this past weekend there was a 4dr with these "rock rails". He used them, they deflected so much the tubing actually dented the cab on the jeep. Should have taken pictures, i would be furious! He hit them hard...but they're "ROCK GUARDS"! Standing on them and the hi-lift (not a 'bang' type of load) would seem to be just fine. The actual rock abuse and the weight of the jeep hitting an immovable object caused more damage to the jeep than the rock slider..





After seeing that in person, I would not consider them. Period.

 

I have the SRC's and they do teh job well. still shittybuilt but for the price you cant beat'em. ive put the weight of the jeep on em many times and they have some pretty rock pinstripes now. All in all they hold up well.

 

I hadn't thought about what the lower bar would catch, but it would hit a lot more rocks where I go than the type that is up close to the body. I'm just as concerned with the way the fuel tank hangs below the frame. I'm looking at the Rock Hard skids for the underside.

 

If it was me and I was hitting runs that extreme these would not be on my jeep..For me they are perfect as I run trails and Bow hunt thats what my jeep does..and wifey had trouble climbing in and you know how that goes..But for rock runs I would have a frame mounted slider as thats what they are for the Factory rock rail is better suited then these as there are way more hang spots and I couldn't see them deflecting the rocks the same..But here are a couple shots from under to see the clearance trade off..

 

I sure like the idea of having a step and I need something that sticks out beyond the body, because I sometimes use the rail to pivot around a rock in tight quarters, but I don't think I want to give up the ground clearance. How much do you give up with it??

 

Form a factory rockrail about 4" but again I wouldn't use these for that...They are not strong enough or the right style to be used as a pivot...you need some that is angled so the impact is deflected from the jeep.

 

I have these sliders, too. The bottom tube sits at about the same level as the frame on the Jeep. Looks like clearance is lost but they kind of keep the clearance the same from edge to edge. The clearance you get in the middle of your Jeep will be the same on either side. Opposite of boat siding, I guess.
I don't do any rock crawling so I can't state the durability. Mine are basically a step for my wife that looks a lot cooler than the plastic runners I've seen on some others. I know that you can jack'em and you can jump on'em but I don't know what kind of beating they'll take from rocks.

I would like a solid plate from end to end on mine to really protect my doors and hinges from debris flung from the tires. I'm working on it with a buddy now.