Favorite rock rails / steps and why? (for a 2006 TJ)

I'm using these. The install is fairly easy as they mount between the body and frame mounts, no drilling. They're very sturdy and work great as steps, and probably to some degree for protection. I like the fact that they tuck up under the tub pretty good, they don't hang down too much.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000NP1PPG/?tag=wranglerorg-20

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Nice TJ. I'm using the same ones and they work great as a step for my vertically challenged wife. I'm average height and they work great for me too after the 2" lift! I knew when I bought them they weren't real sliders, and I am perfectly fine with that. I researched on here before I bought them and other members gave good reviews, and also warned me about this caveat. They are solid for a step, look great, and do provide protection from car doors, shopping carts etc. For light off-roading, they are better than nothing to keep most brush and sticks at bay from popping up and scratching the tub. And, they are so much nicer than the shitty quadratec nerf bars with plastic inlay steps that were on my TJ when I bought it.

I know some don't fully grasp how it can be so, but we are not all hardcore off-roaders. But, we are very fortunate to have real experts here to warn and help us. This advice is good for the OP to hear so he can make an educated decision before he spends his $. The goal for my TJ is preservation and keeping it close to stock, so I did not want to drill anything into the tub. If I was doing more hardcore off-roading, then I definitely would listen to the experts and go with Savvy, or something else properly designed with an integrated step.

@Fetch, good luck with your search and post up some pics once you choose something and get it installed. It better be quick or the wife will be after you! LOL.
 
One thing I've always been leery about when looking at guards/steps/sliders were ones that mounted against the outside of the body. I've always wondered how much of an issue one would have with sand, salt, and grit getting between the protection and the Jeep's body. I don't like gaps that I can't flush with water. Then you also have the problem with dissimilar metals and the possible corrosion that may cause. These are the thoughts that keep me awake at night. That's why I never liked the stock Rubicon protection, and always went with something that may not be as durable, but at least it gave me a step and didn't make me wonder what was going on between the protection and the body of my Jeep.

-Cheers
 
The Rubicon guards do have a rubber gasket, and that makes shit getting behind the guards very unlikely.

I don't know about many aftermarket types, but the Rubicons are not just metal mounted to metal.

The green arrows show the top of the rubber gasket:

rubicon gasket.jpg
 
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I figured that most had something between them. As with anything over time, rubber breaks down, shrinks and swells, flexes and such. I'm sure it works great for most folks. I've taken stuff apart on aircraft that was supposed to be dustproof and waterproof and found dirt and corrosion in places that should have been clean.

It's all personal choice for protection and style. You are in a dry area and shouldn't have issues. I drive on the beach and wouldn't want to take the chance of saltwater and sand getting trapped between the two.
 
One thing I've always been leery about when looking at guards/steps/sliders were ones that mounted against the outside of the body. I've always wondered how much of an issue one would have with sand, salt, and grit getting between the protection and the Jeep's body. I don't like gaps that I can't flush with water. Then you also have the problem with dissimilar metals and the possible corrosion that may cause. These are the thoughts that keep me awake at night. That's why I never liked the stock Rubicon protection, and always went with something that may not be as durable, but at least it gave me a step and didn't make me wonder what was going on between the protection and the body of my Jeep.

-Cheers
If metal on metal is your concern, your going to be busy separating the TCase skid from the frame, the coil springs from the perches, et al.
 
He really will argue about anything won’t he 😂

Not that I would care for them in any configuration, but I'll argue that the body mounted steps are more troublesome when combined with a squishy JKS-style body lift.

The factory probably had it right when they attached their steps to the frame and left the body mounts alone to just be body mounts. A similar thing happened with the Rubicon sliders, such as they are in the world of sliders.
 
I would encourage anyone considering a rail of any kind to avoid that mounting system like the plague. 100% pure bullshit way of doing things.

I was going to question that as well. Using the body mounts? That is too much of a cantilevered beam sticking out to be able to bear much weight safely.
 
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If metal on metal is your concern, your going to be busy separating the TCase skid from the frame, the coil springs from the perches, et al.

Disclaimer: I'm not a chemist or electrical engineer

The world if filled with dissimilar metals its how lots of things are put together, and the expensive stuff is coated with corrosion resistant paint or a sacrificial anode (such as on a boat motor) is added to prevent galvanic corrosion. Jeeps don't have those. How many time have you seen bolts corroded and seized in places where you would swear there isn't rust? Such as into an aluminum casing with steel bolts?

I'm not saying that it's going to always happen, but it's something I think about and would prefer not to test electrochemical laws when I have a choice not to. As I said, you will probably never have a problem, but I won't want to place something alongside the body of my Jeep to trap moisture, silt, and grit.

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I was going to question that as well. Using the body mounts? That is too much of a cantilevered beam sticking out to be able to bear much weight safely.
For offroad sliders that will bear a lot of weight, yes of course. But just for steps they are perfectly fine for average sized folks. I had this concern at first when I bought mine, but the mounts are solid for use as a step unless you are a very large person. The ugly nerf bars that most hate are rated at 300 lbs per side, and these hang out further\lower as compared to the body armor flush mount steps that were posted. At 175 lbs, I don't feel any flex at all when I step on my body armor steps. If I did, they would be gone in an instant. I know of many TJs, like mine when I bought it, that have had these type of steps on their entire life without issue. But, if one weighs 300+, then these are not going to be a good idea as a step either. In this case, your point is important to consider.
 
For offroad sliders that will bear a lot of weight, yes of course. But just for steps they are perfectly fine for average sized folks. I had this concern at first when I bought mine, but the mounts are solid for use as a step unless you are a very large person. The ugly nerf bars that most hate are rated at 300 lbs per side, and these hang out further\lower as compared to the body armor flush mount steps that were posted. At 175 lbs, I don't feel any flex at all when I step on my body armor steps. If I did, they would be gone in an instant. I know of many TJs, like mine when I bought it, that have had these type of steps on their entire life without issue. But, if one weighs 300+, then these are not going to be a good idea as a step either. In this case, your point is important to consider.
The fact that you are splitting hairs between 300 and 175 should tell everyone what they need to know.
 
The fact that you are splitting hairs between 300 and 175 should tell everyone what they need to know.
Respectfully disagree, I am not splitting hairs and I do realize the force is amplified in a lever system, this is simple physics. Anything designed to bear weight has a reasonable safe limit and a suggested maximum limit. How much weight would you say is safe for a step like this and how have you determined this?

I realize you dislike the design and I 100% agree depending on the usage. But, seeing that there was no ill effects after 13 years\100k when I swapped my shitty nerf bars out for the body armor mounts (shorter lever and stronger materials) is good enough for me. If this design was a big problem for use as a step, it seems to me like we would have thread after thread of folks damaging their body mounts and moving away from these kinds of steps.

Now something like this really scares me. A very short lever, but the hardware on a door latch holding 400lbs?!!
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07JMTVP9N/?tag=wranglerorg-20
 
Respectfully disagree, I am not splitting hairs and I do realize the force is amplified in a lever system, this is simple physics. Anything designed to bear weight has a reasonable safe limit and a suggested maximum limit. How much weight would you say is safe for a step like this and how have you determined this?

I realize you dislike the design and I 100% agree depending on the usage. But, seeing that there was no ill effects after 13 years\100k when I swapped my shitty nerf bars out for the body armor mounts (shorter lever and stronger materials) is good enough for me. If this design was a big problem for use as a step, it seems to me like we would have thread after thread of folks damaging their body mounts and moving away from these kinds of steps.

Now something like this really scares me. A very short lever, but the hardware on a door latch holding 400lbs?!!
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07JMTVP9N/?tag=wranglerorg-20

You are the one that posted the difference in applicability between 175 and 300 pounds, not me. Believe what you like, that is a shit design, it has been a shit design, and it will always be a shit design. That and don't always believe that just because folks don't post up about problems that they don't exist. Poison Spyder has the shittiest rock rail design and mounting system out there and folks wet all over themselves to buy and install it.
 
The Rubicon guards do have a rubber gasket, and that makes shit getting behind the guards very unlikely.

I don't know about many aftermarket types, but the Rubicons are not just metal mounted to metal.

The green arrows show the top of the rubber gasket:

View attachment 122928
The gasket is only about 1-1.5" tall. Unless I'm missing something.

IMG_5288.jpg


Just throwing this in there for consideration, not trying to say it's ineffective ;)
 
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Respectfully disagree, I am not splitting hairs and I do realize the force is amplified in a lever system, this is simple physics. Anything designed to bear weight has a reasonable safe limit and a suggested maximum limit. How much weight would you say is safe for a step like this and how have you determined this?

I realize you dislike the design and I 100% agree depending on the usage. But, seeing that there was no ill effects after 13 years\100k when I swapped my shitty nerf bars out for the body armor mounts (shorter lever and stronger materials) is good enough for me. If this design was a big problem for use as a step, it seems to me like we would have thread after thread of folks damaging their body mounts and moving away from these kinds of steps.

Now something like this really scares me. A very short lever, but the hardware on a door latch holding 400lbs?!!
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07JMTVP9N/?tag=wranglerorg-20

I wouldn't use them either.
 
I have no idea what the weight limit is on these steps, but I'm about 225 and they don't budge at all when I step up on them. Now I don't stand on them and jump up and down, because there isn't any reason to do it.

If these steps could bend the body mounts, I wouldn't trust the body mounts to hold the body either. If anything is going to bend, it will be the steps, but they haven't bent either. Fuck it, I'm using them, I don't need to prove their worthiness. I'm out of this discussion from here on out.
 
I appreciate all the positive responses and replies on here. Haven’t quite made a decision yet but will post when I do.... what I have learned is that rock rails are a very touchy subject, and I should have opened with something lighter like everyone’s political stances... lesson learned.