Nerf Bars vs Stock Rubicon Sliders

[Tob]

I have some Westin step bars on my Jeep and I've noticed that they are mounted over the control arm brackets. Is this a bad thing in an offroad situation? I kind of wince imagining sliding over an obstacle and having the weight of the vehicle on the step bars, which in turn exert a nasty twisting force on the control arm brackets. Is that an unfounded fear?

Another concern is that they take away a bit of clearance seeing that they hang several inches below the rocker panel. I have a friend who is interested in buying them, and I don't even use them when getting in or out, so I'm leaning towards selling them.

So is it better to do away with the step bars and just rely on the stock Rubicon rock sliders?

 

[BuildBreakRepeat]

I would replace both with an actual rock slider that has an integrated lip/step. I run genright sliders with a tube step (you can see it in my build thread pics). A tub mounted slider is the strongest option that provides the most clearance.

 

[AndyG]

Mine are welded to my frame . Sell them to your friend before they do more harm than good.

 

[Jerry Bransford]

For offroading I'd rather have the Rubicon's rather ineffective tub-mounted "sliders" than frame mounted nerf bars which reduce clearance and would get hung up on obstacles rather than sliding over them.

Not to mention tub mounted sliders are stronger and protect the tub significantly better than frame mounted sliders or nerf bars do.

 

[Tob]

For offroading I'd rather have the Rubicon's rather ineffective tub-mounted "sliders" than frame mounted nerf bars which reduce clearance and would get hung up on obstacles rather than sliding over them.

Not to mention tub mounted sliders are stronger and protect the tub significantly better than frame mounted sliders or nerf bars do.

Why do you say the Rubicon ones are ineffective? Aren't those tub mounted?

 

[Jerry Bransford]

Why do you say the Rubicon ones are ineffective? Aren't those tub mounted?

They are indeed (mostly) tub mounted but their strength is lacking so they're not really very protective. They're more for looks IMHO. That's why you can find plentiful numbers of undamaged used Rubicon rocker guards on sites like eBay. They commonly get replaced by stronger aftermarket rocker guatds.

 

[Tob]

They are indeed (mostly) tub mounted but their strength is lacking so they're not really very protective. They're more for looks IMHO. That's why you can find plentiful numbers of undamaged used Rubicon rocker guards on sites like eBay. They commonly get replaced by stronger aftermarket rocker guatds.

I'll keep that in mind, thanks for the insight.

 

[jjvw]

I use my Rubicon sliders to slide, but I'm reluctant to use them for a hard hit. Nerf bars simply don't work for off-road use. Maybe @tworley can post pics of his towards the end.

 

[tworley]

I'll have to try and find the picture of my nerf bars.

Both were bowed. The driver side took a big hit and actually collapsed the side of my fender by contacting the bottom of the tub, which also had a 3" round dent. The passenger side rear was much closer to the body then rest. Remove them and put in something that can take the abuse that also doesnt attach via the body mounts