Full belly aluminum skid plate comparison

[Splenda]

As much as I hate to revive old threads, this appears to still be a pretty good one. Info on full skid plates for the Gladiator seem to be a little scarce, and most are concerning aluminum skid plates, like this thread does. My guess is that the people who buy them are out rock crawling and not talking about their pavement princesses on the forums. I wish I could afford $3000 for skid plates, but that's just not in my budget. I recently purchased a full set I found on, of all places, Amazon for $850. They are made by a company called Barnes 4x4 ( Barnes 4WD ) out of NC. I liked that the engine and transfer case skids are 1/4" steel and the gas tank skid is 3/16" steel and does not require the removal of the stock gas tank skid. Has anyone else bought these skid plates, and how was the quality? Their page says they weight 190 pounds, but they do require the removal of the stock transfer case skid and crossmember. Also, here is a video of the install. Probably not as stout as the Artec, but also a quarter of the price. I will update once I get them installed. Here's their install video.

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[bd100]

Several brands have solid cross braces in front of the exhaust crossover.

 

[Splenda]

Several brands have solid cross braces in front of the exhaust crossover.

Rock Hard 4x4 includes two 1"X2" solid steel crossmembers. $2150 was just out of my price range. Here's what they say.

"Dual Crossmembers
Jeep had a brilliant idea to make the JT frame rails out of a new harder material, but trail testing has exposed a major flaw: thinner walls but stronger material twists! Early in 2018's Easter Jeep Safari exposed major flexing and twisting in rigs coming back off their day's runs. To prevent this plus strengthen our larger skid plates, we include 2 new 1" by 2" thick steel crossmembers. These CNC machined crossmembers extend from driver to passenger side frame rails and not only give our skid plates the foundation they need to protect your drivetrain, but also take twist and flex out of your frame."

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