After shopping around for rocker protection and my constant paranoia on ripping my stock steps off I ordered a set of Dropkicks from Mark and the guys from Detours.  I looked at other avenues and many other manufacturers required drilling of 7-12 holes thru the frame. Not only would this be an area for rust to fester but difficulty of drilling the holes straight to the frame so the sandwich plates would line up be hard as well. Also drilling holes straight thru the frame would weaken the chassis somewhat.

The guys at Detours have a neat product it is made out of 3/16ths 2x3 steel that is bent to give a little more area to step and also deflect off obstacles. This is unique to the Detours product and really appealed to me rather than the cookie cutter 2x2 and 2x4 rocker protection out on the market.

Mark was very good to deal with and helped me get a set made that would protect the sahara rocker extension.  It turned out as well as I expected.

Preparation and Installation of the Detours dropkicks

First of all Detours packed the box very well and they arrived via DHL without any damage whatsoever.

Here is what the looked like out of the box, primed and ready for paint. Note the nice welds and quality of workmanship.

Since they came primed and ready for paint I chose Rustoleum Textured Finish in a flat black.  The overall finish reminds me of what nice patio furniture comes in and it does give the steps a no slip finish. I may add some grip tape at some point to reduce the scratches from entry and exit.

Installation and Fitment

Tools you will need for installation:

• 10mm Socket for OE step removal
• 5/8 Socket for Dropkick bolts
• Ratchet
• Torque Wrench
• Various Extensions
• Snips
• Chisel and Hammer in lieu of Snips (what I used)

First off remove OE step using 10mm socket and ratchet.

Passenger Side

With the OE step removed slip the dropkick onto the frame and let the C clamp built into the dropkick hold it on.

Install bolts and lockwasher to the studs on the dropkicks.  And torque to 60 ft lbs.  The rear backing plate will bend but this is normal for the dropkick to clamp onto the frame well.

To adjust the dropkicks up and down use the upper bolt to pull it closer to the body and the bottom bolt to move it away. I chose to keep mine within 3/16ths of the body cladding.

Drivers Side:

The only difference with the drivers side and passenger side is that there is electrical, high and low pressure fuel line and the brake line on the frame. Since the dropkick mounts clamping to the frame it requires you to move the little plastic bracket that holds the lines to the frame. I chose to remove the stud for the bracket with a sharp hammer and chisel since I could not get adequate leverage to pull the stud from the frame.  The same effect could be done by pulling the bracket from the frame and using snips.  With the stud removed I could slide it up the frame a little and reinstall the lines to the bracket to allow the dropkick clamp to seat properly.  The front mount does not require modification since the bracket can slide behind the lines on the frame just fine.

Then check the torque of your Detours dropkicks and enjoy having a functional step as well as some heavy duty rocker protection. Any questions feel free to contact me.

Post Installation Gallery

Many thanks to Mark and the guys at Detours for building a quality product for Jeep vehicles. Click on his logo above to visit his site.

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