I bougt the Rancho diff. cover and skip plate last year. Great look, but honestly, it's useless for me. Also, the access of the bolt of the lower arm (driver side) is not easy.

 

I believe it comes down to your definition of "Necessary". I've built several Jeeps and don't plan on making my JK a super Jeep. I've already been that route before. I do want the JK reliable and capable. Add the fact that mine is a 4dr to my desire to run no larger than 33 inch tires. I find skids an absolute necessity. I also know there are plenty of rocks and boulders where I like to wheel. I have RH oil pan and gas tank skids along with Shrockworks rock rails

 

i don't know how you would classify my jk but these are the kinds of rocks i play on.....















and yes, i do play on smaller rocks too....







in the two years of running trails like these every other weekend and with a jk ranging from stock to a budget boost, 3" lift, 4" lift", 6" lift", 32" tire, 35" tires and now 37" tires, i can assure you that the underside of my jeep has been worked and worked hard. during this time, i have knocked off my evap 3 times, hammered on my rocker guards and tapped my oil pan twice. again, relocating your evap is a sound idea if you are sitting low to the ground, rocker guards are in my opinion a must and an oil pan skid is something that i even intend to get someday. HOWEVER, to suggest that a gas tank skid or any other skid for that matter is "necessary" is simply NOT true.

 

My Jeep is my daily drive and I love getting offroad with it to. I lost the evap canister so went with the skid plate there. I also have the oil pan skid. Gives me peace of mind. Of course there are so many htings that can happen out "there" and if it happens to you, you will get protection for that area. I plan on getting the Shrockworks rockers as soon as I can afford them.

 

I have the RockHard 4x4 gastank skid. Only reason I installed this is because I've seen some tanks get penetrated and didn't want this to happen. Since I'm currently not locked and only on 33s, I don't have the clearance, nor the drivetrain, to climb up and over some of the bigger rocks. So, I find myself trying to go around some of them, ultimately, bashing the skids.

I also have the Shrockworks rock rails. This is a MUST if you don't want body damage, period.

Last but not least, SkidRow engine/tranny skid. The tranny is pretty high up there, might not hit the tranny at all within the life of the Jeep. But the oil pan, definitely needs to be protected. But, the good thing about the engine/tranny skid is that is acts like a slide, if you do end up with a decent sized rock underneath you. You won't get hung up on the factory crossmember, it'll slide you off.

Factory transfer case skid has taken a beating, and still going strong.

I just got my EVO control arms skids welded on yesterday. Those are a must. The factory mounts get dinged and bent VERY easily. When you box them with the control arm skids, they are pretty indestructable.

 

seriously? you have seen with your own eyes the gastank skid get penetrated on a jk?? i say this with all sincerety but i sure would like to see pics of this as i have NEVER seen this happen on any JK ever.

again, going back to the original question and the word "necessary", i wheel with james90755 and his little 2-door is totally stock and he takes it out on difficult trails like bullfrog and with no aftermarket skidplates...





does he get hung up? sure he does but just because he doesn't have aftermarket skid plates doesn't mean that we haven't been able to pull him off. likewise, being stock and totally low to the ground, the underside of his jeep gets hammered all the time but to this day, i haven't seen anything close to a punctured gas tank skid or otherwise.

 

Well, not once did I mention anything about a JK's tank getting penetrated. In the club I'm in, there are a few members with factory gas tank skids on TJs, and they have been penetrated. Just, in general, seeing some get penetrated.

Also, I never said the word "necessary" in any of my posts. I just listed what I had and why, IMO, I had them. I used to get hung up on my crossmember, with lots of bashes, dents, and scratches on it to prove it. Now, I NEVER get hung up on my crossmember (diffs, control arms, etc. are a different story). The engine/tranny skid helps to slide off, PERIOD.

 

fair enough but being that this thread was in regards to JK's and the OP was asking about "necessary skid plates" on a JK, you'll have to forgive me for my misunderstanding of your point. that being said, i too have seen compromised gastank skids on 97-00 TJ's but not on 03-06 when DC changed the design of it. likewise, i have not see anything remotely close to a puncture or penetration on a JK gastank skid and doubt that i ever will. again, going back to why this thread was started, i still stand by the fact that a gastank skid is NOT necessary.

i understand that but this thread was started by someone who specifically asked what was "necesary".

i realize that and that's all fine by me and i'm sure there will be some here who will read what you've said and will choose to buy skids based on your experiences. but again, I just wanted to clairify to anyone reading this thread, one that was specifically made to find out what was "necessary", that none of these things constitutes a necessity - PERIOD

 

Indeed.

Necessary - rock rails (if not a Rubi)

Differential covers and control arms skids will POSSIBLY be necessary down the line if they whacked enough. A JK Rubi had to get his OEM control arm mounts cut off and new, beefier, ones welded on because they were dented to hell with a one way ticket. Differential covers, depends on where and how you wheel. OEM cover will peel away, in time.

Everything else, just for a peace of mind and not necessary.

 

I think of skid plates as insurance. They are never necessary until you need them. Kind of like the front stinger I see in the pic above. Is it necessary? No. But in rocks like that I think it's some nice insurance that just happens to look awesome! I have a full set of Rock Hard plates, and they've taken some nice hits. But they always seem to hapened when I can't see what's under water.

The gas tanks skid seems to take the most punishment and I think that's only because that side of the jeep is a little lower. Would any of the hits that the gas tank skid has taken penetrated the OEM skid? I truely doubt it. Draging on the skid is what normaly happens.

I have hit the oil pan skid. That hit alone paid for itself. I do find it amazing that WOL wheels as hard as he does without an oil pan skid. The 3.8 does have an iron block so if he took a hard hit I'm sure he could repair just the pan, at least enough to get it off the trail. Draging on the oil pan or hitting the oil pan even if not hard could break the gasket and we all know how bad that could end up.

I have too much into the Jeep not to have the skids. That said I might take the RH gas tank skid off.