When I'm on the trail I'm paranoid of ripping mechanical parts out of the bottom of my truck on rocks, tree stumps, etc. Of course I drive a careful line. But sometimes it's necessary to drag the belly of the truck over some unfriendly terrain. So I finally purchased a set of BudBuilt skids for peace of mind. Here's my story:
My FJ originally came with the accessory "bling plate". While it doesn't stand up to much, it does prevent the engine skid from taking a beating. Here's how it looked after a few trail runs:
After a lot of research on this forum, I opted for BudBuilt's 4-piece set of skids (front, mid, transfer case, crossmember.) Besides being excellent quality (as I'm sure the competitors are as well), I like the completely flat surface they provide (even though they sacrifice some clearance.) The recessed hardware also helps. And the front skid is wide to protect the alignment points. Other features and discussion can be found in the skid comparison thread.
Bud is a great guy to deal with. He takes the time to answer questions and discuss the features of his products. He's happy to provide advice on installation. And he makes sure the customer is happy. His shipping prices are reasonable for pieces of this size and weight, and delivery is fast.
Quality of the skids: top notch. These things are beefy. And everything fits correctly, with all holes in the right places, lining up perfectly. One suggestion: before installing make sure all hardware is there, including the spacer plates for the TC skid. Sometimes Bud leaves something out, sometimes parts fall out of the box as the FedEx guy drags it up the driveway. If you happen to be missing anything, Bud will send it out right away at no charge. He'll also email the install instructions, which make this an easy install.
Enough text. I'll let the pics show the rest.
Skids hanging in basement, ready to paint:
I hung them like this so I could paint both sides at once. I used Rustoleum Safety Red in a rattle can (preceded by primer). Here's the result:
I think these look great on my living room floor. Top side:
Bottom:
I pulled the truck onto ramps, and it was easy to slide underneath to install the skids myself.
To position the skids, I slid under the truck on a creeper with the skid on my stomach, then lifted it into place with my hands and knees. I also used a floor jack with a towel on the pad to support one end while positioning the other. I ran into no issues.
After the install I posed the truck for some more shots. Now the sensitive bits are all protected:
One note about the finished product: Clearance is tight at the exhaust crossover. I trimmed about 3/4" off the driver side spacer plate because it looked like it might touch with any flex at all. And now that everything is bolted up there's maybe 3/8" clearance max between the exhaust and the skid. I can't fit my pinky finger in between there:
But there's no contact and no rattles. So it's all good.
I can't wait to get out on the trail and scuff these up. I've heard that a good driver knows how to negotiate the terrain to avoid scraping the skids. But I'm still learning and pushing the limits. So I'm sure I'll be touching up the red paint a lot.
Thanks to Bud for an excellent product, and to the forum members that provided feedback on skids in general to point me in the right direction.
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