Rock Sliders for Range Rover 4.0/4.6/P38A

Rock Sliders for the Range Rover 4.0/4.6

Bates sliders

Introduction
Commercially Available "Rockrover" Design
Brent Wilhelmi's Rock Slider Design
Brent's Rear Bumper Slider/Body Protector
Jack Poehlman's Slider Design

Introduction

The major aftermarket companies have largely failed to provide rock sliders and sill protectors for the P38/4.0/4.6 Range Rover models, in spite of the fact that they are superb off road machines and are being used more and more in that role as used prices decline. Fortunately, several enterprising owners have stepped in to fill the breech, and this page summarizes their designs.

Photo at top right: Alan Bates-designed sliders and winch bumper at work on the trail

Commercially Available 4.0/4.6 Rock Sliders: New Alan Bates ("Rockrover") Design

Alan Bates, designer of the sleek new 4.0/4.6 winch bumper and the rear bumper/tire carrier described on the Brushbars and Bumpers section, is now in the process of gearing up production of his new design for rock sliders for the 4.0/4.6 models. These new sliders (see photos below) have frame mounting brackets which make them one of the strongest designs for any Rover model -- almost indestructible and impervious to any bending. They sit just below the plastic sill panel and double as side steps without the reduction in ground clearance caused by the stock side steps/running boards (their bottom surface is level with the frame rails).


Alan Bates's "RockRover" sliders in place on a Range Rover P38.	Photo showing extremely strong construction of the sliders and their mountings

Alan's sliders are now in production and available for $750 a set. If you are interested in getting some, please Email him for more information. (He also produces custom winch bumpers for the 4.0/4.6 (with or without the bullbar shown in the photo at the top of this page), and a rear bumper/tire carrier. Altogether, this is the most comprehensive range of heavy trail armor for the P38 Range Rover anywhere! Alan has been kind enough to help sponsor this site based on the referrals he receives, so if you contact him, please let him know you came from Rangerovers.net!!

Brent Wilhelmi's Rock Slider Design

Brent Wilhelmi recently came up with a new design of rock slider for his 2001 Range Rover (see photo at top of this page, and additional illustrations below). Brent also designed a matching rear bodywork protector/slider (see below). Brent offers the following details on how he designed and constructed them.

1. The Sliders consist of a 1”x4”x0.25” square tubing at the bottom with a 1.25”x0.25” tubing bent to match the lines of the rocker panels.

2. They are mounted using a 4”x4”x0.25” angle iron welded to the frame in two locations along the slider. At the front and the back of the slider another piece of angle iron is welded to slider and is attached to the body using a peel rivet.

3. The angle iron on the frame is staggered for ease of mounting and strength, meaning that the slider sits on top of one bracket and is mounted below on the other. This allows the sliders to be slid into place and bolted using grade 8 hardware.

4. The sliders themselves are coated with LineX truck bed liner to lessen the scratches, although it will still scratch down to the bare metal at times.

Brent's Rear Bumper Slider / Quarter Panel Protector

I have often wondered why the makers of body protection equipment usually ignore the rear quarter panels, which in my experience are the most vulnerable and frequently damaged part of any off road vehicle. When Brent Wilhelmi was putting body armor on his 2001 Range Rover, he was one of the few to complete the job by designing some superb wrap-around rear body protectors that fit neatly below the stock bumper without reducing ground clearance. Brent was kind enough to share his design details (below).


Brent Wilhelmi's ingenious rear slider/bodywork protector on his 2001 Range Rover 4.6HSE.	Brent's sliders in action on the trail

The bumper is made of 1.25”x0.25” tubing bent to match the contour of the rear bumper and wrap around to the rear wheel well. There is an addition “bump up” along the rear panel to protect the area between the wheel well and the rear bumper. The lower valance of the OE plastic bumper is cut off, and the tabs for the trailer hitch lights are removed. The rear of the bumper is mounted into the existing holes for the rear bumper using longer bolts. The sides have a bracket welded to the bumper and are bolted to the bottom of the frame.

Jack Poehlman's 4.0/4.6 Rock Sliders
jacksliders

Jack Poehlman fabricated his own rock sliders (see photo top of this page) and is making them available to fellow enthusiasts. He used 2" x 6" x 1/4" wall box tube welded to a pair of U-shaped custom mounts made of 1/4 inch steel that encompass the frame rail, (bottom and each side) with each mount held in place by a 3/4" bolt that goes through existing holes in the frame. The forward bracket is located where the transmission cross member connects, and the rearward one is where the rear-trailing arm bolts to the frame. The box tubing sits about 1/4" under the stock sill and the outer edge is in line with the outer edge of the tires. The bottom of the slider is slightly below the bottom of the frame to help protect the transfer case and exhaust system.

As shown in the photo, the sliders are strong enough to use as a jacking point. Jack is making these sliders available on a limited basis -- email Jack or see his page at http://www.poehlman.net/p38aslider/.

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