Are Toyota's Rock Sliders any good?

I have a 2022 TRD Off Road Premium and I am ready to start getting it more trail ready. Last summer I scraped rock a few times when I completed Hancock Pass and TinCup Pass and those are marked as 'Difficult' in the FunTreks Colorado book. I needed a spotter on Hancock Pass and I really needed rock sliders. I don't want rock sliders that stick out like running boards. Does anyone have the Toyota parts Rock Sliders? Everyone tells me to go with RCI or another aftermarket, but many stick out really far and the Toyota ones are much cheaper. I wonder it they are rugged and if anyone had them and would recommend them?

 

You nailed it!

They are not going to save your vehicle from damage. Material is thin, they are for looks at best.
Get quality like RSG (picture below) or RCI......... among others.

 

I’ve had them for about 15 months and have been happy with them Quick to get (vs most manufacturers), priced right and look great. I’ve bounced them off a few so cal rocks and they’ve done their job.

Mainly I like the look. Didn’t want huge ones. Didn’t want flat ones with a step. Easy to get, easy to replace only one if needed and super easy to install.

 

+1 for the Toyota rock rails. But I think all points are fair.

If you’re looking for something to keep you from damaging the rocker panels during casual off-roading, or even some overlanding, they’ll do the trick just fine. But if you plan to beat the tar out of them with heavy rock-crawling expeditions, you’d be better off with the more expensive aftermarket options (but I don’t know if that’s the build you have in mind for your 2022 or not).

I have the rock rails, and I too have hit them on multiple obstacles and they hold up, but if I ever started to do more crazy crawling adventures, I’d definitely consider upgrading them to something more substantial, but they’ve been a perfect inexpensive alternative in the meantime.

 

Do the Toyota sliders attach to the frame or the body?

 

They attach to the frame.

 

This was one of the first things I got rid of on mine. The are pretty much for looks as they won't protect your vehicle much. If you want quality rock sliders you will definitely pay good money but worth the investment. I went with Westcott Designs since they are a local company for me in AZ.

 

That’s debatable. Not all of us are trying to concour the Rubicon trail.

 

I have RCI rock sliders and they are more than needed for everyday forest trails. I do like the fact that they stick out far enough to protect against door dings when mall crawling or Costco overlanding. I had someone swing their door open and slam into the rock slider. It was pretty funny to see their OH- look when they left a huge dent on their door edge and not even a scratch on my sliders. Using them as a step is also effective when loading or unloading the roof box.

 

Depends on what's more important to you - protection or looks.

I too appreciate the protection against door dings of real sliders.

 

I really want rci sliders but there's so many options

My 4runner looks so naked without anything there

 

You should buy RCI sliders.

 

The what’s the point? Terrible step and terrible as slider? So all that effort purely for athletics ?

 

@Yobruhitsme

As someone that owns the OE rock rails, they aren't just for athletics; although you could powerlift the vehicle with them. They aren't terrible as a slider, and people that make that comment probably don't have experience with them, nor as a direct comparison with others.

 

It doesn’t sound fair to describe them as useless. They attach to the frame, don’t they? They’ll protect the body from incidental contact. If the mountings get bent, you could replace it relatively cheap. Also, I bet the paint/powdercoat quality is of a better consistency. I got a bad powder coating job on my sliders, which really sucks because deep rusts crawls behind it and basically wrecks the entire finish and the rust will penetrate the steel pretty deep after a year or two. It’s a total pain in the ass to refinish the consequences of bad powdercoating.

 

In the videos where Toyota employees talk about these on the new Tacoma's they say these are designed to protect your vehicle in the event of a branch popping up from driving over it so it wont scratch your car.

So this is for looks only and its almost worthless.

 

@Thacrow Mind providing a link to the videos you're talking about?

I've had (well-used, dented) rocker protection on (various) vehicles for years and your comment, "for looks only and its almost worthless" doesn't describe the Toyota OE rock rails.

 

Are they frame mounted like the current 4runners sliders? Probably toyota not wanting to get complaints from people dropping the vehicle down onto them. I don’t think the 4runner OE sliders are meant for that much abuse. But they aren’t body mounted predator steps either.

 

Patiently awaiting mine. Ordered April 14. I'm betting a LOT of folks are buying 5th gens before they quit making them and outfitting them with "stuff". Anyone know if they give a shipping notification when they ship?

 

I dont know except for what i said about the video which is enough for me to know I dont want them

 

the powder coating was coming off my RCI sliders within a couple months and now they are rusted.

 

I understand they had some issues with their process a few years ago that has since been fixed.

 

it was one of the ones with the lead Tacoma designer/engineer what ever he is. The dude with the huge belly who looks like he cant fit in a taco.

I'm sorry I've watched so many videos about taco's I don't know which is was and I'm not going to look for it as that would take a lot of time.

 

Makes sense. Made up your mind about a product that it's worthless, not sure whether it's the same product, but definitely not the one used on a 4Runner. People on the forum you're on, that actually have them, say something different about the product actually made for the 4R, but your opinion is still they must be worthless. Good thing you bought the more expensive one with the poor powder coat that rusted, ammirite.

 

Yeah I'm warning people about RCI which are cheap. I cheaped out. This is very in-line with the price and I wont ever buy RCI again.

I have BAMF on my 4runner and are amazing. Cant recommend them enough.

What I said is in line with what someone else said which is that the Toyota ones are thin which is in-line with the video from Toyota. People want to buy them? good on ya

I'm just taking the time out of my day to share with what I've heard and what I know first hand. You're taking time out of your day to try to be a bully or something?

 

every time this comes up people say that. I bought mine outside of the time frame of when they had the issues and after they were supposed to be resolved. They probably were training a guy on the ones I bought or something outside the norm happened. It's like they weren't cured or something. Tiny debris getting kicked up from driving on roads just wore the power coat right off immediately.

 

Well, I guess I get to find out, hopefully soon. Thanks for your input. I assumed RCI made decent gear based on what I have seen on here (you excepted) and elsewhere online.

 

The craftsmanship was great. Welds look perfect. They look amazing and are sturdy AF. Makes the Taco look bad ass. I'm just pulling them off my friends truck a year later and paying to have them sandblasted and powder coated somewhere else and going to double pay.

 

The issue is, if they bend in any way, they smash into the body… so again, what’s the point?

Look at how ridiculous those mounting points are on the Toyota rock sliders.. utterly useless.

if those mounts do hold the weight in your situation, those are tiny patches of surface area to transfer lateral force into the frame.. you will have dented frame easily


contrast the above to my RSG sliders… they are not even in the same product category

 

Yeah those mounting points compared to BAMF...