I have decided to get some skid plates. I am leaning toward Rock Hard. Any observations on these skids (installation/protection/etc)? Any reason to go another direction?

 

Inform me oh wise ones.

 

I have the rock hard oil/trans skid. I love it. Great coverage, very strong, nice powder coat, and easy install. I only wish it came with directions!! But I was one of the early buyers and rockhard helped me out with the few install questions I had. Great customer service too.

Someone recently posted a write-up on the install now and I have heard Rockhard should have their instructions done soon too.

 

engine, tranny, Tcase, gas tank

 

I believe seer1 has the whole set.

 

They are pretty darn nice and give you pretty much everything you need.

we have installed a few and they bolt up very nice.

David

 

I did a write up last week on the tranny/oil combo and evap.

I will say I have noticed some more engine vibes at various RPMS due to the fact that the skid brackets attach to the motor mounts and the back side of the skid attaches to the transmission crossmember right under your feet on a 4 door.

When you figure it out, the skid bolts up as advertised and is beefy.

NR4X4 will be seeing my order for the tranny skid on my next big order next week.

 

David,
As a vendor and not a manufacturer would you reccomend one builder over another. If you dont feel comfortable posting a reccomendation please feel free to pm me.
No hijack but I think its great that you regularly post up on topics that dont have your name in them like other vendors/manufacturers. NOTE: if this statement is a problem will a moderator please remove it.

 

If I could afford the Rock Hard skids I would get the whole set minus the evap skid.

 

I had some install problems early on because the front brackets were shipped before they rounded them off. The squared ends made it impossible to get the front set right. A set of instructions would have answered my questions early on instead of having to spend quite a bit of time on the phone figuring it out. They do add to the cab noise a bit, but I think it's because all that plating is reflecting so much more of the sound up into the cab instead of allowing it to escape out to wherever. This is my second (third and fourth if you count the tranny and gas tank skid separately) and I find their products to be absolutely top notch and their instructions to be absolute crap. And we're here to help with the instruction part.

Now for the good part. I would buy this a second time without even thinking about it. Some other companies are coming out with a combo of bottom skids now and for the most part, they pretty much look the same and no doubt offer pretty much the same amount of protection. I think Rock Hard and Kilby? are the only ones with gas tank skids so far. I like how the RH gas tank skid mirrors the factory skid adding only the thickness of the metal to bottom.

I know for a fact it will support the entire weight of the JK, a driver, passenger and way too much recovery gear without any problem whatsoever. I've beat the crap out of this setup and only have a few scratches to show for it. I also really like how the hole is set up for the oil drain plug.

Probably my favorite part is bottoming out on a rock and easing over it. It sounds just like those old submarine movies when they dive a little too deep with the plates groaning and the water about to come squirting out of the overhead pipes. The bolt protectors are pretty good, but I'm thinking it wouldn't hurt to replace them at the end of this season.

Sorry for the long reply, I don't think you'll go wrong with any of the skids out there (although I'm not real excited about the Rancho) but I suggest you really keep getting a gas tank skid in the front of your mind as rocks really love that area of your Jeep and buy an engine skid that will mate up with other skids.

Hope all of this helps.
Cheers