RCI Rock Sliders powdercoating damage & rattle...

I received a pair of new RCI Rock Sliders yesterday and one of them has two chips in the powder-coating, and a large chip on the end where it had ripped through the box in transit...

The other one doesn't have any chips but it does have a loose bit of metal (or bolt) inside the main tube, which slides up and down when tilted...

I have emailed them so waiting to hear what they say, but grateful for any thoughts or similar experience with RCI or other sliders and if these are common/normal issues... Part of me feels I am worrying about nothing but the other part is reluctant to install them with chips already in place, and the fear that the loose metal could easily make a very annoying rattle or vibration sound...

 

My RSG sliders arrived in two separate boxes, one of which took a detour through western Colorado on the way from Denver to Albuquerque, and that slider poked through the box also. I was able to touch it up with some textured bedliner paint, and no one would ever know. It was on the bottom, though. RSG gave me a reasonable discount for my trouble. Hopefully RCI can make things better for you also.

 

Shipping damage to powdercoating for large parts like sliders and bumpers is par for the course. Most vendors don't warranty the powdercoating for this reason. Spray some semigloss rust paint on the chipped spots. You'll be doing more of this every year touching up rock scars. (You didn't get sliders just for show, right?)

Mig wire and debris trapped inside enclosed tubing is also common. You won't hear it inside the vehicle with the sound insulation.

 

Thanks @3JOH22A that's really useful to hear... Not just for show, no - although they won't get tested to their limits rock crawling, they will certainly get hit and scraped... And bedliner paint is a great shout to touch them up, thanks @glwood54!

 

When mine arrived, I was shocked at the packaging. They were in cardboard boxes with nothing but a plastic bag over them. The box was heavy-duty, but it was obvious they had been chucked around. I had some powder coat damage on some corners, but I decided it wasn't worth the fight because I knew I would be wheeling with them. The touch-up paint I've been using doesn't match so I won't even suggest that. I don't know why they haven't improved the packing. The damage isn't isolated. It wouldn't take much. Some foam around the at-risk areas? Something to keep them from moving around so much inside the boxes?

I have a roof rack on order from them. I hope it's packed infinitely better than the sliders were.

 

RCI also?

 

They are rock slidersss. You are shipping a heavy piece of metal, bound to be dropped or slid across a floor or something in the shipping process. I have always run rci metalworks armour. They are one of the best out there. Touch them up yourself, save the headache, remember they were made to bash on stuff.

 

They are and you are. For what they cost, however, RCI could do better than a plastic bag for packing.

 

Correct on both. Should've specified.

 

The only large powder coated parts I've had arrive without damage were from https://www.bowfincruisers.com/products/100-series-roof-rack. I don't think nuclear warheads are packed as carefully. Usually, I get stuff shipped raw and have them powder coated locally.

 

Good luck getting a reply back from RCI. I ordered some ditch lights and one of the holes was drilled with the wrong sized bit. Zero response, so fixed it myself.

 

I had a Pelfreybilt bumper delivered with perfect powder coating. It was secured on a long pallet and encased in a thick cardboard carton, with the corners wrapped in foam.

I also had a Mobtown bumper delivered with perfect powder coating. It was in a wooden box to be moved by forklift.

RCI is still around while Pelfreybilt and Mobtown went out of business, so there's that...

 

RCI is also owned by a large conglomerate of automatic aftermarket manufacturers. Which, in turn, is owned by a large venture capitalist firm.

 

A couple of scratches is one thing but ratting metal-nope. RCI should package these better. Having to just suck it up because they don't know how to prepare an item correctly shouldn't fall on the buyers shoulders. Call them.

 

This is why I buy raw steel and rattle can when I get it. Powder coat gets dinged during shipping so imagine what the trail is going to do to it. Armor touch up is as certain as death and taxes.

 

Explains why RCI seems to have their shit together as a business with reasonable order lead times that they actually meet, and good prices...

 

But prepping and painting armor awhole is time consuming. Touching up a few dings and scratches is much easier.