Building a Jeep that’s not a Wrangler, XJ, or CJ can be an exercise in frustration. You know what you want, but sometimes unless you’re willing and able to cut, weld, and fabricate, you may not be able to get it. This can be especially true of rocker protection, which is almost always the first order of business for any of our vehicle builds. There’s no faster way to bugger up your rig’s body than hit a hardcore trail without rocker protection. Next thing you know you’ve got a best-case scenario of a couple minor dents or a worst-case scenario of collapsed lower sheetmetal that won’t allow you to open the doors.
We didn’t want our ’78 Cherokee Chief to suffer such a fate, but our fabrication time was limited as we scurried about prepping for what turned out to be a failed attempt to bring it to the 2012 Moab Easter Jeep Safari. Ultimately, other mechanical issues let us down and the Chief didn’t go to Moab, but not before we managed to secure some top-notch rocker protection.
The Rocky Road Outfitter Super-sliders...
The Rocky Road Outfitter Super-sliders are built with burly 2x2-inch, 0.188-wall square trailer hitch stock and employ a 13⁄4-inch, 0.120-wall protective tube with additional gusseting for extra rocker protection. They tie to the framerails with two mounting feet and also incorporate the body pinch seam. The sliders came with a nice powdercoated finish and included installation instructions and mounting hardware.
In addition to manufacturing suspension, bumper, and armor parts for mainstream Jeeps like Wranglers, Scramblers, and CJs, Rocky Road Outfitters also covers a gamut of less-conventional enthusiast Jeeps, including the Jeep WK Grand Cherokee, Liberty, Commander, Patriot, and Compass. And that’s not even getting into the non-Jeep vehicles it covers. The company’s Rockrails are built from 0.188-wall receiver hitch stock with 3/16-inch mounting plates and heavy-wall runners. They’re designed to bolt on with only drilling required on some models and come powdercoated for all-weather protection. The Super-sliders are simply a Rockrail with an extra slider tube and bracing that further protects the rockers and helps keep trail obstacles away from the body.
Rocky Road offers its line of Rockrails and Super-sliders for ’84-’91 Wagoneers. Considering how little Jeep changed in the Wagoneer/Cherokee architecture, we think it’s close enough to a ’78 Cherokee Chief that we ordered up a set of Super-sliders for our FSJ. Since we were installing the sliders on a vehicle for which they weren’t designed, we ran into a couple of slight differences and had to drill one new bolt hole per side. Still, we gained a ton of protection with very minor installation hassles. The sliders fit the contours of the body and frame nicely, and Rocky Road guarantees them against bending forever.
The forward mounting foot...
The forward mounting foot bolts to the frame using existing bolt holes for the tranny crossmember. As a bonus, this area on an FSJ is boxed and very strong. The ’84-up Wagoneers have a 31⁄2-inch on-center bolt spacing that’s slightly narrower than the earlier models’ 4-inch on-center spacing, so we drilled one new rear-mounting hole per side.
Since you only have to pull...
Since you only have to pull two of the four crossmember bolts for installation, we were able to use our Harbor Freight Tools transmission jack to lift the 35lb rockers into position instead of holding up the drivetrain. A floor jack, jack stands, or a couple of friends will also work.
Finally, we marked and drilled...
Finally, we marked and drilled the holes for the 3⁄8-inch self-tapping bolts used to fasten down the rear mounting plates using a size T drill bit and a right-angle drill. There’s really no room to fit a regular drill, so if you don’t have a right-angle drill you’ll either have to buy one, drop the fuel tank and carefully drill from the back side, or weld the sliders to the frame. You could also use a plasma cutter or torch to pierce the frame, but make sure there are no fuel or brake lines behind the area before hand.
We placed the Super-slider...
We placed the Super-slider into position and reused the tranny crossmember bolts. Notice the new rear hole we had to drill towards the rear of the vehicle (right). Again, this wouldn’t be necessary on a ’84-’91 Wagoneer, and now that Rocky Road Outfitters is aware of the differences, won’t be necessary for the earlier Jeeps either.
The Super-sliders tie into...
The Super-sliders tie into the body pinch seam in four places per side using supplied 5⁄16-inch bolts. We drilled the necessary holes and tightened up the body-to-slider bolts before gunning down the forward mounting plate bolts at the tranny crossmember.
This is the first time Rocky...
This is the first time Rocky Road Outfitters has sent its Rockrails or Super-sliders to a Cherokee Chief owner for fitment, so we were essentially willing test subjects. The Wagoneers have smaller wheelwell openings than the Chiefs, so on a Wagoneer the edge of the Super-slider lines right up to the edge of the wheelwell. In our case, there were about 2 inches of extra slider hanging. Rocky Road will soon offer slightly shorter sliders specifically for Chief applications. We’ll chop it later, but for now we’ve got stout rocker protection that’ll keep our vintage sheetmetal wrinkle-free.