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Perry Mack
Winch Ready Bumper
Winch Ready heavy duty bumper ready for a winch, lights for the light bar and fog lights. Also has two welded tow hook attachments.
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Bryan Irons
transmission skid plate
Flimsy factory CJ7 transmission skid plate – in definite need of an upgrade
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Bryan Irons
The gas tank is covered with a protective skid plate.
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Bryan Irons
U-bolt skid plate.
This leaf spring under axle set-up benefits from a U-bolt skid plate.
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Bryan Irons
Rocker guards
Rocker guards protect the body and can provide a handy step at the same time.
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Bryan Irons
drain plug
Skid plates should have a method of draining any water collected during your off-road adventures to reduce the potential for rust. This one has a drain plug.
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The Rugged Ridge modular all-terrain steel bumper system is an affordable, budget-oriented bumper system (around $600)
By Dean ‘Old Skool’ Bradley
“The best defense is a good offence”, whoever first coined this phrase probably wasn’t thinking about off-roading because out on the trail - bumpers and skid plates are the best defense.
Whether they increase your angle of attack or just give you the confidence to attempt obstacles without fear of destroying vital components, heavy-duty bumpers and skid plates are Off-Road Essentials for any vehicle attempting back country travel.
Most 4WD vehicles come with only a transfer case skid plate and moderate bumpers. Areas that need to be addressed also include the fuel tank, engine oil pan, steering box, rocker panels and even the lower radiator area. Hardcore trails may even require heavy duty reinforcing of the differential covers and suspension components. The addition of U-bolt skid plates on 4x4’s with spring under axle leaf springs is a definite asset and the same can be said for lower control arm mount skid plates as these two areas of a 4x4 will usually be the lowest point of the vehicle and may take a real pounding when ground clearance is challenged by the terrain.
Rockers are the area of the body under your doors and between the wheels. This is the first place I recommend upgrading to something a little stronger for protection on the trails. Unlike a little rubbing on the undercarriage, the rockers are significantly weaker and are more expensive to repair. Damage to this area is always visible and in many instances it can affect the ability of your doors to open or close.
For those vehicles with an inferior fuel tank skid plate, a quick and affordable upgrade that has proven adequate for all but the most extreme rock gardens is to simply weld a sheet of 1/8 metal plate onto the bottom of the factory skid plate. Significant strength can be added through the use of dimple dies and also by designing the skid plate to roll up on the sides and ends. Many aftermarket companies offer quality skid plates at reasonable prices making them more affordable than a custom fabrication especially when the cost of professional fabricating labour is taken into account. Skid plates for the engine oil pan, steering box and high clearance protection of the transmission and transfer case are usually best left to the aftermarket.
Bumpers are an easy upgrade and can improve the vehicle’s durability while enhancing the appearance at the same time. They also double as a platform for winches, lights, and the all-important tow hook. If hunting and/or exploring the backcountry on Forest Service Roads is your past-time, perhaps a full coverage front bumper would be best due to the chances of encountering large wildlife on the those roads. If you are leaning towards extreme tight trails, clearance is best. Avoid large bumpers and even consider trimming some body away to create a more compact package.
Rear bumpers with a spare tire mount built into their design will be significantly stronger than the factory tailgate spare tire mount and will offer more room for a larger tire as well. When I look at adding a rear bumper to a 4x4, I will always try and find a model that has a built in rear receiver because a 2” inch receiver works well to accommodate many popular accessories. Bumpers designed for towing are built very strong and the receiver serves as an excellent mount for a slide-in tow hook or D-ring attachment, which when combined with a tow hook and Tug’em strap or D-ring and winch rope make for a very effective and safe recovery point.
Strong skid plates and bumpers are important but what could be equally important is how they attach and how much they increase the weight of your vehicle. Any bumper being used as a recovery point or tow hook needs to be mounted by quality grade #8 bolts, washers and nuts; tow hooks should never be welded to the vehicle. While I was acting as a technical inspector for Jeeps attending Canadian Jeep Jamborees, one rule of safety was that a tow hook could not be attached by a weld and must be bolted to the frame or bumper. Welds may give no warning when they’re about to break while bolts begin bending before failure occurs - offering a warning.
Lately the trend to reduce vehicle weight is finally gaining popularity and many companies are offering rocker guards, bumpers and skid plates in steel and aluminum. Although steel is more durable and requires less thickness to maintain the same integrity as aluminum, the weight of aluminum in the same dimensions as steel is generally half to a third the weight and still provides adequate protection. On lighter 4x4’s that do not see hardcore rock crawling in their diet of off-highway adventures, aluminum offers a good alternative to steel and can work very well to protect all areas of the vehicle. As anybody that has hiked uphill while carrying a heavy backpack knows, less weight equals less difficulty in climbing and this scenario relates equally as well to 4x4’s.
One other important factor to take into consideration when deciding between aluminum and steel, is that as you increase the weight of your vehicle, you also need to increase the tire footprint to maintain the same amount of flotation (to maintain the equivalent pounds per square inch on the ground) - a key consideration in conquering snow, sand and even mud covered terrain. You get a larger tire footprint by installing larger tires which means you may need to increase axle strength, steering capability and even power among other systems, all of which further increase the overall weight of your vehicle. What follows is what I call the domino effect, which is the need to alter many parts due to the change of one part, in this case - tire size. Which is why it’s important to decide on your maximum weight and tire size in advance, allowing you to stay within budget and not repeat expensive modifications.
As vehicles improve via long travel suspensions, tires that give incredible traction, and even optional factory lockers - the women and men that pilot these machines require trails of increasing difficulty to remain challenged. However some trails can bite back with lethal force on components left unprotected; this is where heavy-duty skid plates come to the rescue. 1/8” inch steel for skid plates that will be supporting the vehicle’s weight when high centered, is a minimum for the lightest 4x4’s. Extreme trails with less conservative drivers may need 3/16” or even 1/4” inch thick steel for the undercarriage. Aluminum skids, guards and bumpers built from 1/4” inch 6061 or 3/16” inch 5052 alloys should offer good protection for all areas of a 4x4 on all but the severest of trails and heaviest trucks.
Body parts may also benefit from a little beefing up - rear corners, fenders and even windshield frames may take hits from time to time; the use of some lighter steel plate or aluminum may save thousands of dollars at the body shop in the long run and keep your ride from looking like a crushed pop can.
Check out your local 4X4 clubs and shops to see what is working in your area for vehicles of similar weight and size to yours. What works on a Suzuki Samurai probably won’t last long on a Chevy 3/4-ton truck.
You don’t need to be an extreme wheeler to gain an advantage with quality heavy-duty bumpers and skid plates, encountering severe body damage or undercarriage carnage can happen on the easiest of trails when your attention wanders.