I'm looking at sliders for my 2017 jku sport. What I want is protection from coming down on rocks, and pivoting around rocks and trees. This is a daily driver, and there is not much offroading here (CT) , but I think sliders are important if I'm doing any serious offroading.Eventually I'll do a short (2") spring lift with longer stroke shocks, probably trim fenders for 35" tires, but run 33's until I find trails where I think I need 35's. It may never happen unless I go out west. Oh, gotta get rid of the stock tie rod with that stupid adjuster. If I can't find a stock replacement that works with my stock 17" wheels, I may build one. Just gotta find what TRE's are best. ANYWAYS...I'm not too concerned about looks, but I want rails that can support the weight of the Jeep with strength to spare, and protect the rockers if I need to pivot around something.I see a lot of inexpensive rails from Extreme Terrain. Any good? Suggestions? I'd love to spend $200-$400, but if they're all just show, I'll spend more. Any suggestions are appreciated. BTW, I've searched, and read hundreds of posts, but most talk about how good they look, and not much about how they stand up to abuse. The ones that do talk about how well they handle abuse are running $1k+ sliders and I can't justify that.

 

I like sliders with two longitudinal tubes close together, with as many pinch seam & frame mounts as you can get. The closer they tuck up to the body, the better IMHO. Make sure mfr says each side will support the weight of the vehicle.
I've run this style on my XJ & Rubicon all over Moab, CO, NM. They're a lifesaver on tight twisty spots.
Don't recall their brands, but they were more in the $400 range.
Keep in mind that true sliders are a completely different animal from step rails.

 

If you want real sliders that are not just a pretty step and can actual protect your rocker panel from damage, you need to disregard anything that bolts to the pinch seam and body mounts. Weld-on frame mounted is what you want. I can assure you anything that is mounted to the body mounts, when put under real pressure, will roll up and crush your rocker panel. Seen it, experienced it, it happens. Period.

 

I have been running the factory Hard Rock body mounted sliders on the Rubicon since 2016 and it has been wheeled hard all over the country without any lower body damage. When the time comes to replace them i will be doing Factory Rubicon body mounted sliders with something like Poisen Spyder Rocker Knockers with their lower body armor under the factory slider. I like the idea of multi levels of protection. The other possibility would be their Brawler Rockers.

 

I am curious if you've ever removed those sliders? I used to think that those were holding up well until I removed them and saw the damage they did. 100% if you use body mounted items, you should have something rocker armor that as a base layer that will protect the rockers where they curve at ~45 degree angle back under the jeep. That is where those body mounted items will flex up and in when enough leverage is applied to any bar that is sticking out and away from the body.

 

I actually did a year ago. There is no damage from the sliders. I will be taking them off again in the spring as i have to replace her Smittybilt XRC fenders and they tuck behind the rock rails at both ends. I will see what it shows. They do the same thing as the rocker armor. My daughter has P/S rocker armor and the standard Rubicon rails with no dents either.

 

The advice that you got in the first 2 responses is what, I believe, you should go with. You want your sliders mounted to the frame and not the body. 3 mounting points is better than 2. And you want them close to body because anything hanging down lower is the potential to get hung up on. My sliders look like those in the first response, and in 11 years of wheeling out west (with no serious boulder wheeling, however), they have served me well.
I'm not recommending this brand (and it's not what I have), but just pointing out that Quadratec has sliders for $400 that have the 3 mounting points and that hug the body: https://www.quadratec.com/p/quadrate...r-jk-unlimited

 

Those from quadratec are mounted between the frame and body mounts. Have heard some good things about similar types holding up to pivoting around trees and rocks, and protecting against damage when the Jeep drops on them. Been eyeballing a set of Barricade sliders that are just under $400. They angle up, mount to the top of the frame under the body mounts, and use pretty heavy wall 2" round and square stainless. Might try them, and even modify with bar and plate going to the bottom of the frame for triangulation mounting and to give slide spot. Still figuring it out! Edit. I'm in CT, so rock crawling is not an option for a while. Even trails are a tough find, but sliding off a root into a tree can happen. I'll be 90%+ on road or unimproved dirt roads, and probably face the biggest danger on said dirt roads in the snow. So far I've had my Nissan Titan (offroad pkg, stock 33's) out in almost every storm fot 20 years, up to 22"+ of fresh snow, and no body damage. I do plan on traveling to better 4wd spots in the Jeep, but am pretty good at placing my tires. I'm thinking well made sliders with some reinforcement may be the way for me and my budget. I'll see!