Poison Spyder Rock Slider Install on Jeep Wrangler

Larger tires and bigger suspension may offer improved trail clearance for your off-road rig, but there’s always a rock or ledge waiting to inflict damage regardless of your vehicle’s equipment. That’s why skid plates and sliders are so crucial if you plan to tackle anything other than fire roads on that next off-road adventure.

For rocker panel protection on our TJ Jeep Wrangler, we turned to the Jeep Wrangler protection specialists Poison Spyder Customs to grab a set of its Rocker Knockers. These sliders are available for the CJ, YJ, TJ and LJ to provide rocker panel protection for those unexpected ledges or difficult obstacles that can cause serious body damage.

Poison Spyder Customs, located in Banning, California, is a well-respected company that focuses solely on Jeep Wrangler trail armor, bumpers, interior upgrades and more. Larry McRae purchased the business three years ago, and it continues to expand its high-quality products in its Wrangler-focused line. The company’s proven track record and sexy styling made it an easy decision for our trail protection needs.

The Rocker Knockers are constructed of 3/16” plate steel that not only offer protection, but when ordered with the optional tubular slider (constructed of DOM structural tubing), it offers a compact, yet still useful, side step as well, which is reinforced to the frame with DOM tube spacers. Accenting the piece is the Poison Spyder logo cut into the side of the Rocker.

The Rocker Knockers come from Poison Spyder unfinished, and we chose to just rattle-can paint them for now (we might powder coat and paint them later down the road). Included with the Knockers is all the necessary stainless-steel hardware. Installation is relatively straight forward, requiring a good lift and a quality drill – as holes will need to be drilled into the side of the Jeep to securely attach the sliders.

For help with our installation, we turned to Road Race Motorsports (RRM) in Santa Fe Springs (http://www.roadracemotorsports.com/). Being in a time pinch with the Easter Jeep Safari quickly approaching, Johnny Rocha at Road Race Motorsports had the tools and resources to help us quickly install the Rocker Knockers. With a proper lift and a few hours, it’s a straightforward job for the garage mechanic.

Although Road Race Motorsports does a great deal of work with rally cars and tuner cars, they have a great deal of off-road experience as well, as shop general manager Rocha is an off-roader at heart. RRM was one of the first shops to do a full build on the new 3.6-liter 2012 Jeep Wrangler (keep an eye out for a closer look at that vehicle on Off-Road.com), so Jeeps, sand rails, pre-runners and more are in the shop’s wheelhouse in spite of its road-focused name.

Before throwing on a few coats of paint on the Poison Spyder Rocker Knockers, we went to work pulling off the stock plastics shrouds on the Wrangler. Our stock cabin steps were already removed from the exterior of the TJ, or this would’ve been the time to remove them as well. The Rocker Knockers will install between the Wrangler frame and body mounts, so the body mount bolts need to be loosened and the frame lifted (with the help of jack and a large 4x4 chunk of wood). The Rockers were put in place to mark the drill holes and then the holes were drilled.

After a few coats of paint were dry on the Rocker Knockers, they were fit in place, attached to the body utilizing the flush stainless-steel bolts, and the Jeep body was tightened to the frame. Now our Wrangler has that added bit of protection for the trails, as well as a tight-to-the-body step for accessing our top and climbing into the rig.

SOURCES
Poison Spyder Customs
951/849-5911
PoisonSpyder.com

Road Race Motorsports
562/906-0080
RoadRaceMotorsports.com