What Skids Are Necessary? “Can of Worms” Thread

[drewcnit]

Did you try submitting this to your insurance company as a collision claim? You did collide with an object, just not the traditional MVA.

Oh yeah, I didn't say I paid the $6K . I paid my deductible and will pay some over the next year(s) as my insurance will increase some.
That being said, the insurance agency handled it like rock stars, no troubles, no arguments, no issues at all really. Paid for a rental and the original tow too (the rental company gave me a 2WD Taco! ).

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[drewcnit]

The Motobilt skids are starting to get pretty popular too because of the amount of coverage they offer, but the currently only have kits for the 2020 Gladiators:
Motobilt Skid Plate System - Steel, unpainted - JT 3.6:
https://www.northridge4x4.com/part/skid-plates/mb1106-motobilt-skid-plate-system-bare-steel

Interestingly enough, I just saw on their social a link to their skid. Their webpage, now shows a drop-down which includes 2021 and Up, so maybe the new version is ready?
https://motobilt.com/products/jeep-jt-gladiator-skid-system?variant=39877675090004

 

[Hamandcamo]

My experience, in order: rear lca skids, rear shock skids, truck bed sliders, rock sliders, engine and tranny skid, front diff cover. That's crazy on the jl, I've beat the hell out of my fuel tank skid with no problems yet.

 

[4S50]

I added the Rusty’s Off-road rear lower control arm frame skids and am glad that I did. They have taken a beating. Other than that I am satisfied with the factory skids, which are bent and scarred but still protect and do not create any vibrations. The lack of air flow, and removal of heat, appears to me to be more of priority.

 

[Northridge4x4]

Interestingly enough, I just saw on their social a link to their skid. Their webpage, now shows a drop-down which includes 2021 and Up, so maybe the new version is ready?
https://motobilt.com/products/jeep-jt-gladiator-skid-system?variant=39877675090004

LoL, I sent them an email earlier today and just got an answer back, they said they have made the changes (needed a couple holes opened up) and they were going to change the listing on their site that they now fit 2020 to 2022 JTs.

 

[Rusty PW]

I ordered the White Knuckle sliders first. While I was waiting on them to show up. I decided to protect all the low hanging fruit under my JT. I installed all the Rock Hard skids for the controls arms, rear shocks and Rusty's skids for the rear control arms. Also the Rock Hard skid for the FAD. I wanted to use NV diff skids, but would have to wait 3 months for them. So I went with the cast iron Dana diff covers. Couldn't get the NV skids in time for Rausch Creek. Next on my list is the NV belly skid with the plastic layer.

People love pictures.

 

[chorky]

I opted for the quadratec skids. Theyre aluminum, give decent protection and dont cost 2,500. I just dont see myself truly needing that level of protection. Its kinda hard to me to fathom a full belly skid costing that much to make in the first place. But theyre also quite heavy. Hopefully the quadratec ones work for what I need. Theres a few things I dislike about them, but they seem to be the best middle of the road compromise. Hopefully they get out on next week.

For me, skids were higher on my list than lifting and tires. My thought process was that I could weather tough scraping with better protection. I have diff skids, which I find to be very important from a stress relief standpoint. Occasionally they get hit, and I’m never worried about dumping my gear oil. I then moved on to a belly skid, which took a long time to arrive, but it fixes the problem with the cross members that always get caught on things, and the risk of oil pan hits. I original Nelly thought I was in reasonable shape, but kept hitting my frame side LCA mounts. Now I’ve gone buck wild and have skids on all 8 LCA brackets, and the rear shock mounts. I’ve hit them all lots of times. This is my extreme end of the opinion spectrum, but I like to not worry about what I might break that could disable me.

LCA and shock mounts seem to be a forgotten or not cared about area for protection. Which is a shame IMO. Only a couple of the skid options out there offer protection for the exhaust loop.
https://skidrowoffroad.com/collecti...skid-plate-for-jeep-gladiator-jt-2020-present
Its a pretty terrible design by Jeep but probably a necessity for equal length exhaust

All good points. I hadn’t thought about tree branches. Definitely they can do some nasty damage. I have the next venture aluminum belly skid with UHMW. My decision was that they’re the only ones doing UHMW, which has been amazing, and I actually liked the removal of the oem gas tank skid for weight savings. I’m also using their diff skids front and rear. I didn’t do covers because the skids are so protective, the oem covers aren’t exposed at all. I think their diff skids are stronger than any I’ve seen from any other vendor. And they share 6 diff cover bolts, so are very strong from a mounting standpoint. I’ve hit the rear skid straight on, and didn’t even ding the pinion. I’m waiting for an exhaust belly panel from them. They told me it was in the works and would work as an add on. Hey already have it for the diesel.

I’m also a huge fan of rock hard. I have all 8 of their LCA skids, and the rear shock mount skids. They see a lot of action, and hold up great. Super easy installs as well.

Honestly this right here is the primary reason I got skids. Rocks are a given. But its the unsuspecting log that will really ruin your day. Maybe this was something I always considered growing up in the rainforest but not many seem to consider this type of damage.

 

[Northridge4x4]

People love pictures.

Great pics of why skids are useful!

 

[John in the Woods]

I ordered the White Knuckle sliders first. While I was waiting on them to show up. I decided to protect all the low hanging fruit under my JT. I installed all the Rock Hard skids for the controls arms, rear shocks and Rusty's skids for the rear control arms. Also the Rock Hard skid for the FAD. I wanted to use NV diff skids, but would have to wait 3 months for them. So I went with the cast iron Dana diff covers. Couldn't get the NV skids in time for Rausch Creek. Next on my list is the NV belly skid with the plastic layer.

People love pictures.

This, boys and girls, is how you put those pretty skids to work. Dang, hats off!!!

 

[Rusty PW]

Pic's of my rock rails. Peeled new Line-X off of them.

 

[Rusty PW]

Factory skid plates.

 

[John in the Woods]

I've got a Ruby diesel, so I started with the skids that Toledo gave me. With a modest 2-inch lift and 35s, I decided to see what got scuffed up and hung up and cover those points up as I went along. Here's where that took me:

• ARB slider steps. I wanted an upgrade from Ruby rock rails after a few tight turns on forest trails with this ocean freighter brought some tree trunks way too close to the doors. Needed those 4 inches of extension on the sides.
• Synergy steering stabilizer relocation kit. Not really a skid, but definitely essential to avoid rock damage. I smashed my stabilizer at AOAA, and had to drive a very long way home under 50 mph.
• @ROCK HARD 4X4 LCA skids on front and rear axles. Lowest points that always get smacked. Gives up about 1/2 inch of clearance, but worth the investment.
• @ROCK HARD 4X4 rear shock mount skid. Likewise, just begging to get whacked. These don't seem to drop lower, just block the rocks.
• Rusty's skid for frame side of rear LCA. I bent my driver side mount pretty well on my first trail, and now you can't tell. Absolutely no problems installing them.
• ARB diff covers, front and rear. Head on or dropping down, those factory covers are not up for a fight, and I didn't want to give up any more clearance with a skid going under the diff. The red works for the Ruby too.
• @ASFIR 4x4 oil pan, tranny and transfer case aluminum skids. I picked up a few scary dents on the oil pan and tranny pan, and I like to sleep at night. Love a lightweight solution, and they make it for the diesel.

So far that's what this forum and two seasons of trails have taught me. Hopefully, there are no catastrophic lessons waiting around the next bend.

 

[jeep1]

I have the full Artec Aluminum setup on my JT. Went with Aluminum because the full setup is only 10lbs more than the stock pieces you remove.

Don't have a decent shot from underneath, with my lift and tires I could install without any jack stands.... Install was pretty straightforward and the fit is excellent. It took me longer to get the straps under the gas tank than it did to actually remove and re-install the skid plate itself.

Painted them black mostly to make it easy to see how badly I beat them up but they survived the Rubicon surprisingly well, only a couple gouges in the aluminum.

 

[Bonanza]

Necessary-- sliders, rear shock skids.

Everything else is nice but not necessary. I've smashed my factory skids pretty good, and to their credit-- they are stout. I did get an oil pan skid on my JK when I crunched it on a rock, but our oil pans are a lot smaller.

 

[rickrogan]

Like @jeep1 , I went with the Artec full aluminum skid. I installed that before a Moab trip in the spring. After we got back, I crawled underneath and was glad that I had done so.

One thing about the Artec, depending on your year/build, you may need some exhaust tweaks to get clearance on the crossover. Read more about that here: (including my post in the thread where I describe how I got issue fixed)

I also have front/rear diff skids. Some could argue about that, but I'm still running factory diff covers.

But one skid that really proved its worth in Moab was a hitch skid. I got the Sheridan from Warfare. That took a beating and really helped out.

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