He was known as Bob Dunlap until 1987, when he replaced Bob Stinson as lead guitarist in The Replacements and adopted the "Slim" monicker. Prior to that, Dunlap was best known as a frequent collaborator with Minneapolis rocker Curt Almsted (aka Curtiss A). He belonged to a number of Curtiss A's bands.

Dunlap suffered a severe stroke in February 2012.