Here you go all...thought I would share these with you!! Hope all is well with everyone!!

 

Yowzas! That's a nice, beefy skid plate!

 

Looks awesome Mike

 

White Trucks are Ghey.

J/K hehe

It looks sweet Mike. The body shop did a nice job bringing back your baby! Is is just my imagination, or does that skid hang lower than the stocker?

Dr. Z

 

He's just trying to lower his center of gravity...

 

Heh

 

It has a slightly different bend than the rockstomper skid. Believe it or not but it is more than 1" higher than stock. The Rockstomper discontiunued model that vibrtates the floor obnoxiously is 2" higher than stock, but your feet will be numb and there are other issues.

 

Looks good Mike. Did you see that I got the Downey springs on?

 

Just a little info here. It does definitely sit a little lower than the Rockstomper, for sure. It is by design though. As Steve and I compared the Rockstomper side by side with mine, the Rockstomper is sort of a "wrap around" where mine is designed to sit level and provide clearance for the diff drop WITHOUT hitting the diff mounts, etc. When we were looking at Steve's Rockstomper, he pointed out to me the spots where his diff mounts were hitting the skid. IMHO, this is not a good thing. My skid is made to take a beating instead of the IFS components so we can wheel another day. No doubt in my mind that my skid will take a beating as does any skid, I just tried to add a margin of safety.

Lower than the stock skid? In some spots, yes, but remember two things about the OEM skid.

1. It is hydraformed from 22 gauge (.028) steel. I have a roll of aluminum foil in my kitchen that is thicker than that. Mine is made from pure 11 gauge (.109 thick) 4130 chromoly steel.

2. It is formed in such a way that it literally wraps the components tightly with no room at all to "give" a little before bashing into expensive IFS components. Mine has a little room.

I will not bash any other folks work in making our rigs more wheelable, but I can say for a fact that the OEM skid sucks ass. I can say this because up until now, I was on my second one.

Anyhow, just a few short hours until we leave for AZRocks / AZ4RJ. I'm like a kid on Xmas Eve...

Mike

 

Cool guys! Thanks for the info!

Dr. Z

 

Looking good Mike, that skidplate is really looking great. More like a tank with a bulletproof armor. Ready for a trail?

That TJM bumper and winch are kewl.

Noel

 

Myself, Mike N. and Mike V. all beat these things senceless. Mike V. being the most serious basher with myself right behind him. Good thing "tenderfoot" Nievett is not the only tester.

We wheeled 2 days with Steve Hunt and he took one back to beat in New Mexico and Moab.

 

Alright I have take some photos, although I am not too sure if they do any justice. I need to get the skid off, however, I sheared off a bolt head and will need to drill it out

Anyhow, here are the pics...and Steve...I RODE THE BOWL....AND ROLLED :^)

 

Whew, what a trip. Beat them senseless is a bit of an understatement. Mr. Mike literally SLAMMED down on a big monster boulder with his skid. Not to get all salesman on anyone, but if he was stock, he may have very well broken or seriously damaged something. He sheared off an 8MM bolt, that's a shade over 5/16's of an inch folks, this should give you an idea of the hit that he took.

These bad boys took on two of the absolutely toughest, balls out, smash mouth runs I have ever been on and never whimpered or damaged a component they were protecting. Good stuff Maynard.

Tenderfoot? Yes I am, ran two very difficult (HARD) trails and came home with only dust on my rig . Oh yeah, and a bit of a sunburn...

Mike

 

I have to tell you...Mike outdid himself when he desiged these...As soon as I am able to remove it, I will post a few more pictures!!

Nice job Mike, excellent wheeling with all of you!!!!