best rock slider for the money?

[goodburbon]

I have JCR stage 2 on my wife's jeep and Rockratz on my jeep with another set of JCR's in the shed still in the box. I intended to install The JCR over the Rockratz, but they didn't fit.
I just got a welding machine and I might just go the 2x6 route.

The JCR are a good product for a reasonable price, but when the front tire has fallen off a large rock the leading edge of the rail has deflected into and deformed the fender slightly before springing right back into shape, so I have small dents on both sides of my Wife's jeep right above the leading edge of the rails. I don't think any rail mounted to the frame and pinch seam could protect against that.

The Rockratz on my jeep don't hit nearly as much stuff as the full rails on Katy's jeep, but the bottoms of my doors have seen some hits because of the minimal coverage.

I think I might do the 2x6 once I get my jeep back on the road.

 

[sunburned]

Yeah 2x6 rockers are the best option but how do you figure that the pinch seam isn't strong enough? I have laid my jeep down on the rails pretty hard and they don't budge. Not to mention they can hold the weight of my 6'5" 300 pound cousin standing on them

My AJ's superrails held up great while I beat the snot of of them for two years, but eventually the pinch seam gave up the ghost. I'll be doing the box steel rocker replacement over the winter hopefully.

 

[clean4drxj]

JCR is the way to go unless you have rotted rockers, in that case i would go with gen-right

 

[XJosh95]

I know you are buying them and not building but....

The best XJ rails are simply a 2x6 .188 wall rectangular tube welded in directly in the space the rocker used to take up. Very easy to do but 20' of welding. You don't lose another 2" of clearance, you gain 1" more of clearance and make the unibody stronger at the same time.

There are several threads here describing how so find a friend that can weld and get it done, you can do all the prep and it can be done in 4 hours if you spend the time actually working and not just drinking....

Anything that rely's on using the pinch seam as a mounting point is just bad thinking.

This is the way to go. Did it on mine, though I had a friend do the welding. Mine would have looked like bubblegum from under the table. I spent about 100 bucks on the steel. And a case of beer for the dude welding, which we both drank. There's people willing to do the work, I'm sure you know someone.

 

[Dan Fredrickson]

Yeah 2x6 rockers are the best option but how do you figure that the pinch seam isn't strong enough? I have laid my jeep down on the rails pretty hard and they don't budge. Not to mention they can hold the weight of my 6'5" 300 pound cousin standing on them

Because if you hit the pinch seam on a rock it smashes flat...Simple as that...

 

[Darky]

I know you are buying them and not building but....

The best XJ rails are simply a 2x6 .188 wall rectangular tube welded in directly in the space the rocker used to take up. Very easy to do but 20' of welding. You don't lose another 2" of clearance, you gain 1" more of clearance and make the unibody stronger at the same time.

There are several threads here describing how so find a friend that can weld and get it done, you can do all the prep and it can be done in 4 hours if you spend the time actually working and not just drinking....

Anything that rely's on using the pinch seam as a mounting point is just bad thinking.

I had JCRs stage II but never got around to installing them. Then one day I crawled up a canyon in Johnson Valley and smashed my rocker. So, I sold the rails and will be going with the 2x6 rockers as well, eventually.

And it was the pinch seam that slowed me from installing them. It was already banged up and smashed flat in places and I was too lazy to get out and straighten it.

 

[FlexdXJ]

Because if you hit the pinch seam on a rock it smashes flat...Simple as that...

Fair enough, maybe I just don't wheel as hard as most people, If I know I'm gonna drop on a rail i creep over the obstacle.

 

[sunburned]

Because if you hit the pinch seam on a rock it smashes flat...Simple as that...

That's why you put on the sliders before you wheel hard. Anyone on an XJ forum should know that. The sliders mount to the pinch seam with a big piece of angle iron and are protected by the rail.

That being said, if you look at my pics above, two years of pretty hard abuse on the sliders eventually buckled the pinch seam and smashed the rockers anyway. I've been on two trips since I removed the sliders and my rocker panels and pinch seams are now completely toast on both sides and even up into the doors in spots.

Dan, maybe you can get together a rocker panel kit with some box tubing and outer rail tubing, pair it up with your XJ chassis stiffeners, and possibly some smaller angle iron or box tubing to tie the two together

Fair enough, maybe I just don't wheel as hard as most people, If I know I'm gonna drop on a rail i creep over the obstacle.

Doesn't matter how slow you creep over a 3' drop, as soon as your tire loses grip, you're coming down straight on that rocker panel.

 

[Darky]

That's why you put on the sliders before you wheel hard. Anyone on an XJ forum should know that. The sliders mount to the pinch seam with a big piece of angle iron and are protected by the rail.

That being said, if you look at my pics above, two years of pretty hard abuse on the sliders eventually buckled the pinch seam and smashed the rockers anyway. I've been on two trips since I removed the sliders and my rocker panels and pinch seams are now completely toast on both sides and even up into the doors in spots.

Dan, maybe you can get together a rocker panel kit with some box tubing and outer rail tubing, pair it up with your XJ chassis stiffeners, and possibly some smaller angle iron or box tubing to tie the two together




Doesn't matter how slow you creep over a 3' drop, as soon as your tire loses grip, you're coming down straight on that rocker panel.

So the pinch seams are protected by the sliders but they still get smashed? I think you contradicted yourself a bit there.

 

[Cottontail]

AJ's Offroad Armor. FTW

Agreed.

 

[FlexdXJ]

Doesn't matter how slow you creep over a 3' drop, as soon as your tire loses grip, you're coming down straight on that rocker panel.

Im on a BB with 31's. I don't drop it off 3foot ledges!

 

[crazyjim]

Another vote here for JeeperJohn. He's socal local so he can design you whatever you want right on the Jeep.

 

[austinaubinoe]

Im in the same position. I have decided to go with the AJ's Super Squares. I like how they stick out. They work as a small step and keeping the side of my jeep of a wall.

They can also be ordered with unibody stiffeners built in.

 

[zr2toxj]

I know you are buying them and not building but....

The best XJ rails are simply a 2x6 .188 wall rectangular tube welded in directly in the space the rocker used to take up. Very easy to do but 20' of welding. You don't lose another 2" of clearance, you gain 1" more of clearance and make the unibody stronger at the same time.

There are several threads here describing how so find a friend that can weld and get it done, you can do all the prep and it can be done in 4 hours if you spend the time actually working and not just drinking....

Anything that rely's on using the pinch seam as a mounting point is just bad thinking.

I agree. That's what I had one of my friends do and they are incredibly strong and have high clearance.

Here's some pictures of what he did. He is willing to fab them & send them to anyone, too, just PM me if you're interested:

 

[Dan Fredrickson]

So the pinch seams are protected by the sliders but they still get smashed? I think you contradicted yourself a bit there.

Not at all. Its just a demonstration of the strength of the pinch seam. Nothing you do makes it any stronger...

 

[Dan Fredrickson]

I agree. That's what I had one of my friends do and they are incredibly strong and have high clearance.

Here's some pictures of what he did. He is willing to fab them & send them to anyone, too, just PM me if you're interested:

Very clean installation, although the unirails could still use some help...No loss of clearance at all...

 

[austinaubinoe]

damn I love that color.

 

[FlexdXJ]

damn I love that color.

Me too, it looks like mine minus the clearcoat! That is definitely one of the cleanest rocker replacements out there, needs some frame stiffeners though.

 

[60anny]

hmmm surprised no one's shouted out for AJ! I've got his superrails, they are $300 shipped. Excellent product, even better guy. Look him up.

 

[connor0770]

i have dropped my Jeep on my JCR's a few times now and love them!! I havent tried anything else, so i cant say they are better. But in my Opinion they are GREAT