in some ways it would be better to have them under the truck more performance wise as rock sliders, they stick out that far to provide for hi-lifting as Antitree_hugger mentioned but also to provide a step to get onto the roof. the concern with them sticking out that far is that if you slam down on them like Mr T did, there is more leverage to bend the frame with. whereas if they were under the rocker panel more, there would be less leverage, in theory. but on the flip side, when they stick out that much you get a buffer from some of the rocks that low and skirting the side of the sliders. there are trad-offs either way. for the moment, i like mine the way they are, out a little.