Custom removable steps for factory Gladiator rock slider rails preview (coming soon)

[NXTGENAutomotive]

Hi Jeepers,

After many, many months of designing, engineering, revising, testing and revising again. We are very excited to be nearing the production phase of this project.

We have custom designed a lot of products over the decades with our various NXTGEN, Inc companies, and this was by far one of the hardest projects we have ever done. But after 6 conceptual revisions we are ready to start tooling the various molds to begin producing them.

Please note: the units in the examples are pre-production prototypes and the final production pieces will have a superior coating, fit and finish. These are simply proofs of concept and test mules to beat on. They were originally finished with a simple powder coat and then sprayed with a rattle can numerous times as we put them through the wringer. Our 24 Rubicon is a bit of a mall crawler, but our 2018 sport has no power options, well over 100,000 miles and gets used as a Jeep should. Therefore, these steps have seen some action to make sure everything is ready for primetime.



It will take some time to build these molds, test the molds and then producing the first few thousand pieces for the initial run, but we are currently anticipating being ready to start selling in January 2025.

They will come in sets of 2 and will work for any JL Wrangler or JT Gladiator that has the OEM rock slider rails or has added them after the fact. This is for the traditional Rubicon-style ones and not the larger and flatter ones that also somewhat double as a step.

We have put together a quick video to demonstrate the process and we can't wait to release to the community as soon as possible.

Please let us know if you have any questions or feedback.

The NXTGEN, Inc Team

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[Advntrbound]

Depending on price, I would be interested for a set

 

[CyberHero]

Wow game changer if price isnt stupid

 

[NXTGENAutomotive]

Depending on price, I would be interested for a set

@Advntrbound @CyberHero


What started this, like many of our projects is that we wanted something like this for our personal vehicles. There was one option at the time and I think that company no longer is in business. But they were wildly expensive and they were also machined to order with many weeks or often months of lead-time.

While we have machined our testers, we are going to make molds to be able to produce and stock 100's of sets at a time. We are just finishing up the designs of the molds and the tooling cost is a major expense.

Once the tooling is completed, we will be able to set a final price and list all of the info on our website.

We do have a general ballpark as of now though, and a set of 4 will be under $700, inclusive of free shipping to anywhere in the USA, HI, PR and Alaska. We will also ship globally at an additional cost. A set of 2 will be roughly half that.

When marked as in stock, the units will be ready to ship upon purchase.

We are not sure what would be considered stupid expensive. But our goal when we started this over 8 months ago was to have a far more complex and sophisticated system compared to other removable options. That is also respectably priced below what was previously available, and also have shippable inventory.

 

[In3briatedPanda]

Wow game changer if price isnt stupid

EXACTLY. I dont want to get rid of my sliders, but I will not spend the same money on this as i would a $500+ set of running boards/side steps.

The convenience fee is the selling point, being modular and easy to add/remove

 

[CyberHero]

@Advntrbound @CyberHero


What started this, like many of our projects is that we wanted something like this for our personal vehicles. There was one option at the time and I think that company no longer is in business. But they were wildly expensive and they were also machined to order with many weeks or often months of lead-time.

While we have machined our testers, we are going to make molds to be able to produce and stock 100's of sets at a time. We are just finishing up the designs of the molds and the tooling cost is a major expense.

Once the tooling is completed, we will be able to set a final price and list all of the info on our website.

We do have a general ballpark as of now though, and a set of 4 will be under $700, inclusive of free shipping to anywhere in the USA, HI, PR and Alaska. We will also ship globally at an additional cost. A set of 2 will be roughly half that.

When marked as in stock, the units will be ready to ship upon purchase.

We are not sure what would be considered stupid expensive. But our goal when we started this over 8 months ago was to have a far more complex and sophisticated system compared to other removable options. That is also respectably priced below what was previously available, and also have shippable inventory.

Once u start to get up to 500 I think just buying new sliders becomes more reasonable and if these are closer to 700 I’ll prob go with my original plans of rock hard 4x4. Just my opinion

 

[NXTGENAutomotive]

Once u start to get up to 500 I think just buying new sliders becomes more reasonable and if these are closer to 700 I’ll prob go with my original plans of rock hard 4x4. Just my opinion

@CyberHero @In3briatedPanda

We appreciate the insight and feedback.

We were consumers and enthusiasts looking for something like this before we came at this from a business standpoint.

A full new rail vs a modular step system that works with the factory rail is a bit of an apples to oranges comparison from a cost to build standpoint. They are also pretty different products, so it comes down to preferences, and we fully understand cost is a decent factor in that.

Before we started looking into this last winter, we were looking for steps to work with the factory rails. At that time, there was one clamp on product available and we were looking at almost $1,000 for tiny steps that were going to take into the months to be delivered. Many of us spend a penny on our Jeeps, but there are limits to that.

Our families needed lower hanging steps that were functional, but we also didn't always want them hanging down, as that really takes away the ability to do what our vehicles were made for. SO we grabbed a used set of rails about 9 months ago and started this project.

Variety is great and we are not looking to put anything or anyone down. But we as consumers could't do about $1,000 for 4 of these:

We also wanted something a bit larger and more useful as a step if it was going to be removable, as well as a different look, so we refined this design over time:

From a pricing standpoint, please keep this in mind:

• When we had said under $700 that was inclusive of shipping. Whether it is rails or 4 sizable steel steps, the costs to ship these are a factor. The 4x4 rails you had mentioned are $899 and if we ordered them, the shipping fee is $156.xx. Let us say our step set was $685, that would be the total cost besides any tax due. That is a $371 dollar difference, or well over a 30% difference. If we did not include shipping, we could absolutely be in the $5xx dollar range. So if you factor total costs, we are actually right in the wheelhouse you were going towards.

• Vs a fully new rail, our design is far more complex and costly to build. We have a fully custom developed multi-piece clamp set and specialty molds for those. The step portion and side supports are also fully custom designed with molds and machining for those. We have custom rubber liners inside the clamps and molds for those. The ability to remove this is really nice and an option as Jeep owners that we should have. But from our standpoint, we are not charging a fee for convenience, we simply have massive tooling and production costs to make a very complex product. The JL wrangler has been out since 2018, and there is a reason why there are not many products like this. Because it is wildly hard and complex to do, and costly to build. The fact that we can do that for less than other solutions like the full 4x4 rail system mentioned above makes us happy, as our costs to this this well exceed something like that.

Food for thought

 

[In3briatedPanda]

@CyberHero @In3briatedPanda

We appreciate the insight and feedback.

We were consumers and enthusiasts looking for something like this before we came at this from a business standpoint.

A full new rail vs a modular step system that works with the factory rail is a bit of an apples to oranges comparison from a cost to build standpoint. They are also pretty different products, so it comes down to preferences, and we fully understand cost is a decent factor in that.

Before we started looking into this last winter, we were looking for steps to work with the factory rails. At that time, there was one clamp on product available and we were looking at almost $1,000 for tiny steps that were going to take into the months to be delivered. Many of us spend a penny on our Jeeps, but there are limits to that.

Our families needed lower hanging steps that were functional, but we also didn't always want them hanging down, as that really takes away the ability to do what our vehicles were made for. SO we grabbed a used set of rails about 9 months ago and started this project.

Variety is great and we are not looking to put anything or anyone down. But we as consumers could't do about $1,000 for 4 of these:

We also wanted something a bit larger and more useful as a step if it was going to be removable, as well as a different look, so we refined this design over time:

From a pricing standpoint, please keep this in mind:

• When we had said under $700 that was inclusive of shipping. Whether it is rails or 4 sizable steel steps, the costs to ship these are a factor. The 4x4 rails you had mentioned are $899 and if we ordered them, the shipping fee is $156.xx. Let us say our step set was $685, that would be the total cost besides any tax due. That is a $371 dollar difference, or well over a 30% difference. If we did not include shipping, we could absolutely be in the $5xx dollar range. So if you factor total costs, we are actually right in the wheelhouse you were going towards.

• Vs a fully new rail, our design is far more complex and costly to build. We have a fully custom developed multi-piece clamp set and specialty molds for those. The step portion and side supports are also fully custom designed with molds and machining for those. We have custom rubber liners inside the clamps and molds for those. The ability to remove this is really nice and an option as Jeep owners that we should have. But from our standpoint, we are not charging a fee for convenience, we simply have massive tooling and production costs to make a very complex product. The JL wrangler has been out since 2018, and there is a reason why there are not many products like this. Because it is wildly hard and complex to do, and costly to build. The fact that we can do that for less than other solutions like the full 4x4 rail system mentioned above makes us happy, as our costs to this this well exceed something like that.

Food for thought

I have no doubt that the R&D is there, I was not trying to downplay or belittle your product.

Every pot has its lid, unfortunately we don’t match and that’s okay. I appreciate you having even MORE options for consumers.

Just bc it cost that much, doesn’t mean that value is what I will garner. It looks great and I get the price point. I had a feeling 500 a piece , technically tiny step boards.

I’m obviously not your target audience.

 

[Josh00333]

Your competition is the MORE step, they are $180 each. So your right there with them.

Neat idea, I like it!

 

[Reo Cook]

I like those a lot. The amount of drop actually makes it to where the step can make entry easier. The steps I currently have make it awkward to use for entry (step up and duck to get in). This looks like it would be a lot more user friendly. Great work!

 

[NXTGENAutomotive]

I have no doubt that the R&D is there, I was not trying to downplay or belittle your product.

Every pot has its lid, unfortunately we don’t match and that’s okay. I appreciate you having even MORE options for consumers.

Just bc it cost that much, doesn’t mean that value is what I will garner. It looks great and I get the price point. I had a feeling 500 a piece , technically tiny step boards.

I’m obviously not your target audience.

No offense taken!! We appreciate your insight and feedback.

No single product is for everyone, ever

 

[danimal2000]

Well, this is probably what I've been waiting for. Wife is short, kids are shorter. I've been interested in a removable step like this for a while. The M.O.R.E hide a step is fugly imo. And pricy for what it is. Your solution looks great, OEM-ish like it was meant to be there.
also, it looks like I can use them for getting bikes on the roof, strapping things down,etc. Better than my folding step stool!
Great work! Where are you shipping from? Curious if there's plans for a pick em up option, save everyone a bit on shipping

Now, tell me please that these are American made, and you can probably have my American dollars.

 

[NXTGENAutomotive]

Your competition is the MORE step, they are $180 each. So your right there with them.

Neat idea, I like it!

As long as something does't change drastically economically we should be able to price below that per step, for sure!

Over time, our large R&D and tooling costs will have eventually been recuperated and that could even eventually allow a drop if our costs to produce don't jump down the road, too.

 

[NXTGENAutomotive]

Well, this is probably what I've been waiting for. Wife is short, kids are shorter. I've been interested in a removable step like this for a while. The M.O.R.E hide a step is fugly imo. And pricy for what it is. Your solution looks great, OEM-ish like it was meant to be there. Great work! Where are you shipping from? Curious if there's plans for a pick em up option, save everyone a bit on shipping

Now, tell me please that these are American made, and you can probably have my American dollars.

All of our products are made in the USA.

We are located in Carlsbad, CA and all of our products globally ship from here in San Diego County, and we'd love to add you to the NXTGEN family when ready.

 

[NXTGENAutomotive]

I like those a lot. The amount of drop actually makes it to where the step can make entry easier. The steps I currently have make it awkward to use for entry (step up and duck to get in). This looks like it would be a lot more user friendly. Great work!

We appreciate it!!

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