Slider Treadplating?

[AirspeedX]

Yay or nay?

I'll be going with BudBuilt Bump Out Regular sliders.

Who here runs full or partial treadplate on their sliders? Is it worth it? Pics would be great too. Seems like most don't bother.

 

[ColoradoFrosty]

I love my bumpouts with the full tread. Great for roof access and it's nice for when little kids need to clamber up. Do it.

 

[-Trev-]

Just had mine installed a few weeks ago... got the regular bump out with full tread plating and powder coating to replace the stock running boards. I wanted the full tread plating to help protect the doors from rock chips and to make a good step for the kids, and for me to access the roof rack and Thule. I think they're awesome but the wife and kids prefer the lower step height of the original running boards. Just before installation there was a thread here about potential for rust along the edges of the tread plates, so I applied some black silicone along the edges and sprayed the sliders with Rust-oleum truck bed liner prior to installation. This worked well for extra traction too.

 

[AirspeedX]

Interesting Trev.

I like the idea of having extra protection from debris but I am worried about water pooling and rust issues. I'm not interested in removing the sliders after a northern Canadian winter to re-paint.

 

[Jeremy556]

You are going to have to touch up the paint on them anyway.

If I could do it over, I would get tread plate, mainly to avoid ice buildup between the body and the sliders, which makes annoying noises.

 

[Intruder]

I know [MENTION=77842]EasylyConfused[/MENTION] has the tread plating and he's in Calgary so might be able to comment on the effect the winter has on them. I didn't get it on mine because I thought about the salt and gravel on the bottom of my shoes every time I step on them in the winter.

We also found another downside to the tread plating during a recovery. Truck slid into a dirt wall on the trail and needed to be winched off. Normally we'd hook one winch up to the back of the truck to pull it out and another winch to the slider to keep it off the wall. With the tread plating you can't connect a winch line or recovery strap to the slider. This can also come into play when the truck is seriously off camber and you need a static connection to the slider while winching it back or forward so that it doesn't roll. Not everyone is going to run into this though.

 

[Jeremy556]

With the tread plating you can't connect a winch line or recovery strap to the slider. This can also come into play when the truck is seriously off camber and you need a static connection to the slider while winching it back or forward so that it doesn't roll. Not everyone is going to run into this though.

Good point, here. Another I just thought of, I use them a lot to tie up my dogs.
I guess I would go with a partial tread plate, if I were to do it again.

 

[eddiebx]

I know [MENTION=77842]EasylyConfused[/MENTION] has the tread plating and he's in Calgary so might be able to comment on the effect the winter has on them. I didn't get it on mine because I thought about the salt and gravel on the bottom of my shoes every time I step on them in the winter.

We also found another downside to the tread plating during a recovery. Truck slid into a dirt wall on the trail and needed to be winched off. Normally we'd hook one winch up to the back of the truck to pull it out and another winch to the slider to keep it off the wall. With the tread plating you can't connect a winch line or recovery strap to the slider. This can also come into play when the truck is seriously off camber and you need a static connection to the slider while winching it back or forward so that it doesn't roll. Not everyone is going to run into this though.

Newb question...say in this situation, could you have strapped it to the legs that are welded between the slider portion and the bolt-on bracket portion? or possibly strap it around the entire middle of the slider (if you can squeeze a strap between the slider and the rocker molding)?

I've never winched or anything before, so I'm just trying to learn here
[MENTION=92605]AirspeedX[/MENTION], I have the full tread plating and it "seems" to keep rocks and stuff from kicking up. I only say this because I always find a whole bunch of dirt and crap collecting under the tread plating, so I assume that it would've otherwise hit the body instead, lol. If you do get full tread plating, run a full bead of black industrial silicone around the underside to seal out all the stuff. This is what I did and so far so good.

 

[IAmTodd]

I've been looking at both the BudBuilt and Shrockworks sliders with the plating. I liked the idea of the BudBuilts for what has been mentioned above; body protection. I never though about the winching point issue but the Shrockworks would take care of that but also reducing the protection.

As far as rusting is concerned I plan on getting mine uncoated and taking them to a local place to be coated in bedliner. I have some pieces done on my other truck and it looks and functions great.

 

[EasylyConfused]

I know [MENTION=77842]EasylyConfused[/MENTION] has the tread plating and he's in Calgary so might be able to comment on the effect the winter has on them. I didn't get it on mine because I thought about the salt and gravel on the bottom of my shoes every time I step on them in the winter.

We also found another downside to the tread plating during a recovery. Truck slid into a dirt wall on the trail and needed to be winched off. Normally we'd hook one winch up to the back of the truck to pull it out and another winch to the slider to keep it off the wall. With the tread plating you can't connect a winch line or recovery strap to the slider. This can also come into play when the truck is seriously off camber and you need a static connection to the slider while winching it back or forward so that it doesn't roll. Not everyone is going to run into this though.

As you've probably seen in other posts, the area's around the tread plating started to rust on mine as soon as I got them. With the powder coating, after 1 year I haven't noticed the spread of rust at all. The tread plating is on the top of the slider, so nothing really builds up on top, and any snow and salt on the top cleans off pretty easily. Aside from where the slider have rubbed against rocks, the powder coat has stood up well.

I had my sliders made without the slight tilt up, and I would definitely get the tread plating again. It makes loading snowboards/skii's on the roof all winter so much easier, and they stick out further without the tilt. I also like that it keeps the crap off the side of my truck. It is easy enough to clean the bottom off, and I don't find that they have rusted anymore than they would have without the tread plating.

 

[Intruder]

Newb question...say in this situation, could you have strapped it to the legs that are welded between the slider portion and the bolt-on bracket portion?

Do you mean the arms that attach the sliders to the body? I don't think you could get the loop of the strap through there and there would likely be abrasion on the strap that could cause it to fray and break, which could be deadly in that situation.

or possibly strap it around the entire middle of the slider (if you can squeeze a strap between the slider and the rocker molding)?

Yeah we couldn't get the loop of the tree saver through there. The setup we normally use is to put a tree saver around the slider and connect that to a shackle then connect the winch hook or thimble to the shackle.

 

[Intruder]

and I would definitely get the tread plating again.

But it would've made pulling you off that wall on Plane Crash so much easier if we could've hooked a second winch up to your slider. Though it was a lot of fun figuring out the pulley system we ended up using... And yes I'm probably a little bit not right in the head for thinking that complex recoveries are awesome.

 

[eddiebx]

Do you mean the arms that attach the sliders to the body? I don't think you could get the loop of the strap through there and there would likely be abrasion on the strap that could cause it to fray and break, which could be deadly in that situation.
.

Yeah exact any one of those four round tubes...I guess it's a bit too awkward of a position to try to get a tree saver strap through that? or places the strap at too extreme of an angle?

Time to cut off half of my tread portion! :jk:

 

[Jeremy556]

Do you mean the arms that attach the sliders to the body? I don't think you could get the loop of the strap through there and there would likely be abrasion on the strap that could cause it to fray and break, which could be deadly in that situation.

To add to that, every time I have had to hook to the sliders, the vehicle was on a side slope, in mud, snow, or both, and not a good time to go crawling underneath.

 

[AirspeedX]

Thanks for all of your input.

I guess it boils down to possible side recovery vs having a better step/debris protection.

Hmm...

 

[Intruder]

To add to that, every time I have had to hook to the sliders, the vehicle was on a side slope, in mud, snow, or both, and not a good time to go crawling underneath.

Yup, exactly.

having a better step/debris protection.

FWIW, I have the regular BB bump out sliders without tread plating and I use them as a step all the time without any problems, even when they're wet. I stand on them to open and pack up my roof top tent regularly in the summer. Even women in heels who've never gotten into a lifted truck before haven't had problems using the slider to get in. Kids using them as steps might be a different story though.

 

[eddiebx]

Yup, exactly.


FWIW, I have the regular BB bump out sliders without tread plating and I use them as a step all the time without any problems, even when they're wet. I stand on them to open and pack up my roof top tent regularly in the summer. Even women in heels who've never gotten into a lifted truck before haven't had problems using the slider to get in. Kids using them as steps might be a different story though.

To add to what Intruder said, there's really not that big of a gap in the front portion that really warrants the tread plating...even with my full treat plating I really only step on the tube section when getting in and out, or reaching on top of the roof. It's really the rear bumpout portion that could use a tread plate if you want better footing.

Maybe consider doing what Jeremy said and get the partial tread, and you will have best of both worlds!

 

[WODWorldWide]

To add to what Intruder said, there's really not that big of a gap in the front portion that really warrants the tread plating...even with my full treat plating I really only step on the tube section when getting in and out, or reaching on top of the roof. It's really the rear bumpout portion that could use a tread plate if you want better footing.

Maybe consider doing what Jeremy said and get the partial tread, and you will have best of both worlds!

Shrockworks will definitely do partial tread. I ordered some in November with partial tread in the front and back. I'll take pics whenever shrockworks decides to actually build them and send them :gun5:

 

[AirspeedX]

I'm definitely going to stick with the BudBuilt sliders. Can't wait for the build and delivery times of Shrockworks.

I think I'll settle with the partial. Time to browse for pictures and compare looks.