We installed the Smittybilt XRC Rock Sliders on our four-door Jeep JK.

Some say that a great offense starts with a great defense. So when you’re out on the trail, meeting up with large, offensive rocks, there is only one way to defend your Jeep's body, and that’s with good body armor. As we’ve said before, the four-door Jeep JK has a terrible break over angle, due to its long wheel base and center section. The Unlimited’s rocker panels are especially susceptible to damage, so a stout set of guards are mandatory on this Jeep.  We have been so happy with our front and rear bumpers, another call was made to our friends at Smittybilt for a pair of their excellent new XRC Rock Sliders.

The Factory Jeep sliders are not up to our standards, so the upgrade is really a no-brainer for us.

The factory Rubicon rocker skids work well; however, they fail to fend off rocks in any other area but under the Jeep, as there is no side protection. Smittybilt has not only designed a skid that tucks up very, very high, they have also incorporated a 3/16th tube that spans the entire length. We like this tube because it protects the Jeep's body all the way up to the door sills, but it does not stick out so far as to hit every trail obstacle we encounter. It is also angled up enough to allow easy access in and out of the Jeep for all passengers. We would like to have seen at least one cross brace welded in, somewhere along this long tube that spans the length of the Slider. Without a brace here, we suspect that an extremely hard hit to this tube might bend it … so our plan is to weld in a simple brace, just in case.

The XRC Sliders might need some extra support here.

The skid itself is brilliant! It is streamlined in design and does not take away any precious ground clearance on the long JK. More importantly, the skid is totally flat on the bottom, giving our Jeep the ability to easily slide over rocks without being hung up. The hand-formed, 3/16th solid plate is more than enough to support the weight of the JK and can take a real beating.

The flat underside of the XRC Rock Slider is visible here.

We were worried that the XRC Rock Sliders would be too long and might interfere with the wheel well openings.  Smittybilt did their homework here, and we easily fit our 38.5-inch tires without any rubbing issues. We have no doubt that these Sliders will accommodate even larger tires sizes into the 40-inch range. The overall length and angle the ends are cut at, are nearly perfect.

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The XRC units are a perfect fit on our JK.

The XRC Sliders work incredibly well, but the look of any body armor is also very important. We’ve seen other designs but chose the Smittybilt units for their sleek and unobtrusive look.  The tough, textured powder coating has been hard to chip or scrape off…and it also works as a great primer for those who want to lay down a matching coat of paint for their Jeep.  Simply put, the XRC Rock Sliders are one of the best looking and most functional rocker protection parts you can buy. 

Functional and great looking, we're happy with our upgrade with Smittybilt’s XRC Rock Sliders.

As with most Smittybilt products, installation was a snap.  The Sliders bolt on using the factory locating holes, however, use larger, stainless steel hardware.  This is a one person job.  We were able to bolt up the Sliders in less than an hour, without any snags or problems and got a perfect fit the first time, with no adjustments needed.

If you want some of the best rock defense for your Jeep that money can buy, take a look at Smittybilt’s  XRC Rock Sliders. While they will completely protect your Jeeps rocker panels, they won’t offend your Jeeps aesthetics or your wallet.