side for sure, but not more than an extra few minutes on install time. It's only maybe 4 or 6 extra bolts to remove and slip the sliders up between the lines and frame rail on my setup. But different sliders use different brackets. What problems did you run into with KDSS lines?

Running boards should be super easy though. With a car lift - it would be no more than 30 minutes to swap them around unless they require assembly. Some of the side steps don't come with the brackets installed, so I guess there's time to assembly in some cases. The OEM ones on my Tundra probably took less than 10 minutes to remove. I think they only had 6 little bolts holding them on. What's odd is that the brackets were something like 1/4" plate - way heavier than needed.

 

[chrisridebike8]

KDSS shouldn't be a big deal. I built my sliders from scratch, bent the tubes, welded, painted, etc. I think I had less than 8 hours total including install. That's on a KDSS 4Runner. I think the install for me would be maybe an hour or so. KDSS added some time in the design/fab stage on the driver's side for sure, but not more than an extra few minutes on install time. It's only maybe 4 or 6 extra bolts to remove and slip the sliders up between the lines and frame rail on my setup. But different sliders use different brackets. What problems did you run into with KDSS lines?

Running boards should be super easy though. With a car lift - it would be no more than 30 minutes to swap them around unless they require assembly. Some of the side steps don't come with the brackets installed, so I guess there's time to assembly in some cases. The OEM ones on my Tundra probably took less than 10 minutes to remove. I think they only had 6 little bolts holding them on. What's odd is that the brackets were something like 1/4" plate - way heavier than needed.

my issue was lining up the driver side. the cali raised sliders use an L-shaped bracket that goes between the fuel tank skid and the frame. so you have to lower the fuel tank skid. so you are trying to squeeze it between the frame and the KDSS lines and also line up with holes on the bottom (fuel tank skid, slider, and frame) and the side of the frame. the holes on the bracket didn't have a lot of wiggle room in them. If the bracket had been flat like CBI sliders or similar, I totally agree with you. it would have added a few more minutes to the install. if the holes on my the bottom of my brackets had been oval shaped or had some more slop in them, that also would have made the install go quicker. the passenger side took like 30 min.

 

[nvbirdman]

Took me about three hours, but I was 75 years old and doing it by myself.

 

[johnbt]

" what's the laugh of the day? you paying someone 2 hours of labor for a running board install. don't come here taking shots at people when you don't know what you are talking about."

Reading Is Fundamental. You should try it.

The LAUGH was that they had deducted the $665 charge for the Predator steps and the $150 or whatever bug shield and then gave them to me to get rid of them. Read the part after the LAUGH heading about picking up the truck and finding the free parts in the back.

 

[LeekT4R]

45-60 minutes.