By Tony K
Once I installed my rock sliders the next chink in the armor reared its ugly head. Due to the long overhang on our wagons more sheetmetal is at risk for some serious carnage. The rear quarters on a wagon need some protection if you are going to venture out into the rocks.
As you can see in the pic my quarter guards have gotten a lot of use. While they don’t stop all the carnage, quarter guards will stop most of it. What you will also find is that quarter guards need to be in a higher location than rock sliders. Not only to improve departure angles but the potential damaged seems to come more from the sides than the bottom as we clear an obstacle. Remember, you also have the underside of the rear bumper as a key ingredient to your quarter guard install.
I tied mine into the rear bumper ends as this prevented to need for a second mount to attach them. And you may notice that my quarter guards match my rock sliders to a T. This was easy to do as all I did was buy another set of Trail Gear sliders and cut one of them in half, add a short section of pipe, a little welding and like magic a perfect match to my rock sliders.
Just like my rock sliders they are bolted to the frame rather than welded. Same reasons too, no mangled frames and easier to repair in the long run. Only this time there is no inner plate as the bolts go through the frame where it is doubled up from the factory. I did use very heavy washers on the inside just to be safe.
