Smittybilt vs. Rigged Ridge Side Armor/Rocker Guards

Misterchristo

Misterchristo

New member
Hey Everyone,

So I'm thinking of getting some of these.. I've narrowed it down to the Smittybilt and Rugged Ridge rocker guards. I live in NYC and don't have a place to do work on my jeep so it's going to be done in the street. Both of these products are bolt on, cost relatively the same and have that beefy, rugged look that I'm after.

This link is for the Smittybilt- http://www.quadratec.com/products/12057_1200_07.htm

This one is for the Rugged Ridge - http://www.quadratec.com/products/12052_600_07.htm

Anyone with experience or advice about these guards please share!

Thanks and Happy Trails,

Chris:rock:
 
NFRs2000NYC

NFRs2000NYC

Caught the Bug
Misterchristo said:
Hey Everyone,

So I'm thinking of getting some of these.. I've narrowed it down to the Smittybilt and Rugged Ridge rocker guards. I live in NYC and don't have a place to do work on my jeep so it's going to be done in the street. Both of these products are bolt on, cost relatively the same and have that beefy, rugged look that I'm after.

This link is for the Smittybilt- http://www.quadratec.com/products/12057_1200_07.htm

This one is for the Rugged Ridge - http://www.quadratec.com/products/12052_600_07.htm

Anyone with experience or advice about these guards please share!

Thanks and Happy Trails,

Chris:rock:
Click to expand...

I have the Smittybilts on my rig, and for NYC, they are fantastic. They are awesome from protecting against cab doors swinging open, shopping carts, and when offroading, they do well when dragging on a rock or a tree. However, they are not going to take the same abuse as the evo sliders when you crash down on a rock, but that isn't really a problem in NYC. I've been very happy with mine. Had them on my 2nd rig now (3.5 years total) and there is no rust on em.

NOTE, they MAY require a little fiddling with a dremel so that the bolt holes line up 100%.

I would also check out the ACE sliders.
 
David1tontj

David1tontj

New member
If you really are narrowed down to those two, then I won't bother talking about others.

I don't really like the way the smittybuilt ones hang so far down.
Especially if you were in a four door, you really want all the side clearance you can possibly have, so this just seems dumb to me.

The rugged ridge ones are better to me, but they do still look like they need to be rotated up about 30 degrees, but that's just my opinion.
 
Misterchristo

Misterchristo

New member
Thanks for suggestions, I'll check them out now! Yeah, my wrangler is my daily driver but I'm hoping to hit some trails in the future and I want to be ready! Glad to know the Smitty's may need some work also- that's definitely might be a factor, although I do have a dremel, I would have to do the mods in my apt. then go back and forth between the street for the right fit. Not the worst situation, but a little annoying...
 
NFRs2000NYC

NFRs2000NYC

Caught the Bug
David1tontj said:
If you really are narrowed down to those two, then I won't bother talking about others.

I don't really like the way the smittybuilt ones hang so far down.
Especially if you were in a four door, you really want all the side clearance you can possibly have, so this just seems dumb to me.

The rugged ridge ones are better to me, but they do still look like they need to be rotated up about 30 degrees, but that's just my opinion.
Click to expand...

We don't have anything around here that would require anything more than these two unfortunately. Our biggest obstacle is cabs and potholes. For city Jeepin', they do well. Im just a lot more careful when I go out west, and try to slide on them and not come crashing down on them. Im waiting to mess them up, then will replace them with evo step spec weld ons.
 
hogtyed

hogtyed

Member
I went with Smittybilt after denting my side panel. As that I don't do much rock climbing; I do a lot of trailing in the heavy woods where trees & branches like to sneak up on ya. They have held up good with no more damage to the side or to the rails themselves. I see no indication of rust or powder coat chipping & I have had them on for 2 years. As stated before in one of the other posts the holes may need a little modification for proper fitment. Also take the stupid Shittybilt yellow tags off. They get bent up & look like crap... Thats my :twocents: Lowcountry style 071.jpg [EMAIL="
 
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Frogmech

Frogmech

-
Don't know if you made your decision yet, but if you didn't, you might consider the ACE Engineering sliders for sale in this thread:

http://wayalife.com/showthread.php?21859-Jeep-JK-Part-Out-Thread

It looks like they are still available. The asking price is lower than the rugged ridge ones you're looking at but may be fairly close after shipping. They're also bolt on. In my opinion they're a far better product than what you're looking at.

Just a thought.
 
jeeeep

jeeeep

Hooked
I have the SRC's 3+ yrs and no issues, they've handled the rocks well, powder coat holding up, few places where I scraped it down after a few runs but just touched them up with Duplicolor bedliner.

I thought hanging low would be an issue but it hasn't been. Also like the flat step, makes it easier for the family to get in and out
 
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thardy

thardy

Banned
Frogmech said:
Don't know if you made your decision yet, but if you didn't, you might consider the ACE Engineering sliders for sale in this thread:

http://wayalife.com/showthread.php?21859-Jeep-JK-Part-Out-Thread

It looks like they are still available. The asking price is lower than the rugged ridge ones you're looking at but may be fairly close after shipping. They're also bolt on. In my opinion they're a far better product than what you're looking at.

Just a thought.
Click to expand...

I definitely agree with this.
 
Misterchristo

Misterchristo

New member
Thanks for all the suggestions guys. It's way more helpful to hear from others who have real-life experience. Haven't bought them yet- actually I thought I'd throw it out there to the community since these are going to be a Christmas present from the wife!:brows:

I can't wait to slap them on the JK and crush things:rock:

Chris
 
hogtyed

hogtyed

Member
Misterchristo said:
Thanks for all the suggestions guys. It's way more helpful to hear from others who have real-life experience. Haven't bought them yet- actually I thought I'd throw it out there to the community since these are going to be a Christmas present from the wife!:brows:

I can't wait to slap them on the JK and crush things:rock:

Chris
Click to expand...

Show some :photo:'s after you make your decision & get them installed.
 
holy_crap

holy_crap

Member
I had the Smittybilt on my last JKU. Honestly. they were tough once they were installed, never had an issue with them hanging lower than others, and I hit plenty of rocks and tree stumps with them. My problem was installing them, the comment of a little dremmel is a huge understatement. The driver side front hole was way off alignment and it took a lot more than a dremmel to cut it to make it fit. Again, this was for a 4 door model, but Smittybilt has known about this problem, several years later and the issue has not been fixed, which makes me very weary of their quality control practices for any of their products.

My only other Smittybilt product is the soft top boot. I bought it because I leave my top down for several days and wanted a cleaner look. Well, when I got home to install it guess what, it wouldn't fit... :mad: Leaving it in the sun for a couple of hours helped a little but it never fit right, I even ripped off one of the tabs included to help pull it on installation. Again, poor quality control practices in my opinion.

I'm also looking to get the ACE Sliders for my current JKUR.
 
NFRs2000NYC

NFRs2000NYC

Caught the Bug
holy_crap said:
I had the Smittybilt on my last JKU. Honestly. they were tough once they were installed, never had an issue with them hanging lower than others, and I hit plenty of rocks and tree stumps with them. My problem was installing them, the comment of a little dremmel is a huge understatement. The driver side front hole was way off alignment and it took a lot more than a dremmel to cut it to make it fit. Again, this was for a 4 door model, but Smittybilt has known about this problem, several years later and the issue has not been fixed, which makes me very weary of their quality control practices for any of their products.

My only other Smittybilt product is the soft top boot. I bought it because I leave my top down for several days and wanted a cleaner look. Well, when I got home to install it guess what, it wouldn't fit... :mad: Leaving it in the sun for a couple of hours helped a little but it never fit right, I even ripped off one of the tabs included to help pull it on installation. Again, poor quality control practices in my opinion.

I'm also looking to get the ACE Sliders for my current JKUR.
Click to expand...

I have seen members bolt them right on, and others, like myself that needed to bust out the dremel. The key is knowing what bit to use and where to sand. Took me 3 minute of grinding with a sanding pad to oval out the hole to line it up. Others may have had to spend 10 minutes. It really isn't that big of a deal, but I agree with you, some cursing may be required if someone is expecting a 100% bolt on part, which I agree can suck. Looks wise I think they are great, and again, for NYC, they are fantastic. They do wonders of defending the paintwork. Basically the only way a door can contact paint is with another lifted truck.

I drove my 2012 into the city 5 days a week, and never got a scratch. My friend that got an arctic the same day had his trashed with door dings and his painted fenders within a few months. There are no obstacles more hardcore than NYC cabs.

If I had to do it all over again, I'd probably go with ACE. They stick out almost as far and bolt right up without the possibility of having to break out the dremel.
 
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