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twizzstyle

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I reinstalled my plastic panels over my DCE sliders. I fully realize these panels are unnecessary, but I’d rather they be there just to keep a bit of filth out of the exposed extrusion.

I installed some rivet nuts in existing holes on the sliders to mount the panels, plus quite a bit of cutting. They are every bit as solid as the original installation.
Rivian R1T R1S DCE Rock Slider Product Overview & Install video for Rivian R1T / R1S IMG_1185
Rivian R1T R1S DCE Rock Slider Product Overview & Install video for Rivian R1T / R1S IMG_1186


The only catch, is since the plastic panels angle up as they go outboard, they have to angle down slightly to attach to the sliders the way I am doing it. This means that "bulge" in the panels technically lowers my ground clearance a teeny tiny bit. If I'm that close on hitting something, the plastic panels are sacrificial, so I don't care.

There is also the potential that water pools up in the plastic panels, but I'll give it some time to see how they do. Worst case, I can drill a few drain holes.
 
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wirenut

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I reinstalled my plastic panels over my DCE sliders. I fully realize these panels are unnecessary, but I’d rather they be there just to keep a bit of filth out of the exposed extrusion.

I installed some rivet nuts in existing holes on the sliders to mount the panels, plus quite a bit of cutting. They are every bit as solid as the original installation.
IMG_1185.jpeg
IMG_1186.jpeg


The only catch, is since the plastic panels angle up as they go outboard, they have to angle down slightly to attach to the sliders the way I am doing it. This means that "bulge" in the panels technically lowers my ground clearance a teeny tiny bit. If I'm that close on hitting something, the plastic panels are sacrificial, so I don't care.
Wow, it looks fantastic! Do you have more detailed instructions by any chance? This is probably one of the only reasons that make me hesitant about ordering the DCE sliders. I do understand plastic panels are mostly superficial but I still irrationally want them installed to cover the frame.
 

sfvR1S

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This forum is a great resource. I was all set on getting sliders and then I saw someone post Rivian won't service the vehicle with sliders attached because it blocked an area. Not sure if I want the brain damage of uninstalling and reinstalling sliders for service visits. Maybe if I wait Rivian manufactured sliders will be available and there won't be the same issue.
 

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I reinstalled my plastic panels over my DCE sliders. I fully realize these panels are unnecessary, but I’d rather they be there just to keep a bit of filth out of the exposed extrusion.

I installed some rivet nuts in existing holes on the sliders to mount the panels, plus quite a bit of cutting. They are every bit as solid as the original installation.
IMG_1185.jpeg
IMG_1186.jpeg


The only catch, is since the plastic panels angle up as they go outboard, they have to angle down slightly to attach to the sliders the way I am doing it. This means that "bulge" in the panels technically lowers my ground clearance a teeny tiny bit. If I'm that close on hitting something, the plastic panels are sacrificial, so I don't care.

There is also the potential that water pools up in the plastic panels, but I'll give it some time to see how they do. Worst case, I can drill a few drain holes.
What size rivnuts did you use?
 
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twizzstyle

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What size rivnuts did you use?
I think they were M8? I'm honestly not sure... I grabbed whatever would fit in the holes from my assortment.

I also added some rivnuts in the plastic panels themselves, where they join together. It wasn't quite as secure as I wanted so I drilled some holes in the plastic, added some rivnuts (which are not a great option for thin plastic like that, but later I heated them up to melt the plastic a little, effectively turning them into heatset inserts... they're solid now).

In my first photo above, which is from the rear looking forward, if you look closely where the panel closest to the camera meets the next panel, you'll see two fasteners there. That's joining the two panels together.

Also the rear most panel had to get some fresh double sided tape on the inboard edge to attach to the truck, same as the factory installation, since there is no mechanical means to attach that inner edge like the other panels.

I've done a bit of muddy snow driving (no real off roading, but at least lots of dirty splattering), and things are holding up well.
 

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I think they were M8? I'm honestly not sure... I grabbed whatever would fit in the holes from my assortment.

I also added some rivnuts in the plastic panels themselves, where they join together. It wasn't quite as secure as I wanted so I drilled some holes in the plastic, added some rivnuts (which are not a great option for thin plastic like that, but later I heated them up to melt the plastic a little, effectively turning them into heatset inserts... they're solid now).

In my first photo above, which is from the rear looking forward, if you look closely where the panel closest to the camera meets the next panel, you'll see two fasteners there. That's joining the two panels together.

Also the rear most panel had to get some fresh double sided tape on the inboard edge to attach to the truck, same as the factory installation, since there is no mechanical means to attach that inner edge like the other panels.

I've done a bit of muddy snow driving (no real off roading, but at least lots of dirty splattering), and things are holding up well.
I am still waiting on my rivnut kit but have the panels mostly cut. The rear panel on the R1S is much shorter and the factory jackpoint is covered by the slider. One is provided on the slider but is is a slightly different position so the jackpoint cover does not alight. Also the bolt hole for the rear cover is covered by the slider.
 

usulio

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Just installed DCE sliders on my R1S (vin 10xxx) and made some notes about tricky or unexpected parts. They just have you go off the R1T install video, but there are some details and minor changes for R1S, so maybe these will help someone. I added timestamps into the relevant part of the video.

Overall pretty simple and doable even without any experience with this stuff. But a few little gotchas.

Their install video:

----
(R1S only) For the R1S, there is no extra hardware included, just the TP55 bit. That's on purpose (I called and asked).

(Both) Having an impact driver would have been nice and sped up things a lot, but I was ok with a breaker bar and drill (the drill was mostly useless on the big bolts).

(Both) The included TP55 bit fits a 3/8" socket, so you need an adapter if you're using a breaker bar with a 1/2" socket.

(Both) Removing the plastic panels is the most annoying part. I didn't have a proper pick. I ended up just ripping them down half the time and broke one or two tabs.

(Both) After removing the plastic panels and the black metal rails, you can immediately put all those screws and bolts back in. They won't be relevant any more.

(R1S only, 6:00) Don't remove any of the big TP55 bolts in the middle. The only ones you remove are the two together at the very front (6:23). For all the others, just loosen them 1/2".

(R1S only?, 6:35) You don't loosen every single TP55 bolt in the very back either. Look at the sliders and count how many you need to loosen.

(Both, 6:00) The black metal triangles wanted to fall off, so I used some tape to hold them on before loosening or removing their bolts.

(Both, 6:50) When removing the 17mm bolts, pay attention to where the "first" one (that you leave in) starts and where the last one you need to remove is. Look at the slider and count how many holes it has and where they are.

(R1S only, 6:50) You still skip the first 17mm bolt, but instead of skipping the seventh 17mm bolt, you skip the sixth. Actually, you're going to remove that one later too (8:10), so you could just remove it now.

(R1S only, 7:03) Just skip the part about screwing in the "included" bolts.

(R1S only?) The hard part about sliding the slider onto the hanging bolts was the very back, where the rail caught on the car's black plastic. Do yourself a favor and loosen the bolts back there as far as possible. Actually, the backmost TP55 bolt can even be completely removed and then put back in after you've slid the rail on.

(Both) The method I found easiest for getting the slider on by myself is to sit cross legged, rest the rail on my legs, then just use my legs to lift it up to about the right height and push it forward. Then I put a step stool under it and slid underneath to check and readjust. I had some trouble with this part because of the back plastic mentioned above, but it might've been easy if I lowered the screws more.
 
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not_a_car_guy

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Installed the DCE Rock Sliders today on my R1T (2023 VIN 26XXX).

Some notes/tip/questions:
  • I only had a 1/4" M18 Milwaukee impact driver, which was definitely not powerful enough to remove the TP55 bolts. It was fine for all the torx and hex bolts. For the TP55 bolts, I initially used a breaker bar, but it required many repeated twists before my impact driver could remove the bolt and took a long time. I switched to my hand torque wrench, adjusted it to a high setting, and the ratcheting mechanism on it made removed the TP55 bolts go much quicker. Also, since it didn't have a swivel adapter, it was much easier to apply constant pressure inward into the bolt while twisting, to avoid stripping the bolt. I probably had to turn each one 720 degrees before I could properly remove them with my wimpy 1/4" hex impact driver. I think a proper 1/2" or 3/8" driver would be more successful at busting those bolts.
  • Thanks to @skunn for his suggestion on how to install the slider by yourself by putting it on your lap and using your legs to left it into position.
  • I tried @usulio suggestion of completely removing the rearmost TP55 bolt instead of just loosening it. That probably made it easier to slide on, but you cannot simply install the bolt after hanging the slider; you need to slide the back part of the slider out a bit to finagle the bolt in. To accomplish this, I used one leg to brace the front end of the slider inwards, so it would "pivot" there and I could pull the backside out to get the bolt in while the front side would still hang from bolts. I would say that maneuver was only a little sketchy, but if you take it slow you can ensure you only pivot it out as much as is absolutely needed. (I had also completely removed the first slide-in TP55 bolt instead of just loosening it as well, so had to repeat this maneuver again for that bolt.)
  • For the other side, I didn't take the first and last bolts completely out, instead I merely loosened them more than the others. However, I still had issues. When I installed the slider, it properly hung on every bolt except the last and first, despite the fact I backed those out further, and I had to do my "pivot" maneuvers again to slightly pull out the slider, and then raise it a bit more on each side, so the slider would hang properly from the end bolts as well.
  • Both times, I used my finger to feel around inside each of the outer row of bolt holes to make sure the slider was properly hanging on every bolt. It's not easy to inspect visually.
  • The area around the middle hole is raised in the small bracket that they provide, and the raised part should face upwards when installed, so that the bracket rests evenly at all three bolt locations. If you install it upside down, then when you tighten the bolts you risk bending this bracket. They don't mention this in the video.
  • The video didn't mention anything about the two black "triangular" parts that are on each side that come off when you remove the bolts they tell you to remove. I assume you don't need to reinstall this piece again, although it wasn't clear to me what purpose it was serving in the first place.
  • I only needed a long flathead screwdriver to get the panels off, I got by without a pick. Having a light under the truck that can shine in between the panels and the underbody is really helpful to properly locate all the pins.
  • Similar to @obfuscurity, my truck didn't have the two additional holes on each side where the DCE supplied bolts go. So two of the slots in the outer row of the slider went unused. It doesn't seem to compromise the integrity of the installation, but I didn't see @DCE respond to this aspect in the forums. If I don't see a response here, then I'll call them when I get a chance and post back here.
  • It would be great if there were some printed instructions to update with the latest torque specs. In their installation video, all they did was blur out the wrong specs and verbally reference some elusive spec "sheet". I finally found the proper specs, but they're buried deep in a 100+ post thread. (https://www.rivianforums.com/forum/...ll-video-for-rivian-r1t-r1s.11852/post-295403).
  • Thanks to @skunn for pointing out the last two TP55 bolts at the rear don't need to be loosened. Saved me some manual effort.
  • In the installation video they suggest throwing the TP55 bit into the "glove box" when you're done, that made me chuckle ;-). If only...
  • The 17mm hex bolts seemed to have some kind of threadlock applied to them when they were first installed. The instructions for one of the other rock sliders for Rivian (RMaxx maybe?) recommends using threadlock on these 17mm bolts and they it's not needed on the TP55 bolts (and also suggest a much lower torque setting). DCE didn't mention anything so I didn't use any threadlock on these, but I wonder if that's an oversight by them.
 
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Installed the DCE Rock Sliders today on my R1T (2023 VIN 26XXX).

Some notes/tip/questions:
  • I only had a 1/4" M18 Milwaukee impact driver, which was definitely not powerful enough to remove the TP55 bolts. It was fine for all the torx and hex bolts. For the TP55 bolts, I initially used a breaker bar, but it required many repeated twists before my impact driver could remove the bolt and took a long time. I switched to my hand torque wrench, adjusted it to a high setting, and the ratcheting mechanism on it made removed the TP55 bolts go much quicker. Also, since it didn't have a swivel adapter, it was much easier to apply constant pressure inward into the bolt while twisting, to avoid stripping the bolt. I probably had to turn each one 720 degrees before I could properly remove them with my wimpy 1/4" hex impact driver. I think a proper 1/2" or 3/8" driver would be more successful at busting those bolts.
  • Thanks to @skunn for his suggestion on how to install the slider by yourself by putting it on your lap and using your legs to left it into position.
  • I tried @usulio suggestion of completely removing the rearmost TP55 bolt instead of just loosening it. That probably made it easier to slide on, but you cannot simply install the bolt after hanging the slider; you need to slide the back part of the slider out a bit to finagle the bolt in. To accomplish this, I used one leg to brace the front end of the slider inwards, so it would "pivot" there and I could pull the backside out to get the bolt in while the front side would still hang from bolts. I would say that maneuver was only a little sketchy, but if you take it slow you can ensure you only pivot it out as much as is absolutely needed. (I had also completely removed the first slide-in TP55 bolt instead of just loosening it as well, so had to repeat this maneuver again for that bolt.)
  • For the other side, I didn't take the first and last bolts completely out, instead I merely loosened them more than the others. However, I still had issues. When I installed the slider, it properly hung on every bolt except the last and first, despite the fact I backed those out further, and I had to do my "pivot" maneuvers again to slightly pull out the slider, and then raise it a bit more on each side, so the slider would hang properly from the end bolts as well.
  • Both times, I used my finger to feel around inside each of the outer row of bolt holes to make sure the slider was properly hanging on every bolt. It's not easy to inspect visually.
  • The area around the middle hole is raised in the small bracket that they provide, and the raised part should face upwards when installed, so that the bracket rests evenly at all three bolt locations. If you install it upside down, then when you tighten the bolts you risk bending this bracket. They don't mention this in the video.
  • The video didn't mention anything about the two black "triangular" parts that are on each side that come off when you remove the bolts they tell you to remove. I assume you don't need to reinstall this piece again, although it wasn't clear to me what purpose it was serving in the first place.
  • I only needed a long flathead screwdriver to get the panels off, I got by without a pick. Having a light under the truck that can shine in between the panels and the underbody is really helpful to properly locate all the pins.
  • Similar to @obfuscurity, my truck didn't have the two additional holes on each side where the DCE supplied bolts go. So two of the slots in the outer row of the slider went unused. It doesn't seem to compromise the integrity of the installation, but I didn't see @DCE respond to this aspect in the forums. If I don't see a response here, then I'll call them when I get a chance and post back here.
  • It would be great if there were some printed instructions to update with the latest torque specs. In their installation video, all they did was blur out the wrong specs and verbally reference some elusive spec "sheet". I finally found the proper specs, but they're buried deep in a 100+ post thread. (https://www.rivianforums.com/forum/...ll-video-for-rivian-r1t-r1s.11852/post-295403).
  • Thanks to @skunn for pointing out the last two TP55 bolts at the rear don't need to be loosened. Saved me some manual effort.
  • In the installation video they suggest throwing the TP55 bit into the "glove box" when you're done, that made me chuckle ;-). If only...
  • The 17mm hex bolts seemed to have some kind of threadlock applied to them when they were first installed. The instructions for one of the other rock sliders for Rivian (RMaxx maybe?) recommends using threadlock on these 17mm bolts and they it's not needed on the TP55 bolts (and also suggest a much lower torque setting). DCE didn't mention anything so I didn't use any threadlock on these, but I wonder if that's an oversight by them.

Thank you for the feed back!!


  • "The video didn't mention anything about the two black "triangular" parts that are on each side that come off when you remove the bolts they tell you to remove. I assume you don't need to reinstall this piece again, although it wasn't clear to me what purpose it was serving in the first place."

    The triangular brackets do get removed and stay off.

  • "Similar to @obfuscurity, my truck didn't have the two additional holes on each side where the DCE supplied bolts go. So two of the slots in the outer row of the slider went unused. It doesn't seem to compromise the integrity of the installation, but I didn't see @DCE respond to this aspect in the forums. If I don't see a response here, then I'll call them when I get a chance and post back here."

    At the time of filming, we had one of the earliest models released that had additional holes so we included extra hardware. Lately we've noticed that some Ravia's no longer have the bolt holes. Not using the extra holes will not alter the strength of the rock slider itself.
 

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not_a_car_guy

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Thank you @DCE .

Can you also confirm that the torque settings are 95 and 55 ft-lbs (and not N-m)?

The settings feel high (though I’m clearly not an expert).
 
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MarkJ

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Thank you @DCE .

Can you also confirm that the torque settings are 95 and 55 ft-lbs (and not N-m)?

The settings feel high (though I’m clearly not an expert).
2023 R1S owner here, just got my DCE rock sliders a week or two ago. I echo this concern on the torque settings. I installed one of my rock sliders (pass side) yesterday, and 55ft lb felt "on the high end" for the 17mm hex bolts, but I did it. However. DCE's recommendation of 95lb torque seems way too high (given the small diameter bolt shafts) for those TP55s. I'm reading around and seeing:

https://electruck4x4.com/blogs/technical-articles/megawatt™-performance-rock-sliders-with-step-for-r1t-installation
These folks say 85ft lb for the TP55s.

https://evsportline.com/blogs/news/rmaxx-running-board-install-instructions#:~:text=on the chassis.-,Torque TP55 bolts to 80 ft-lbs.,edge of front fender flare.)
These folks say 80ft lb for the TP55s.

What's the answer here? I'll take a consensus. I'm seeing recommendations of 80, 85, 95. Clearly they're the same bolts, same threaded holes.. so what does the factory say for the torque for the 17mm Hex and TP55s? It's not subjective, it's in writing somewhere in an official shop manual. I hand torqued mine TP55s to 75lb for now until I get some kind of answer, because I'm 'not' snapping one of these bolts (which aren't accessible with the sliders installed) over bad info and paying a mint to have a shop extract it.. surely everyone understand the headache+cost there. If i don't hear anything back, I'll leave the TP55 at 75ft lb or maybe increase to 80ft lb and call it a day.

I welcome input on this! This should be a very straightforward answer.

Mark

#Update, Feb23, I re-torqued to 80lb in the near-term, as that's the lowest suggestion out there among the manufacturers. Still concerned about going to 95lb per DCE's guidance since it's a fair bit higher than every else's specs.

@DCE
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