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Rubicon Express Skid Plates

7K views 15 replies 8 participants last post by  nighowl2000 
#1 ·
I have been researching and researching and I just cannot come to a conclusion on what skid plates to go with on my 15 JKUR. Rubicon Express has been around a while (I remember them from my TJ years 10-15 years ago), and the price is right. 3/16 steel. What are the negatives??

I'm planning for the oil pan, trans, and gas tank to start. Evo and TC to follow. Daily driver, but some rocks off road. $$$ is a concern because of all the stuff I want for my Jeep (winch, etc). Jeep has an AEV 2 1/2" lift with 315's
 
#5 ·
I'll be buying their gas tank skid soon, more likely my next mod.
transfer case looks good too if i needed that one. I used their oil pan skid, but i didn't trust the mounting points, so i took it off same day. If you want one of the best oil/trans skid, go with the Rockhard one.
 
#9 ·
The oil skid mounts into oil Pan bolts in the front and transmission case bolts in the back. Basically into aluminum. It's hard to imagine that one good hit wouldn't pull it right off. I think it's lame. Better to go with one that mounts with brackets. iMO

But the gas tank skid is awesome. I decided to just do the 2 skids. It really offers significantly increased protection but still allows for easy maintenance.
 
#10 ·
So seems like RE is good for everything except the oil pan/trans skid because of the mounting locations. So now for that skid, I am looking at MORE and Rock Hard. It seems MORE adds coverage for the exhaust loop and is cheaper. Ease of installation is important, so I welcome any insight into experience installing the MORE or Rock Hard O/T skids.

Thanks for all the responses and help!
 
#12 ·
I think there was an issue trying to put a cover in the exhaust loop, as it traps a lot of heat, i'm not sure is a good idea to completely cover the loop, but other than that, anything that covers the whole oil pan/trans with 3/16 steel, and allows you to change the oil without having the drop the whole skid will do.

Rockhard customer service is great, and it is the reason i went with their oil/trans and evap skids, both are fairly easyto install, though i had to drill a new hole on the portion that covers the cat in the oil/trans skid, but that was an extra 2 min job, so i have no formal complaints.

In response to your question about the transfer case skid, i still have the factory one, and it's one spot that i haven't have any problems with, very lightly scratches if anything, but i haven't hit that portion dead on yet, i have deeper scratches in the Rockhard skid, towards the back of the plate, by the trans crossmember, and the gas tank skid, i have a couple of bumps in that one, so i know i need more protection in there, though the factory gas tank skid seem to be at least decent enough to prevent major damage.
 
#15 ·
A couple of things.

1. If you're adding all of these skids, it's also in your best interest to replace your transmission cross member. The stock one is about as strong as an empty beer can on it's side. < $200

2. The RE gas and t-case skids are a great value. Same thickness of the USA made brands for less than half the price (I still don't get this - it's a flat piece of steel cut out on a table by a robot - the price disparity should not be this great). I have the RE gas tank skid. I'll be adding the t-case skid soon. Stock one seems to be holding up fine for me so far.

3. There are HUGE differences in oil pan/engine/tranny pan skids. The cheap ones either attach to the engine itself - yuk - or have weak brackets. The JCR Offroad skid I have has extremely beefy brackets that attach to the engine mounts. The front of the skid "hangs" from these brackets. The e-Autogrilles/Paramount skids use a pretty thin bent piece of metal. They bend easy and won't take a bigger hit.
 
#16 ·
I have the RE transmission one to protect my tranny coolant lines from the winter salt and crud...PITA to install due to you have to remove the transmission cross member to do it. It is however the cheapest option and its bolt on.
 
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