Man, this stuff is slick. For those of you who have not heard of UHMW plastic, it is some impressive stuff. It is similar to cutting board material. It has a self lubricating quality when scratched. It does wear over time, but is very durable. Can be replaced when needed. 2 major benefits for our sliders is that it will protect the powder coating underneath and allow lots of slip when contacting objects. Aluminum has a tendency to grab and gouge. It also will be much quieter when contacting objects vs steel options. Our 1/4 wall aluminum sliders weigh in at 55lbs per side vs double that for most current steel options. Adding 3/8 thick UHMW will add approximately 13lbs to each side. This is still a huge weight savings compared to steel. Steel has the benefit of strength compared to aluminum, so steel variants like the LK8 sliders will take an enormous amount of heavy abuse and hold up extremely well. They are also very cost effective for the level of protection they provide. The only real drawback of steel is its weight. We are not saying aluminum sliders are the strongest and most economical option, however it is a viable alternative. And still plenty strong when properly designed.

 

is it made of aluminum? it looks like it's too long you will need to remove the front mudflaps?

 

Yes it is made of all aluminum. It can accommodate mud flaps if desired

 

I like it - it's practical without screaming "I'm an Overlander!".

Is there an estimated cost, yet?

 

Thank you, yes we currently have installed pricing with options like the UHMW , mud flap clearance, tree bars. Pm me for info.

 

Here is a view from underneath. Definitely good that we have windows to the factory jack points due to the fact this stuff is so slick!

 

well, those look great.

 

So, I’m guessing you can’t jack up on those with a hi lift or arb jack?

 

With the optional tree bars you could if you really wanted to. I don't suggest using those type of jacks on the new defender either way. We have the factory jack points exposed and will be offering a jack pad for these openings for a floor jack. We lift on the uhmw with rubber pads on a 2 post lift with no problems, but still due to the slick properties of uhmw, I would still suggest using the jack points wben needed.