Is there something attahced to the side of the Rubicon that will prevent the attachment of aftermarket step bars?? Looks to me like there's some metal strip under the front and rear doors, but will this prevent the installation??

Also - any suggestions on which step bars to get?

 

The metal bar under the doors are rock rails. They would most likely have to be removed to install steps, unless you get something like the Shrokworks rock sliders and use them as steps.

 

How durable are the stock rubicon sliders? Are they worthwhile, or are they something I'll be taking off and replacing?

 

I guess it would depend on how hard you wheel. A lot of the members that do extreme rock switch out to something more durable like the Shrockworks or the Pure Jeep that are starting to be available. Some members have stated that the stock rails hold up pretty well.

 

X2

If I would have seen how heavy the factory rails were before I bought the Shrockworks rails I might have considered leaving them in place.

 

So far, they have held up pretty well and I bashed them up quite a bit. I did suffer some body damage right above the rock wells and I have always planned on leaving them on and adding the purejeep rockers for added protection (if I would have had these, that rock wouldn't have jumped up and bit me)

 

I have some pics of the rails in my for sale thread: https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/jk-bumpers-armor-114/fs-jk-unlimited-rubicon-rock-rails-%24125-15384/

My impression is that they are fairly well made - they curve very slightly to match the body and they have slider plates that are fairly beefy steel (but the welds don't seem that well done). They are certainly functional (unlike the TJ Rubi rocker protection), but they probably wound't stand up too well to hard core rock crawling (although I've seen pics of them doing well on the trails).

I like the idea of having the sliders attach to the frame and I was looking for a step, so I went with the Shrockworks sliders, but the stock bars should work well for most people not needing a step. I saw someone install the Shrockworks sliders with the Rubi sliders but it was a tight fit. In my opinion if you're going to install aftermarket sliders that attach to the frame you should just remove the stock sliders - they won't be serving any purpose at that point except weighing down your rig. If you're going to install step bars that attach to the body you probably will have to remove the stock sliders.

 

Thanks for the replies. Time will tell if I have the balls to wheel a brand new rig as hard as I wheeled the last.

 

I've beat up those Rubicon rock sliders pretty good-- they're stronger than you would expect. In fact, I had one incident where I slid off a rock and landed on the slider so hard my Jeep stalled and the only damage I could find was a minor scuff to the powdercoating.