Power Wagon Registry

Need some help with choosing rock rails for my 2016 Powerwagon. I've looked at n-Fab, Alumness, Lund (lightweight) and White Knuckle(wow, expensive). Tell me what you are using. Need to do this soon as I will be wheeling at the end of Sept. in Northern Ontario.

Mike

What I have and the only one of those I would take wheeling is the white knuckle sliders. If you only need a step any of them would work, but for actual protection there's only one way to go. All the others mount to the body pinch weld instead of the frame

I've got Aluminess and they've held up well. While I'm not in the habit of dropping the truck I do regularly slide and pivot. While they are pinch weld as the primary attachment, they've done well for my style of wheeling. They do scratch up quite bit and get gouged but nothing a rattle can cant solve. I've not once regretted putting them on.

For a 4th Gen, only White Knuckle and Aluminess make actual "rock rails", anything else is designed solely as a step and would NOT provide any protection to your truck.You get what you pay for. If you plan on wheeling your truck, spend the extra money now to keep your body panels safe, you'll save time, money and aggravation in the long-run.

I do not have any personal experience with the Aluminess rock-sliders, alhough there are several members here who have them and are happy with them. However, I do have a set of White Knuckle rock-sliders on my 3rd Gen and they are simply AWESOME. The quality of their construction and design is fantastic and in less than a year they have more than paid for themselves. The frame mount is rock-solid(hehehe).

Any difference between 2015 and 2016 models? If not, you may also want to check out the Randy Ellis sliders. The White Knuckles are awesome and I almost went that route but after talking with Randy I decided to give his sliders a shot. Otherwise, White Knuckle is the clear winner....but you better order soon if you want them by the end of September.

Adam

White Knucke all the way. This is one of those aftermarket parts you don't want to cheap out on. Just today I was playing in the rocks and they saved my bacon. Check this video out. It's a pretty thorough review of the White Knuckle Rock Rails.

https://youtu.be/EzGIH4HerYc

Allen8511 wrote:White Knucke all the way. This is one of those aftermarket parts you don't want to cheap out on. Just today I was playing in the rocks and they saved my bacon. Check this video out. It's a pretty thorough review of the White Knuckle Rock Rails.

https://youtu.be/EzGIH4HerYc

He was more impressed with the Power Wagon but was trying his best not to talk about it. In the beginning he talks about hitting this particular rock, then drives over it without touching, his look was like, "well, damn"

WK. it's your clear choice for complete functional protection. The others are fine for looks and will work as a step. However, if you're over 200lbs, you'll notice them flex every time you step up. Mine paid for themselves within 60 days. I installed mine on my truck when it was about a yr old. I had been on the list since I took delivery of my truck; I was one of the first 14+ sets John built. About 60 days after installation, I went to northern MI for deer season and we got hammered w/ snow and blistering cold all week. My cousin and I were out scouting because it was too cold & snow too deep (28"+) to sit and hunt, I wasn't even sure I was on a trail there was so much snow & we couldn't even find any landmarks to tell really if we were in the middle of the woods or still on a 2-track. Anyway, I was climbing this short (⅛ mi), but very steep hill, and when I crested, it took a sharp right, with trees surrounding in jeep tight quarters, & before I could react, we were sliding sideways down. Well the large diameter stump at the bottoms, courtesy of the MÍ trail folks, stopped us abruptly. The truck slammed into the stump & the sliders took all the force with only a slight scratch in the Line-X. W/o those, I would have had extensive body damage, and 3 functioning doors, instead of the standard issue four.

Just to repeat what others are saying, if you are going to wheel hard, you should invest in the White Knuckle sliders. There is some guy on the FB group who is making knock offs. And I think that is Randy Ellis. He's in Canada so it tends to be cheaper for folks up north. From the close up photos I've seen, they're not as polished and you can tell it's a guy who just figured out how to make them. Personal opinion. The WK are worth the cost if you are in the states and wheeling hard. They're high-quality with a really good finish.

White Knuckle FTW. I've had them for several years. Worth their substantial weight in gold.

Another win for the WK. We went hiking in the Montezuma area this weekend, and we dropped on a few boulders on the access trail. I took my Avalanche up the year before, but didn't go near as far, and put a lot of effort into avoiding boulders. With the rock sliders, I could lock up the diffs and just crawl over the rocks without repositioning. I wasn't sliding on them hard, but I certainly would have put a few dents in the rocker panels if I didn't have them.

Thanks everyone for all your replies. Still undecided.......

scoutermike wrote:Thanks everyone for all your replies. Still undecided.......

Well i will end the undecided battle.

WK and done.

MikeKey wrote:Just to repeat what others are saying, if you are going to wheel hard, you should invest in the White Knuckle sliders. There is some guy on the FB group who is making knock offs. And I think that is Randy Ellis. He's in Canada so it tends to be cheaper for folks up north.

Negative, Randy is in Phoenix and his rails are nothing like the WKs. Not bashing WK because they are definitely bad ass, but there are other (very limited) options out there. Just not sure if the RE will fit a 2016.

http://www.randyellisdesign.com/Dodge-C ... p_109.html

How are the Randy Ellis rails mounted? The frame mounted designs are what most(myself included)prefer & are seeking. The problem with the body mounted designs if seriously abused/used in these heavyweights, eventually mounting points experience fatigue/failure within the sheet metal.

I have no knowledge of the RE, so this isn't negative. Part of why I bought a PW versus an F350 was bolt on sliders. They are truly bolt on and stout. I did weld on Rock Stomper sliders on my 2nd Gen. Awesome, but a higher level of commitment. Also, spray painted versus powder coated.

Mr.Smith wrote:How are the Randy Ellis rails mounted? The frame mounted designs are what most(myself included)prefer & are seeking. The problem with the body mounted designs if seriously abused/used in these heavyweights, eventually mounting points experience fatigue/failure within the sheet metal.

I shared the same concern with Randy. He mentioned only having to replace a rivet, maybe two, on his big suburban. He said he pretty much beats the crap out it, far more than any of us would probably do in our expensive rigs....well, me at least, for the time being. I haven't put them to the test, but I did put my hi-lift under and jack up the side. They are stout. I can post up a few pics tomorrow. As for me, they offer that piece of mind should shit go south on a trail, much like those with the WKs. I think only a few on here actually thrash their rigs, which I respect the hell out of

scoutermike wrote:Thanks everyone for all your replies. Still undecided.......

Have you at least contacted WK to see what the build time is? WK is clearly the forum favorite here. Had I not taken a chance on a local AZ guy, I'd be rocking the WKs for sure!

If you dont want a step the RED sliders look right. I like the tucked in, nothing hanging lower, discreet look. It's funny to me to see the arguments and questions come up about frame mounted or rocker panel/pinch weld mounted. On Randy's slider page, he explains what I've always thought. I've seen many, many vehicles on shop lifts that were lifted by the pinch welds. They make adapters for floor jacks to fit pinch welds, that area is stout. if you can lift the truck with four points directly on the pinch weld that are less than 3" wide, the sliders Randy makes distributes that weight all the way across the entire side of the pinch weld. Less chance of frame damage also.

You can add the step option on the REDs, which I did......and quickly added some skateboard deck tape. Price wise, after all was said and done, I was about as much into these as the WKs would have cost with shipping, maybe a hair more since I had Randy's shop do the install.

I haven't seen the mounting pic before on the red sliders, those actually look pretty stout to me as well. The pinch weld/seam area is quite strong and if an impact were spread over its full length I can see that taking some pretty decent abuse. I like how low profile it is as well. All in all I'm still glad I went wk but looks like a really nice option

Many of the rocker mounted units (steps, sliders) bolt to the back side of the rocker. This design puts all the force at a few points, which many see as a weakness. The RED version looks like it spreads the load over the entire rocker. Not a bad setup. I'd like to see a few guys beat em up a little and report back.

Of all the body-mount sliders I've seen, Randy Ellis looks to have the best one. I would be concerned about drilling that many holes in the rockers with a design that looks like it would trap water and road salt/grime against all those holes. I think they'd be fine in the Southwest, but I'd be worried about my rockers turning to cheese in Alaska or any other place that gets real winter weather. On a completely subjective note, I don't like his sex-appeal marketing strategy. His home page has a scrolling banner showcasing models with bad double entendres about "bolt-ons" and "headlights". What do boobs have to do with rock sliders?

At first glance it looks like the RED sliders might be able to accommodate the power AMP steps too which fold up under the truck and deploy when you open the doors. Wonder if anybody has done that...sturdy sliders with a fold out step would be a great combo.

At more than double the cost of White Knuckle sliders...