Randy Ellis Design Sliders

Is the cap at the front built into the mudflap? Did you have to buy the ones for the rear separately.

No, the cap just pops in where the factory rocker was attached, which gives the mudflap an extra attach point or two, without them the mudflap will flap around, of course you could always take them off. Apparently there are no caps for the rear, which you couldn't use anyway because the rear of the slider would be in the way. The caps run about $30 each. I got mine through RED, but they are also available through other sources online. The part numbers are 75857-35010 & 75858-35010.
 
Whether you rivet or bolt, isn't this type of installation creating a source of future rust on your vehicle vs a bolt-on design to the frame?
 
Here's a pic of the front cap. Notice the tab sticking out from the mudflap, that where the bottom of the factory plastic rocker was. I didn't do a before and after measurement, but by removing the factory running boards and rocker I'm guessing you gain around 8" of clearance on the sides.
 

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These look interesting. But what I'd really like to see is some action pictures in the rocks showing some hits and slides. Do these really protect, or is the concept just blowing smoke?:target:
 
There is a small shoulder on the rivet nut. Will that force the slider to rest on top of the shoulder? Or put another way will the slider not fit flush against the door sill?

I realize I'm only talking about a 1/16 of an inch but it would allow small rocks and particulate to accumulate.

Yes the common rivet nut has a small shoulder but is negilable in how much it stands off what your installing into. You can also get flush rivet nuts. I used to work at a Jeep shop and installed many Aluminum body armor pieces using the rivet nuts I posted earlier. 07-13 JK 2 Door Titan Tub Armor

The secret is to use a little locktite when your installing them and they seal and hold just fine.


I have the tools to install if any CO peeps want to counter sink and rivet nut these sliders on.
 
This seems like a really good idea. I don't know much about holding power, sheer strength, etc.... but as long as it's strong enough for the application, it would definitely make more sense to be able to remove it.

I'm definitely considering moving up to these if I can find someone to take the n-Fabs off my hands.

3/16 SS rivet VS 1/4 SS bolt, the shear difference is so small I'll let the engineers figure that one out.
 
You can use it as a step, but the top of the tube is only about an inch lower than the interior floor. You'd basically be in the same boat as if you had nothing there, as far as the mechanics of actually getting into and out of the truck. With the doors closed there is enough room, only tried it barefoot, for me to get the ball of my feet on it to access the roof.
 
These look interesting. But what I'd really like to see is some action pictures in the rocks showing some hits and slides. Do these really protect, or is the concept just blowing smoke?:target:

Cant help you there, not too many rocks in Houston. Before buying them I emailed Randy Ellis for a better explanation of the sliders and how they work, here is his reply.

"Sleekster Rockers are something new and different for trucks, you are not alone so I will take some time here to possibly help you understand. Trucks are evolving and the parts and accessories need to as well. Sleekster Rockers are an alternative to welding tube sliders to your frame. They will give you more ground clearance and do not have large voids to hang up on rocks and things. They also will not flex and bang your body when running high speed off-road. The Sleekster Rockers are a formed structural member that distributes the weight over the strongest part of the body, they hug the basic shape of your existing sheet metal rocker panel and do not hang below it.


Think of this, your frame on your truck is made of roughly .125 material (and newer trucks are even thinner) and most guys think this is very strong, and it is when in a formed shape of a rectangle or what people like to call "boxed". Most guys like to think if they weld something to the frame it is then strong as well? The frame of your truck is not magic or made of an exotic material impervious to damage, it is just mild steel. If you weld tube sliders to your frame then the slider has leverage to flex the frame. The slider basically has to flex up until it hits the body when you jack or land on a rock. The body is supporting the wight OR the tube slider will continue to flex up 1-2 inches or more if the body is not there to stop it. This means the tube slider needs to be mounted over an inch below the lowest part of the body to keep from hitting the body. It is fine if the slider has a tube that matches the pinch weld and it is supported the entire length of the body, then it will support the weight of the vehicle. If your tube sliders come out from the frame and cross the body in a few spots, the slider will flex up and dent the body where the tubes cross it. Either way you will loose at least 3" of ground clearance, you will loose less than 1/4" with our Rockers.


Our Sleekster Rockers are made from certified USA made A1011 .130 thickness material (thicker than most trucks on the road and the same material or better). It is like adding a frame rail to the rocker portion of the truck, the Sleekster Rockers are a formed structural member that when attached to the body become one and very strong. Also think of it as if you cut your rocker out and welded a 4x4 .120 square tube in its place as long as it is attached to the body and supporting the entire distance it would be very hard to dent that tube or damage the body. A lot of "hard core" guys will actually cut out their rocker and replace it with tube and some will even raise this area and replace it with steel plate commonly known as "boat siding". Another way to think of it is like early Jeep guys bolting angle iron to the side of their Jeep. Now the newest Jeep Wranglers have multiple designs available to bolt to the side of their Jeeps, at the "pinch weld". The pinch weld is just where the upper portion and lower portion and sometimes a 3rd floor portion all come together and are pinched together and welded usually with dozens of spot welds, this is by far the strongest part of the body.

I have attached pics and instructions. We also will have special corners for the SR5 guys to make exactly like the Trail edition very soon.

I hope this will help you wrap your head around it. Let me know if you have any questions.
Randy"
 
I love the "high and tight" look of these. Sometimes I feel the look with the LE rockers is a bit portly. This makes it much more svelte. On the wish list.
 
Yes they are like what the JK Rubicons come with.

We have had a few guys asking questions so I took some time and put together this response to a customers email.

"Sleekster Rockers are something new and different for trucks, you are not alone so I will take some time here to possibly help you understand. Trucks are evolving and the parts and accessories need to as well. Sleekster Rockers are an alternative to welding tube sliders to your frame. They will give you more ground clearance and do not have large voids to hang up on rocks and things. They also will not flex and bang your body when running high speed off-road. The Sleekster Rockers are a formed structural member that distributes the weight over the strongest part of the body, they hug the basic shape of your existing sheet metal rocker panel and do not hang below it.

Think of this, your frame on your truck is made of roughly .125 material (and newer trucks are even thinner) and most guys think this is very strong, and it is when in a formed shape of a rectangle or what people like to call "boxed". Most guys like to think if they weld something to the frame it is then strong as well? The frame of your truck is not magic or made of an exotic material impervious to damage, it is just mild steel. If you weld tube sliders to your frame then the slider has leverage to flex the frame. The slider basically has to flex up until it hits the body when you jack or land on a rock. The body is supporting the wight OR the tube slider will continue to flex up 1-2 inches or more if the body is not there to stop it. This means the tube slider needs to be mounted over an inch below the lowest part of the body to keep from hitting the body. It is fine if the slider has a tube that matches the pinch weld and it is supported the entire length of the body, then it will support the weight of the vehicle. If your tube sliders come out from the frame and cross the body in a few spots, the slider will flex up and dent the body where the tubes cross it. Either way you will loose at least 3" of ground clearance, you will loose less than 1/4" with our Rockers.

Our Sleekster Rockers are made from certified USA made A1011 .130 thickness material (thicker than most trucks on the road and the same material or better). It is like adding a frame rail to the rocker portion of the truck, the Sleekster Rockers are a formed structural member that when attached to the body become one and very strong. Also think of it as if you cut your rocker out and welded a 4x4 .120 square tube in its place as long as it is attached to the body and supporting the entire distance it would be very hard to dent that tube or damage the body. A lot of "hard core" guys will actually cut out their rocker and replace it with tube and some will even raise this area and replace it with steel plate commonly known as "boat siding". Another way to think of it is like early Jeep guys bolting angle iron to the side of their Jeep. Now the newest Jeep Wranglers have multiple designs available to bolt to the side of their Jeeps, at the "pinch weld". The pinch weld is just where the upper portion and lower portion and sometimes a 3rd floor portion all come together and are pinched together and welded usually with dozens of spot welds, this is by far the strongest part of the body."

If you guys have any questions feel free to give me a call on these.

AND, we will have a factory Toyota corner for the SR5 guys that makes the lower flare the same as the Trail Edition. So the Rockers will look the same on both. These will be available from Toyota 4/2014 (or us).


Really interested in these Sliders; I'm local to Phoenix and do you do installs? many thanks.
 
Couple of Issues (Bluetooth, spacing, performance) and opinion

I have had my 2014 for about a year now. Just got the 10K checkup. Prior to this I had a 2004 with 4X4, V8 4.7 (this one is 2X4, 4.0 V6). Although the "Advertised" HP is more than the v8, the torque (performance) is much less. Big mistake Toyota. Gas mileage is the same (advertised is higher, but reality about the same). Main complaint with performance is: cruising around 60mph and needing to change lanes to go around someone, it is VERY dead headed. You should get some practice with it first, and try it out to see if it fits your driving style before buying. I now drive it in 4-S in the city. (I didn't drive it enough for a real test. Salesman just wanted me to floor it to feel the pick-up). Runs great with the petal to the metal, but is that how you normally drive?

The other thing is the entertainment/ navigation system. Bottom line, is it doesn't work as advertised. Just got a software update today and seems much better, but only time will tell (Bluetooth was major problem). I will post updates about that in the future. The Forum says it is a common problem but Toyota does not recognize it. My software update may be very new. Will post on how it performs.

Glad I bought a 2014? Jury is still out. Higher (for pets to jump in), bigger in size, not any more comfortable except the air cond. seat. Hatch still doesn't have auto. close and now they removed the auto latch. Moved the 110v to the back instead of console.

The good: Outstanding looks. Wheels, styling, interior, comfort etc. Obviously Toyota spent much more time on appearance than mechanical.

Other than the above sacrifices, overall still drives great, reliable and I can cope with the shortcomings. Still better than Ford, Chevy, GMC, and other American made junk that I tested. Just saying.

Quick
 
I have had my 2014 for about a year now. Just got the 10K checkup. Prior to this I had a 2004 with 4X4, V8 4.7 (this one is 2X4, 4.0 V6). Although the "Advertised" HP is more than the v8, the torque (performance) is much less. Big mistake Toyota. Gas mileage is the same (advertised is higher, but reality about the same). Main complaint with performance is: cruising around 60mph and needing to change lanes to go around someone, it is VERY dead headed. You should get some practice with it first, and try it out to see if it fits your driving style before buying. I now drive it in 4-S in the city. (I didn't drive it enough for a real test. Salesman just wanted me to floor it to feel the pick-up). Runs great with the petal to the metal, but is that how you normally drive?

The other thing is the entertainment/ navigation system. Bottom line, is it doesn't work as advertised. Just got a software update today and seems much better, but only time will tell (Bluetooth was major problem). I will post updates about that in the future. The Forum says it is a common problem but Toyota does not recognize it. My software update may be very new. Will post on how it performs.

Glad I bought a 2014? Jury is still out. Higher (for pets to jump in), bigger in size, not any more comfortable except the air cond. seat. Hatch still doesn't have auto. close and now they removed the auto latch. Moved the 110v to the back instead of console.

The good: Outstanding looks. Wheels, styling, interior, comfort etc. Obviously Toyota spent much more time on appearance than mechanical.

Other than the above sacrifices, overall still drives great, reliable and I can cope with the shortcomings. Still better than Ford, Chevy, GMC, and other American made junk that I tested. Just saying.

Quick

I'm really not sure how this pertains to Randy Ellis Design Sliders...
 
Any more photos of these? These like the next best thing and slightly cheaper than the shrockworks.

I want more ground clearance and a more aggressive looking running board/slider for my limited
 

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