Aftermarket SKID PLATE options

[cjellan]

Installed Rockhard 4x4 aluminum (180lbs) complete belly pan skid plates with dual crossmembers today, what a pain...
Other than that, it is installed and quite nice. If I were to do it again, I'd probably go with Artec and hope that installation is easier, but now that they're on I plan on putting them to good use.

Nice man! Might be a silly question, but do you have any idea why they didn’t provide protection for that exposed piece of the exhaust? I know the Motobilt one does, so just sort of curious why/why not.

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[TexasTJ]

Nice man! Might be a silly question, but do you have any idea why they didn’t provide protection for that exposed piece of the exhaust? I know the Motobilt one does, so just sort of curious why/why not.

Probably not a very likely spot to get hit. Your guess is as good as mine, could be cost savings, lack of good mounting solution, no idea honestly.

 

[cjellan]

I didnt see it mentioned, but Motobuilt also makes a full skid plate system.

https://motobilt.com/collections/skid-plates-cross-members/products/jeep-jt-gladiator-skid-system

Price is good, but looks to be unfinished. I like this overall design the best of any of them that I have seen. Its on the heavy side. But given the price & the protection I think this may be the winner for me if nothing else I like better pops up in the next couple days. Figure its on the bottom & going to be abused so a rattle can rustoleum paint job as rust prevention would be good enough.


Edit: said screw it & ordered the motobuilt. Now sometime by July 13th I should have it.

Did you end up getting this badboy installed? I'm debating between this and the RH one, but was leaning towards the Motobilt because of the more full coverage and I like the option to pick my own powder coating color. Only hesitation is the crossmembers the RH comes with. Any issues with the built-in crossmembers that the Motobilt includes?

Thanks for the suggestion!

All very good questions.

I went with the Motobilt plates based on Bastage's suggestions and experiences here in this thread.

I will start with temps. All the temperatures that I can monitor stayed in the same ranges before and after the mods including the skidplates. I watched that pretty close for a while. The caveat on that statement is I haven't had them in a Texas summer yet.

On ground clearance. I didn't measure before and afters but guesstimate it is a touch lower than stock by maybe a half inch? I added 5 inches of GC, 3 inches of lift and 2 with the tires. The skids might have taken some back. But and it is a HUGE BUT, I know I am not tearing stuff up when I drag a little or even a LOT now. Second time I had it out I did a rock crawl that most folks in modified two and four door Jeeps wouldn't try.

I think the Westins would tear up quickly with the way I wheel. The smoot bottom slides on rocks but the Westins would catch. I did notice the Motobilt has some vents for mud and water and they seemed to work well.

Nice build man!

I am debating on this vs. the RH and the only thing that I'm hesitating on is the difference in crossmembers. Any issues with the approach Motobilt went with?

Love the red - looks great with the Rubi accents!

 

[Sunnysideup]

I too went with Artec.... the fit was amazing... millimeters apart in the gaps on the skids.. they all fit tight together.

But their instructions are not for a JT... you would think they could send a guy out with a camera, do and install and write up the parts that are different than the JL? Instead you are left to figure out the positioning of several brackets that are not in the instructions. So the negitve here wouldbe that they don't actually have a set of instructions for a JT. the front skid plate mounts are nothing similar to the JL. The rear gas tank mounts entirely differently than the JL, and there is this strap on the JT gas tank that has to be removed for everything to fit right, but is not mentioned in the instructions at all. So that is the one complaint.

After figuring all of that out on your own... every thing fits very tight, parts are high quality, you really do gain GC! and it is flush mounted on all the fastners.

I treated mine with a teflon paint to keep it slick in the snow, I've hit them a few times... and have no dents... just normal shallow grooves like I get in all skid plates...

 

[AZ_Adventure_Clicks]

I too went with Artec.... the fit was amazing... millimeters apart in the gaps on the skids.. they all fit tight together.

But their instructions are not for a JT... you would think they could send a guy out with a camera, do and install and write up the parts that are different than the JL? Instead you are left to figure out the positioning of several brackets that are not in the instructions. So the negitve here wouldbe that they don't actually have a set of instructions for a JT. the front skid plate mounts are nothing similar to the JL. The rear gas tank mounts entirely differently than the JL, and there is this strap on the JT gas tank that has to be removed for everything to fit right, but is not mentioned in the instructions at all. So that is the one complaint.

After figuring all of that out on your own... every thing fits very tight, parts are high quality, you really do gain GC! and it is flush mounted on all the fastners.

I treated mine with a teflon paint to keep it slick in the snow, I've hit them a few times... and have no dents... just normal shallow grooves like I get in all skid plates...

looks like the only other exposed parts are the CA hangers, diff and resonator? I'm debating whether to get a "full belly pan" because it looks like a lot of the stuff they cover doesn't actually need protection.

 

[LostWoods]

looks like the only other exposed parts are the CA hangers, diff and resonator? I'm debating whether to get a "full belly pan" because it looks like a lot of the stuff they cover doesn't actually need protection.

Depends on what you need but if you're going with most body pans, the fuel tank skid stays in place (as Jeep only straps one side and the other side of the tank is supported by the skid) so you're adding a lot of weight. Artec doesn't do this so their aluminum system only adds like 20# to the truck with nearly full protection. It's the one dig I have at my Metalcloak skid system and I'm definitely going to find a way to remedy it at some point.

For me it's not 100% protection but also that it creates a mostly flat bottom that slides over rocks instead of just getting hung up on things. Probably less important if you're just doing forest trails but here in the west it's pretty effective with this long ass wheelbase. If I were still in VA odds are I'd just have gone with a few aluminum skids for the front half.

 

[AZ_Adventure_Clicks]

Depends on what you need but if you're going with most body pans, the fuel tank skid stays in place (as Jeep only straps one side and the other side of the tank is supported by the skid) so you're adding a lot of weight. Artec doesn't do this so their aluminum system only adds like 20# to the truck with nearly full protection. It's the one dig I have at my Metalcloak skid system and I'm definitely going to find a way to remedy it at some point.

For me it's not 100% protection but also that it creates a mostly flat bottom that slides over rocks instead of just getting hung up on things. Probably less important if you're just doing forest trails but here in the west it's pretty effective with this long ass wheelbase. If I were still in VA odds are I'd just have gone with a few aluminum skids for the front half.

I'm in AZ, so rocks matter.

 

[hjdca]

I haven't seen M.O.R.E. mentioned in this thread, but they offer a system that can be bought piece by piece.

https://mountainoffroad.com/collections/gladiator

So far I know of the following options...anyone know of any that I'm missing?

Rubicon Express
M.O.R.E
Artec
Rockhard
Motobilt
MetalCloak
Asfir

I have a Manual Rubicon, so, I liked the fact that the M.O.R.E Engine tranny skid eliminates the automatic tranny collision bracket completely --- that bracket is already missing on the manual anyway. So, I ordered the M.O.R.E. Engine, tranny skid and the transfer case skid. I went with black steel since it is only 20 lbs heavier, and half the price. I ordered last Monday and it was shipped last Friday, and will arrive Wed. So, a 9 day turnaround to my doorstep. Nice.. I also bought the SkidRow Off Road JP-8118: Exhaust Loop Skid Plate for Jeep Gladiator JT. This was also shipped within 2 days.

Total skids for me will be - the M.O.R.E Engine, Tranny, Transfer Case skids, the Skid Row loop skid, RockHard & Rusty's front, rear control arm & Shock skids & front axle disconnect skid, Front and rear Metal cloak diff covers and Diff. skids, Rock Slide Engineering Armored sliders/steps.

PS. I think the control arm skids and shock skids are super important and inexpensive compared to the rest of skids. You will bang that area first...

I will update with my install and next "Badge of Honor" trip with the new Skids installed.

 

[hjdca]

I have a Manual Rubicon, so, I liked the fact that the M.O.R.E Engine tranny skid eliminates the automatic tranny collision bracket completely --- that bracket is already missing on the manual anyway. So, I ordered the M.O.R.E. Engine, tranny skid and the transfer case skid. I went with black steel since it is only 20 lbs heavier, and half the price. I ordered last Monday and it was shipped last Friday, and will arrive Wed. So, a 9 day turnaround to my doorstep. Nice.. I also bought the SkidRow Off Road JP-8118: Exhaust Loop Skid Plate for Jeep Gladiator JT. This was also shipped within 2 days.

Total skids for me will be - the M.O.R.E Engine, Tranny, Transfer Case skids, the Skid Row loop skid, RockHard & Rusty's front, rear control arm & Shock skids & front axle disconnect skid, Front and rear Metal cloak diff covers and Diff. skids, Rock Slide Engineering Armored sliders/steps.

PS. I think the control arm skids and shock skids are super important and inexpensive compared to the rest of skids. You will bang that area first...

I will update with my install and next "Badge of Honor" trip with the new Skids installed.

I recieved the M.O.R.E. engine, tranny, transfer case skids and the skidRow exhaust loop skid. Installation was simple and fast. The big steel engine, tranny plate is kinda heavy, but, I did it all myself under the truck without a jack. You may want to use your jack to hold the plates up while you put the screws in, but, I did not need it. Fit and finish were great. The braces and skid plate are updated for the JT relative to the old pictures on the website. For the braces, there is no loosening of the motor mount bolt. There are two motor mount bolts with lots of thread sticking out the bottom of the motor. All you do is slide the braces on and torque flange nuts on. Super easy. You can see the geometry of the braces in the pics below. There is also a full V-notch for oil changes.
Here are some pics without the exhaust loop skid installed.

 

[sass JT]

I recieved the M.O.R.E. engine, tranny, transfer case skids and the skidRow exhaust loop skid. Installation was simple and fast. The big steel engine, tranny plate is kinda heavy, but, I did it all myself under the truck without a jack. You may want to use your jack to hold the plates up while you put the screws in, but, I did not need it. Fit and finish were great. The braces and skid plate are updated for the JT relative to the old pictures on the website. For the braces, there is no loosening of the motor mount bolt. There are two motor mount bolts with lots of thread sticking out the bottom of the motor. All you do is slide the braces on and torque flange nuts on. Super easy. You can see the geometry of the braces in the pics below. There is also a full V-notch for oil changes.
Here are some pics without the exhaust loop skid installed.

How do you like the skid row plate?

 

[hjdca]

How do you like the skid row plate?

I test fit it yesterday. Looks great. Lots of gussets. It bolts to the inside of the control arm bolt, on the nut side. The nut is close to the exhaust loop. The easiest way to install it seems to be to put a small impact wrench on the control arm bolt and a wrench on the nut. There is one other bolt that goes to an already threaded hole in the frame. Looks easy. The plate holes also say "JT" instead of "JL", so, that was also appreciated. It looks to have great coverage of the exhaust loop and a good amount of holes for heat dissipation . I will install it today and torque the control arm bolt to spec.

 

[Rummie]

Just want to add that I have run my Artec skids all over Moab and Colorado and they have taken a lot of abuse. They have held up extremely well. I won't go back to steel like I have on the JK. I have enough weight with everything else and these aluminum skids are very durable.

 

[Oneshotlucky]

I recieved the M.O.R.E. engine, tranny, transfer case skids and the skidRow exhaust loop skid. Installation was simple and fast. The big steel engine, tranny plate is kinda heavy, but, I did it all myself under the truck without a jack. You may want to use your jack to hold the plates up while you put the screws in, but, I did not need it. Fit and finish were great. The braces and skid plate are updated for the JT relative to the old pictures on the website. For the braces, there is no loosening of the motor mount bolt. There are two motor mount bolts with lots of thread sticking out the bottom of the motor. All you do is slide the braces on and torque flange nuts on. Super easy. You can see the geometry of the braces in the pics below. There is also a full V-notch for oil changes.
Here are some pics without the exhaust loop skid installed.

website suggest a 2.5 in clearance for drive shaft? My Gladiator is Stock Willy's with 32 in Mudders. Will this bolt up okay? Also can you link me to the exhaust plate?

 

[Hamandcamo]

In my opinion, what you need, and in order of priority. This assumes you have a reciever hitch.

1. Rock rails, rear frameside lca skid
2. Rear shock and rear axle side lca skid
3. Truck bed sliders
4. Engine/tranny skid
5. Rear axle skid
6. #'s 2 & 5 for the front

I've been off roading about 10 times now in mine with 33's, and the skids i hit the most by far are the fuel tank skid, transfer case skid, rock rails in the middle, and frameside lca skids. In fact, I'd argue to instead invest in bigger tires and a lift. You will high center on everything on east coast trails with 33's.

 

[-miko-]

For those that haven't checked prices in a while, looks like some really good deals are starting to get in place for Black Friday...

Motobilt
List: $1,499.00
On Sale: $1,049.30
https://motobilt.com/products/jeep-jt-gladiator-skid-system#

Very tempting.

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