CID
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You don't need 'em ... until you do. 
😭
Trail Armor and FactoryUTV seem to be mentioned regularly. I went with the TA and it brings me serenity when I'm sliding across a surprise attempted intrusion. Since that Claw is spending yer money, go with the 1/2".
😭Trail Armor and FactoryUTV seem to be mentioned regularly. I went with the TA and it brings me serenity when I'm sliding across a surprise attempted intrusion.
Since that Claw is spending yer money, go with the 1/2".
T
For any more than gravel roads and light trail riding, I do think they are required for the X4 due to the low ground clearance and wheelbase. High centering is common and the OEM guard is no skid plate. I have a hybrid using the Super ATV 1/2" skid and Factory UTV rocker sliders. The two work well together and was a little more cost effective than the full Factory kit as I got the SATV on sale and then applied the military discount. These skids were used regularly in Moab and protected the machine from significant impacts. I removed the front portion of the skids and rocker guards and much to my surprise and satisfaction, no damage eventhough I expected to see some caved in frame rails. Either the TA or Factory UTV will be great I'm sure.
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They are all expensive but if you are hitting bottom, I would say they are a must have.
I have the Factory UTV Skids and Rock Sliders and they saw a lot of action in Moab. They are tough as hell and for the amount of hits, I expected to see a lot more damage to them.
I did not like their bulky trailing arm guards so I went with the Trail Armor Trailing Arm Guards and they got the most abuse on my R. They are only 3/8 thick but they sit directly flat on the arms so thickness was not a concern to me for them and they did their job perfectly. Probably have to replace them every couple of years but I am OK with that.
Trailing Arms guards on an R are a must have but on the X, the arms sit higher so they are a little more "optional" on the X in my opinion.
I have the Factory UTV Skids and Rock Sliders and they saw a lot of action in Moab. They are tough as hell and for the amount of hits, I expected to see a lot more damage to them.
I did not like their bulky trailing arm guards so I went with the Trail Armor Trailing Arm Guards and they got the most abuse on my R. They are only 3/8 thick but they sit directly flat on the arms so thickness was not a concern to me for them and they did their job perfectly. Probably have to replace them every couple of years but I am OK with that.
Trailing Arms guards on an R are a must have but on the X, the arms sit higher so they are a little more "optional" on the X in my opinion.
D
I've got the super atv one on mine. They work great. I've put 300 miles on them in northern NH where there is more rocks than dirt on the trails. The only thing I didnt like about them during install is they provide self tapping screws for about a half a dozen places. I ended up buying a metric tap the same size as the factory holes and drilling and tapping those.
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Personally, I'd say they would be one of the absolute first upgrades I'd do to every machine if you're in rough terrain and do some rock crawling. Besides the incredible protection they provide against rocks and sticks, they're also an awesome tool to use for difficult rock crawls. You can slide over big sharp rocks with ease. If you're interested in ours, you can always get a forum member discount from me. We're also have a big military and first responder sale tomorrow if that applies to you.
www.superatv.com
Home Page - SuperATV
www.superatv.com
BTW, I looked at them all and the 2 main reason I went with the Factory UTV was...
- I have seen the other brands separate (become uneven) at that rear joint (where the stock one overlaps) and wanted to try to avoid that. The back seam on the FUTV skid not only overlaps (uses a kind of 1/2 dovetail style lap) it also has an extra plate that aligns with the frame and the rear piece bolts to and mitigates that seam from separating like others I have seen. So far, this seam remained perfect after some hard hits in Moab.
- I was constantly hitting the front bumper and bending in the lower plate. The front of the FUTF skid curves up the front bumper and protects that area and my winch. Probably only works with the stock bumper but that was OK with me.
...And a closer look you can see the bent plate almost hitting my winch. The red box is the area where the FUTV skid extends and curves up and keeps that plate straight and protects the winch unlike the others...
T
Paul raises a good point I forgot to address in my review of the SATV skid. I did have to add a piece of angle to prevent a part of the skid in the belly from being pushed in due to the design of alternating fingers of the skid that bolt to a common frame rail. Not a big deal and I'm not having any issues with it including using the skid as a bearing surface many times in Moab to complete the big drops. The technique is simple, drop the front wheels off slowly, slide down the drop on the belly of the skids, contact rear tires, add a little throttle to push the rear over the edge of the drop and then add brakes to control the rear dropping off. definitely a good tool jeeps and trucks don't have as SATV mentioned above.
Smitty335
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That's how you get an oily air filter in a P1. Don't ask!BTW, I looked at them all and the 2 main reason I went with the Factory UTV was...
Here you can see what I am talking about when I was doing my OEM skid plate inspection at the dunes before I got my new skids
- I have seen the other brands separate (become uneven) at that rear joint (where the stock one overlaps) and wanted to try to avoid that. The back seam on the FUTV skid not only overlaps (uses a kind of 1/2 dovetail style lap) it also has an extra plate that aligns with the frame and the rear piece bolts to and mitigates that seam from separating like others I have seen. So far, this seam remained perfect after some hard hits in Moab.
- I was constantly hitting the front bumper and bending in the lower plate. The front of the FUTF skid curves up the front bumper and protects that area and my winch. Probably only works with the stock bumper but that was OK with me.
View attachment 232100
And a closer look you can see the bent plate almost hitting my winch. The red box is the area where the FUTV skid extends and curves up and keeps that plate straight and protects the winch unlike the others...
View attachment 232101
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D
I ended up going with axiom's skid plate and have been impressed. Great quality, no extra drilling and they are reasonably priced.
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