Rock Hard Skids - Poor Design!

bhaner

bhaner

Active Member
As part of my build I installed the Rock Hard 4x4 skid system. I liked the way everything tied together and figured being 1/4" steel it should hold up well.

The website says: "Our Jeep skid plate system is the industry standard because of the confidence it instills in each and every customer. Each skid is laser cut from 3/16" or 1/4" thick steel coated in our weather and debris resistant powder coat finish. Strength is proven on virtually all Jeep enthusiast forums with glowing reviews. Our skid plate system is the undisputed leader in undercarriage protection."

Nowhere could I find anything that said "Not for heavy JKU's" or anything warning me that they would not be able to handle off road use.

Here is a picture of the skids on the 2nd morning we were at Sand Hollow. This is about 1/4 of the way through the Maze trail.

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At the end of the day this is how the transfer case skid looked.

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The skid is about 1/8" from touching the transfer case. I am sure when it happened it actually touched!

I don't remember any hard hits and know I was never high centered. I was actually taking it easy so I didn't cause damage on my first big trip.

To me this looks like a bit of a design flaw. There is no center support structure on the transfer case skid at all. Pair that with the weakness of mild steel...

I reached out to Rock Hard 4x4 to hear their thoughts on my issue.

Their first reply was to tell me that they also made their skids in steel. That maybe I should try that. I replied letting them know in fact they were their steel skids.

Their next reply was to tell me that my Jeep weighed too much. I replied asking if there was anything they could do to make them stronger. A support brace, stronger steel like T1 or Hardox.

I even offered to supply my own steel to be cut out... Pay extra... Or to have a local shop with a plasma cut them out if they could send the DXF cut file. They were not interested in helping out at all.

So there you go. Fair warning I guess. Rock Hard 4x4 skids are not made to hold up to "Heavy Jeeps".

FYI... With the hard top I weighed 6600#. With no doors and a soft top I bet I was about 6200#.
 
:thinking: Sorry to be so blunt, but how can you be mad at the skids for poor lines? Th object of skids isn't to bash the living shit out of them, its to protect the vital shit in case you do hit them.
 
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Poor lines. Right. Guess you should have been there to pick me a better one. :cheesy:

Skids should be designed to hold up to minor abuse. That is their job. This one couldn't hold up.

In this case it did save the t-case. But there isn't much left to protect it next time. Doesn't instill much confidence in this customer.

Skids shouldn't be a disposable piece that you are required to replace every time they take a hit.

I want something that can handle any abuse I can toss at it. They should be able to handle the entire jeeps weight at any location. I got them so I wouldn't need to worry about sliding over a rock. Sometimes the trail is a level 8. Not a level 5. I don't want to turn back just because something I paid money for can't handle it.
 
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I don’t know any skid system that is designed for only minor abuse. They are under the jeep designed to protect against direct impacts from trail hazards. That’s not minor abuse in the slightest. The skid plate protected the transfer case. Which is exactly what the skid plate is designed to do. If you’re worried about damaging skid plates, you should probably stick to the mall.


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Lol. Search the forum for how many of us have to reshape skids from time to time.

Shit, take a look at Overlander's crossmember, or just about any of our gas tank skids.

Better lines are the only way to protect skids from damage... Skids are there for when we fuck up and miss them. Consider it collateral damage and part of regular maintenance or pick less hardcore malls. [emoji41]



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Build Thread - Adventures of Fiona - https://wayalife.com/showthread.php?t=47407
 
I have the full EVO Protek skids on my 4 door. They have been pounded on, (especially the crossmember skid), while on the EVO Leveling Kit. They’ve bent even though I get teased as a slow poke on the trails. So I’ve had to remove that skid and hammer it out a couple times, but what it’s covering isn’t damaged.

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I guess my factory gas tank skid is just a poor design. I’m going to contact Jeep to get the files for the design and then send it to a company so that they can make a stronger version.


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bhaner said:
Did you pay extra to upgrade to that factory skid? No? Guess you got what you paid for then.
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Sounds like you’re just salty they wouldn’t send you the files. Which who would blame them. What on earth would make you think that a company would send you the files to make an exact copy of their own product?

And I think you’re overlooking the point. The point is skid plates get beat up. If you don’t want skid plates to be bent and mangled, don’t go offroad. End of story, easy as pie.


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I just noticed that this was posted directly in the Rock Hard 4x4 subforum.

Seems like a case of “I didn’t get what i want so now I’m going to brand bash”


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USMC Wrangler said:
I have the full EVO Protek skids on my 4 door. They have been pounded on, (especially the crossmember skid), while on the EVO Leveling Kit. They’ve bent even though I get teased as a slow poke on the trails. So I’ve had to remove that skid and hammer it out a couple times, but what it’s covering isn’t damaged.

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If that is what is required I guess my expectations were just out of line with reality.

I tried to buy product that would hold up to heavy abuse. I feel that what I was doing was no where near what the vehicle is capable of doing. It's got more in it.

I will just need to make it better. That's what I do. I just expect that same quality and effort out of products that I buy as I do from parts I build.
 
longarmwj said:
I just noticed that this was posted directly in the Rock Hard 4x4 subforum.

Seems like a case of “I didn’t get what i want so now I’m going to brand bash”


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Click to expand...

Take it however you want. At this point I am not asking for anything from them. I would rather warn others before they spend hard earned money on something that was "the best in the industry" only to be as disappointed as I was.
 
longarmwj said:
Sounds like you’re just salty they wouldn’t send you the files. Which who would blame them. What on earth would make you think that a company would send you the files to make an exact copy of their own product?

And I think you’re overlooking the point. The point is skid plates get beat up. If you don’t want skid plates to be bent and mangled, don’t go offroad. End of story, easy as pie.


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Click to expand...

I couldn't care less if they sent me the files. It was just an option. I also asked if they would be willing to do a redesign or use better steel.

They know as well as I do that you can copy anything. Files or no files.

This is a tool. It is designed to go offroad. Skid plates should be designed to handle it. Don't tell me they can't be. I had a D-8 dozer that had skids to hold up to it's 70k weight. Not a dent in them.
 
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bhaner said:
I tried to buy product that would hold up to heavy abuse.
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Abuse seems to be the word you don't want to address. It looks like they held up just fine to me on a heavy JKU. LOL, you're running a DTD/Evo lever system on 40's, with a D60/D80 combo. Why on earth do you need to bang the living shit out of your skids like that?
 
Ddays said:
Abuse seems to be the word you don't want to address. It looks like they held up just fine to me on a heavy JKU. LOL, you're running a DTD/Evo lever system on 40's, with a D60/D80 combo. Why on earth do you need to bang the living shit out of your skids like that?
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That's the problem I have.... It wasn't even a hard hit! I was driving it nice! LOL!
 
Ddays said:
Abuse seems to be the word you don't want to address. It looks like they held up just fine to me on a heavy JKU. LOL, you're running a DTD/Evo lever system on 40's, with a D60/D80 combo. Why on earth do you need to bang the living shit out of your skids like that?
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To try to show you how hard he wishes he could bang women


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bhaner said:
I couldn't care less if they sent me the files. It was just an option. I also asked if they would be willing to do a redesign or use better steel.

They know as well as I do that you can copy anything. Files or no files.

This is a tool. It is designed to go offroad. Skid plates should be designed to handle it. Don't tell me they can't be. I had a D-8 dozer that had skids to hold up to it's 70k weight. Not a dent in them.
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:cheesy: Seriously? Sure they can make a set of skids that won't show a dent. But the damn things would weigh hundreds of pounds. Hardly an apt comparison.
 
bhaner said:
Take it however you want. At this point I am not asking for anything from them. I would rather warn others before they spend hard earned money on something that was "the best in the industry" only to be as disappointed as I was.
Click to expand...

They are one of the best in the industry. They wouldn’t be allowed to be a forum supporter if they weren’t.


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