Sliders

[D Chapman]

Nathan,

I thought your sliders, with the handicap stall handles, were the shit...???? John told me you swapped them out. What's up? Why would you do such a thing? I thought they were the cats-ass.....

 

[jwest]

You know they're the shit - they allow people to hang on the side while crossing vast expanses of the north African desert while also scraping the shit out of your ankles in the summer when wearing shorts....because I put grip tape on the top to allow easy traction when climbing on the side to access roof stuff.

Seriously, I hate the way the arms look and wish they were closer in by 3" or so and a little higher towards the very bottom of the door swing trim.

 

[nwoods]

Nathan,

I thought your sliders, with the handicap stall handles, were the shit...????

LOL, I think you referred to them as helicopter skis in the past

Story goes like this:
I had to remove my sliders because the dealer was giving me crap about not being able to service my truck with them on. I pointed out that I don't have an air compressor or tank on my truck, but they were adamant, so I took them off. This was my big ticket 50,000 mile service and I got them to replace the majority of my suspension bits that had worn. So I wasn't going to let a trivial thing like sliders and skid plates get in the way of major work under warranty!

Life got busy, and I ended up leaving the sliders off and then didn't have time to put them back on for a recent trail run. This run confirmed what I had been thinking about lately. I am a fairly decent spotter, and have taken many modern Rovers (LR3's, RRMkIII's and Sports) through the same trail with nary a scratch. But when it came to me and my driving, I was getting lazy and letting my sliders protect me from caring to much about wheel placement.

So I want to work on my driving skills, and not rely on my sliders as much. Also, with the sliders off, and with my permanent lift (stiffer aftermarket springs and larger tires), I was really digging the look of the increased clearance without the stand off tubes. Functionally, there is no difference in ground clearance, but sure looks different.

I still need sliders, my truck has some limitations compared to an air suspended truck, I have less total lift available, and less articulation. So I figured, why not? and called up RoverSpecialties for the Stage 1 kit without the stand off tubes.

For me, these are test units in every sense of the word. they will be a test of my driving, and test of the product. John flat out thinks I'm nuts to forgo the stand off tubes, but east coast and west coast wheeling is different, with radically different terrain and obstacles. I'm not convinced that I'll like these, and have no long term plans to keep them. I've been working with John about a hybrid configuration, lets call them Stage 1.5's that have shorter outrigger component, but lower in profile than the current Stage 2 units. For the type of wheeling we do out here in SoCal, i think the hybrid units are going to work well, but like anything, they won't be for everybody. Everyone has their own idea of what is right for them.

I think it's great to see guys like High Country 4x4 coming out with their stuff. The LR3 needs lots more producers of stuff. One of these days Rovertyme might even recognize that LR3's have potential. That will be a good day...if it happens.

I seem to have exceeded some sort of bandwidth quote on this forum for attachments (which is hard to belive!), so for photos of the new Stage 1's, follow the links:
- http://www.nextstepdesigns.com/images/LR3/sliders/Sliders-Stage1-02.jpg
- http://www.nextstepdesigns.com/images/LR3/sliders/Sliders-Stage1-06.jpg
- http://www.nextstepdesigns.com/images/LR3/sliders/Sliders-Stage1-07.jpg
- http://www.nextstepdesigns.com/images/LR3/sliders/Sliders-Stage1-09.jpg

 

[ccollins]

Nwoods, Those stage 1 sliders look a lot cleaner without the standoff tubes, what thickness is the steel, 3/16" ?

 

[Springsroverfamily]

Those look like a PAIN IN THE A** to make. Nice

 

[D Chapman]

Installed Tami's the other day with the help of Tami and Nomar.....

The first slider took about 1.5 hours to get on. The second slider took about 15 minutes...

Breaking out of the box.

 

[D Chapman]

You can see the dents in the sill that were hidden by the stock plastic trim pieces. Also notice all the dirt and mud that gets trapped in there.

 

[D Chapman]

Here is a picture of the air pump with the cover removed. All that dirt and mud in there can't be good for things.

 

[D Chapman]

Here is the air pump cover. Again, covered in crap.

But, also notice all the sound deadening "foam". We'll come back to this.

 

[D Chapman]

Here's a pic with the trim removed. Also, notice the trim you have to cut in order to fit the sliders (picture #2).

 

[D Chapman]

Here is a pic of them installed. I think they look like a ground effects kit for a low rider.

 

[D Chapman]

The sliders came with a ghey "Rover Specialties" sticker on them. Those were promptly removed.

There is what seems to be a major issue with the sliders. I have not driven the truck since the sliders were installed, but Tami claims the air pump makes a horrible noise since the sound deadening "foam" was removed. I have noticed the increased noise from out side the truck, but I'm not sure what it's like inside the truck. Evidently it's pretty bad as Tami is pretty upset about it.

I feel her pain, too. The LR3 is really quite when on the road. Wind noise, road noise, etc. has always been a nice change when in the LR3. It's car-like when driving it. When Tami had a LR3 loaner with a roof-rack, the wind noise was annoying after a while. So, I can imagine this air pump is driving her nuts.

Not so sure what to do about this, either. The slider sits so close to the pump, there is no way the pump cover can be replaced. The only option I see so far is moving the pump, but that will be a HUGE hassle.

One other option that *might* work is to remove the slider and hack it. By adding a "trap door" to the slider where it covers the pump, the stock sound deadening cover may be able to be placed back on and covered with a steel "trap door".... This is shitty, though. Plus, it was make a huge low spot.

Not sure what she'll do about this, yet, but something has to be done. Shitty.

 

[nwoods]

Out of the many sets installed around the world, only a few people have asked about the compressor noise. There are a few solutions that people have applied:
1. Dynamat on the inside of the slider in the area of the compressor.
2. That aerosol spray foam in a can stuff.
3. HighCountry 4x4 compressor relocation bracket, that raises the compressor about an 1" I think. I don't know if that changes the acoustics, but its been done by others.
4. Trim down the OEM foam cover and reinstall it.

FWIW, most people report that the compressor runs better, shorter, and less often with the sliders installed. I figure its because it runs cooler?

 

[Nomar]

I've got some old pieces of Dynamat if Tami wants to try that.

 

[D Chapman]

I don't think Dynamat or spary on rubber is going to fix this.

 

[D Chapman]

Here, you can hear how loud the pump is with the foam removed.
http://www.axcessmypics.com/photos/photo02/f2/b7/0bdb4a3ecd51.wav

 

[sideview]

Nathan, are you saying that everybody experiences this noise and most don't mind it, or that some have this noise and most don't? I'm trying to figure out if I have an abnormal issue, or if I have abnormally good hearing

 

[gordonwh]

One other solution ....

You can "break" the compressor mounting plate at the L join and re-weld the horizontal part of the bracket approx 12mm higher up (It's crappy alloy with high magnesium content, but it can be welded). Cut off the locating lug on the back of the vertical section and remount the bracket as high as practical. That should get you enough clearance to fit both the sound box and the slider.

Yes, the noise drove me mad, so I resorted to this method. Mind you, my sliders are different to the ones you have, so I couldn't guarantee success.

Cheers,

Gordon

 

[jwest]

Out of the many sets installed around the world, only a few people have asked about the compressor noise.

i think that's kind of BS....I would bet that every single one makes the same noise, and it is quite loud. The other noise is the highway vibration noise transmitted more or created by the sliders. It's a very steely sound like from a sci-fi movie. It is subtle but those with good hearing can hear it. The other more annoying thing is going over simple curb cuts or any off angle that twists the frame - the entire slider wants to shift with a lovely squeak and the back into place again. This movement I am guessing it about 1mm or less but steel parts don't need much distance to squeak.

 

[D Chapman]

The other more annoying thing is going over simple curb cuts or any off angle that twists the frame - the entire slider wants to shift with a lovely squeak and the back into place again. This movement I am guessing it about 1mm or less but steel parts don't need much distance to squeak.

Wonderful.