KevinsOffRoad.com LP-1 Rock Sliderz

[BigDaveZJ]

Most of the regulars around here are quite familiar with KevinsOffRoad and the parts that he makes. This review isn't really geared towards the regulars that are familiar with his products, but more to the people that are new to the ZJ thing and aren't very familiar with Kevin and his shop. If you don't know how Kevin got started making ZJ parts, here's a quick blurb from his website:

I began making custom Grand Cherokee parts in early 2000 because there wasn't a lot of options for Grand Cherokee owners like me who wanted heavy-duty offroad equipment. Most of my products are items that I made for my own Jeep, tested on some of the most difficult trails in the country, and have reproduced for my customers. I also have several items that you just can't find anywhere else because no one else makes one. Whatever your level of interest and expertise in offroading, I think you'll find something interesting in the menu to the left. (I also take requests)
KevinsOffroad.com was founded on the principal of offering high-quality aftermarket parts while striving to provide the best customer service in the industry. Customer service and satisfaction is essential to a positive buying experience, wouldn't you agree? Don't forget...I'm a consumer too! I stand behind the quality of my work 100% and I have loads of happy customers out there who have been treated with the utmost respect, which is something that you don't find a lot of in this industry. I also like to make it known that I've spent less than $800 in advertising in my three years of business, because I feel word of mouth is much more meaningful than an ad in the back of some magazine (any schmoe can pay for ad space...it doesn't mean they have a good product OR good customer service). That's the game-plan...keep overhead low, and keep right on producing top-quality products at a great price...

So that's how Kevin got here, now let's get on to his Rock Sliderz. Kevin makes several versions for ZJ's, WJ's, and XJ's. One of the biggest advantages of Kevin's LP-1 Rock Sliderz that we are installing on Project Trixie is the lateral protection that it offers. Since my ZJ is beat to hell, I was hoping we could keep Project Trixie in decent shape and looking pretty nice, but still being a very functional vehicle on and off the trail.

Trixie made a couple voyages during the summer of 2005 without any rocker protection at all . . . . and well . . . . didn't fair very well. There's a couple nice dents in the rocker panels on both sides of the vehicle. So much for that plan to keep it looking nice eh?

But we're going to keep that from happening again with Kevins LP-1 Rock Sliderz. Kevin's LP-1 Sliderz feature a bar that extends beyond where a normal rock slider goes. These extensions serve many purposes. The most obvious one is the lateral protection that the LP-1 Sliderz give to keep your doors away from trees, rocks, shopping carts, whatever. There is also a 1" gap in between the inner and outer bars. This provides an excellent spot to put a Hi-Lift jack to allow for easy tire changes on the trail, as well as many other repairs that need to be done. Another, often over-looked advantage, is that these also double as a step. Many manufacturers make nerf bars that LOOK like they are a rock slider, but will crumple if you look at them wrong. With Kevin's LP-1 Sliderz, you have the strength of a rock slider, a place to Hi-Lift from, and a step to reach on top of the vehicle or to add ease of getting in and out of the vehicle.

Kevin's LP-1 Sliderz are constructed of 1/8" thick box tube. Some other companies out there use 3/16" and 1/4" for their rocker protection, but Kevin's have proven to hold up just fine with 1/8" thick metal. Being lighter, they don't increase the overall weight of your vehicle as much, making things easier on your drivetrain.

On to the install of the Sliderz. It's pretty straight forward and simple. Today we got done with the prep of the Sliderz. We cleaned them up with some Brake Cleaner and rags to eliminate any oil on them, and cleaned some areas up with a grinder and a flap disk. We didn't spend too much time on the prep because I knew most of the paint would end up being scraped off on a rock somewhere anyways. How much time you spend on prep is up to you, the more prep, the better they'll look, but if they get used as designed, all of the prep in the world won't keep the paint on them. We used black rattle can Hammerite because, well, it's Hammerite. A bit thicker and more scratch resistant than normal paint, easily touch-up-able, and helps prevent rust.

Here's a pic of the Sliderz with a fresh coat of Hammerite ready for the installation.




We're hoping that next Sunday we can tackle these getting mounted up into the Trixie and getting some work on the Aussie Locker. We'll post up the results as soon as they're done!

[Bustin' Loose]

Slider Installation:
So, I'm finally getting to posting the slider install up. It's only been written for two months, but then I needed the pictures FTP'd to the server and I couldn't do that because I didn't have the watermark on my computer and blah blah blah. In any event...here it is, long over due.

Dave purchased Kevin's Rock Sliderz, LP-1 model (http://www.kevinsjeepparts.com/zj/zj_sliderz_1.html) for me for this past Christmas and between wedding, and all the family emergencies I’ve had, well, it’s took a while to get them installed. Dave started the write up but I figured I’d finalized is since they we installed them on my jeep I did do about half the work. Some things women just don't have the brute strenght for. . .

So, why did I pick the LP-1 square model?

As Dave stated, I wanted the lateral protection since I've already kissed my rocker panels on both sides. There is a good picture of the damage below. With the three inches of clearance the that lateral protection model gives me, I can use my sliders to roll around rocks in tight spots and when off camber I don’t have to worry as much about sliding off rocks and dinging my rockers and lower doors. (See pictures of Sliders in Action) Not to mention it gives my mom, who’s short, a step to get in and out of my jeep. I’ve only got 2 inches on it and she already can’t get in and out. And when it goes up higher, it will give me a step to help get in and out of the jeep when I’m wearing a skirt. I know, not things most guys worry about, but trust me, your women do.

I wanted the squared version because Trixy is a 98 and she’s more squared off than the WJ’s. I don’t think the round outer tube would have looked as nice on my jeep. It depends on what look you are going for.

So, we started off by cleaning up the sliderz with a grinder, some brake cleaner and some rags. Realistically, you should probably clean the sliderz completely down to clean steel before you paint them. It’s up to you. So far, mine are doing just fine. And I figure with the abuse the sliderz will take, I’ll be pulling so much paint off and repainting them that it won’t really matter that much. It's been two months and I already have to repaint. I used Black Hammerite to paint mine and it’s a damn close match to my paint job. Since it’s so close in color, easy to use, prevents rust and holds up a little better, it was a good fit all around. Once painted, we let them sit for 24 hrs to fully dry before we started mounting them.



Once they had dried, we took jack stands out and balanced the sliderz on the stands. Slid them under the ZJ and lined them up. I wanted them basically centered between front and rear tires. So I took out a measuring tape and as Dave lifted them into place I measured an equal distance from both the front and rear tires. Once we had them just about centered, we lifted back up to where they would bolt onto the frame rails to make sure we had a clean spot to drill holes for the bolts. You may have to adjust a little forward or backward to clear the holes in the frame rail.



I won’t really go into much detail about actually installing the Sliderz as you can download detailed installation instructions from Kevin’s page. They go step by step with pictures on how to install them. I will give some general feedback on my install and some problems I had with Trixey however.

I’ve yet to have an install on Trixey go as smoothly as planned. She’s temperamental when it comes to being worked on. And this install was no different. When we lifted the sliderz up, the front mounting bracket that mounts to the pinch seam just behind the rocker panels didn’t fit. It wouldn’t slide up. We tried bending it back with a hammer to see if was just the angle it sat at, but no such luck.

So, we cut off the tab on each side (front side) and cleaned the tab and the bracket with a grinder.

Then re-welded it back in place about ¼ farther back. This is just the tack weld. We droped a full bead on it.


We let them cool down, re-Hammerited them and then proceeded to lift them back into place. Thankfully, they fit like a charm. Slid right up.

With the Sliderz resting in place on jack stands, we marked a place for the holes for the bolts and then drilled the holes out. Check out the lovely damage to the rocker pannels already done...thus the reason I need the sliderz

This is a good example of the holes I was speaking about in the frame rail that you have to work around.


Once that was done, it was simply getting the bolts in. One word of caution. Get the bolts in tight but don’t over tighten them. We broke two heads off of bolts trying to get one in. It was in an awkward position and hard to get to and when tightening it down, -pop- off came the head. No worries though, there are a couple/few extra bolts in the kit.


Sliderz in Action.

All I have to say is thank God I had Kevin's sliders on for OCG today. I think I damaged quite a few rocks on the trail and I now need a few more layers of paint!

Here are some pics


Close Up of me sitting on my slider and only my slider


And there were several times today in tight situations where the sliders protected my doors or rotated me right around some rather large rocks. Took some paint off the sliderz but no damage to the ZJ!

[ELLLLLIOTTTTT]

lookin good Pam.

[DJJordache]

yeha looks great! are gonna post any pics of the install or these sliders? I like to have as much info about something I'm gonna do before I jump into it
I'm going to get those or maybe the round version I dunno yet

[BigDaveZJ]

yeha looks great! are gonna post any pics of the install or these sliders? I like to have as much info about something I'm gonna do before I jump into it
I'm going to get those or maybe the round version I dunno yet

We do have a full writeup on the install with pics, Pam just hasn't had a chance to post it up yet.

[Cue-Ball]

That thing is really coming along guys.

Dirk

[nate]

Dave, are you sure they are only 1/8"? I was thinking they were 3/16"... maybe that's why mine are bending in where I've hit stuff.

[JeepinHank]

Dave, are you sure they are only 1/8"? I was thinking they were 3/16"... maybe that's why mine are bending in where I've hit stuff.

IIRC - at least when I bought mine, they were made out of 1/8". I always assumed the HD versions he came out with were made out of 3/16".

Yeah it'll bend, but if you think about it, it's absorbing the impact a bit.

Mine were pretty badly bent after 4 years of beatings. I fixed them twice, but I have dents the size of softballs to show for some of my harder hits. The worst breaks were where the arms connect to the slider, but again that was some pretty severe abuse and no maintanence - If nothing else that will be your place to check after a while. looking back, I don't think it would take too much to reinforce that spot.

[nate]

Yeah they are modified from what I bought them from. I'll just make a new set if they get really messed up... I bought those before I had a welder or shop.

[canadian_driver]

would you recomend these over the JKS ones?

[Horus]

I have the LP-1s on my 98 and had they not been there on my last few runs my ZJ would probably be totaled. I see you had to cut off and re-weld the outer bracket in farther. Mine had this problem too, however. When I had them held up there I noticed that the main tube was about .250 inch away from the pinch seam.

Instead of moving the four holed pinch seam bracket I cut off the forward mount (that has two holes, bolts to the uniframe and is flat) from the end of the leg. Then I ground down or shortened the leg 1/4 inch and welded the small plate back on.

By doing this my sliders were pulled inward and now the main box tube sits against the pinch seam all the way down it's lenght. This makes the whole deal stronger than if there is a gap between the two.

BTW I only had to modify the forward legs this way on both sliders, the rear legs fit up just fine.

[skrracing]

I don't have a set of his sliders but I do have one of the steering braces and it it for sure top of the line. Very good price for the item and it really cut down on the creaking coming out of the front of my ZJ. Welds looks great and a very easy install. Hes seems to just keep getting better and better with is products. Later...Clint

[DanKNesS]

i love kevins off road they are probably the best place to satisfy your zj needs... BUT id have to say after reading this im VERY happy i got the stage 2 sliders for my zj from .JCRoffroad.com it appears they both mount to the frame the same but the pinch seem is a lil different.... the ones i have didnt need to be fabbed in order to go on either

kevins do look real nice mounted up though... i really think you cant go wrong either way but this is why i like jcr's sliders... each slider has 5 bolts and nuts on the pinch seem and 8 bolts into the frame.. they are extremly stout and all the welds are beautifully done in michigan... not trying to thread jack or anything but what kinda thread would this be if it was one sided? its my honest opinion and i must say again i love KOR!!! kevin built my first lift for me and the whole staff is just awesome to deal with all of thier products are top notch and trail tested can never go wrong with kor

[oneroguecow]

Interesting, this is the first negative feedback I have heard on anything that Kevin makes. This is why I like to check the forums as often as possible. I was set on Kevin's sliders, but now, I am not so sure. Also debating JKS super nerfs. Anybody have any feedback on them?

[BigDaveZJ]

What are you consideing negative feedback on the KOR sliders? Kevin's actually has more bolts than the guy above you who posted about his JCR sliders.

[dp96zj]

What are you consideing negative feedback on the KOR sliders? Kevin's actually has more bolts than the guy above you who posted about his JCR sliders.

Not to mention that's just Dankness talking...

[BigDaveZJ]

Yeah, I figured I'd leave that part out . . . lol

[recon zj]

I've been abusing my LP-1s for over 7 years now (more so in the last couple of years since my lift has sagged). As many on here can attest, I've used them as a pivot point, slammed down on rocks and into some hard enough that I came to a dead stop. No dents, no broken welds and they've never even come loose. I highly recommend them and Kevin's excellent customer service.

BTW, looks good, Pam!

gary

[BigDaveZJ]

Gary, you forgot about them holding up a couple guys to keep your sheet metal off the rocks on Poison Spider 5 or 6 years ago too!

[fpkites]

Dankness is and WAS fucking retarded. I've bashed the ever living shit outta my LP-1 sliders, and I consider them the absolute most important mod I've ever done on my rig. Pivot, slam, bash...doesn't fawkin' matter. Those suckers keep on protecting my shit. I have ZERO regrets about smashing them against anything I can find.

[recon zj]

Gary, you forgot about them holding up a couple guys to keep your sheet metal off the rocks on Poison Spider 5 or 6 years ago too!

You're right - I'd forgotten about that. And I think it was Verlon who had to hold it down on Steelbender in 2004, too. I believe there's a pic of that in my fototime album.