ARB Skid plate Details Shared

In looking for a skid plate setup, I wanted information on the ARB steel skid plate set, but found only a little information that related to the details I was most curious about. I found a used setup locally and bought it, so I wanted to come here to share what I’ve learned and some additional pictures that don’t seem to exist on TW or the internet much.

My questions (and their subsequent answers) were:

1) Would the setup be strong or is the folded steel even worth it for moderate off roading?

- I don’t wheel hard, just off road a bit and weekend overland type stuff. I’m stock height and just need a bit of protection for misjudged rocks and surprises. From what I observe about the ARB setup, the 3 MM thick and reinforced sections are not going to take a beating without bending, but they will offer the protection for my use scenario. Here’s some pictures of their reinforced zones and thickness:



2) What all do they cover, there’s not often underneath pictures.

- They span from the front crash bar to just behind the exhaust cross over pipe.




3) Are there access holes for maintenance, at least oil changes?

- No, none. I did see a few claims that the entire setup would need to come off, because of how it’s attached together, to even do an oil change…and I find that’s not true. Whatever section you need access behind, that individual section can be removed independently of the next, though maybe a tight fit without loosening the adjacent plate.



Notice how the panels have a parallel angled mounted surface between all three adjacent panels. It’d be several bolts (5 to 8) that need to come out to drop a panel, but it is doable.




4) Any modifications needed to install?

- Yes, two main modifications in my case: Bend the drivers side factory skid plate retaining hook up and out of the way and drilling holes for the rear most passenger side panel support leg.

(Will get more pics, forgot)




5) Will they protect the catalytic converters from theft?

- As a default, no. Both ends of the cats are still very expose and the skid will not slow down a thief. I do see an easy opportunity to fabricate a small panel that will fix that though, and I plan to.

View of cat and it’s exposure:


A cat shield from RCI that blocks that open spot between the frame rail and the skid plate:



That piece would work well for me, due to the side of the RCI skids being flat/vertical where as the arb sides/edges are angled out. But I plan to mimic the ideal and built some angle iron and expanded sheet metal pieces to cover that are.

It effectively only covers the front pipe and body of the catalytic converter, leaving the downstream side exposed, but with how the exhaust routes between the engine and the cat means that little protecting blocks any access to cut the front side of the cat out, so they can cut the back side but still not remove it.

Let me know if there’s any questions on the setup that I can answer.

Overall, I’m happy for the $400 I paid for the used setup. Will work well for my use.

 

Really nice write-up, thanks for taking the time to share all of this information.

 

$400 is a great price for the full setup. I’d snatch that up in a heartbeat! Thanks for the all the info and sharing your install experience

 

Nice, very little Info here on some ARB products. I have their front recovery point.

Any chance you weighed them? I went with an RCI aluminum front and plan to get the rest later. I'm curious if these sit somewhere in-between steel and aluminum skids that we would normally see here in NA.

 

Unfortunately I didn’t think to weight them, but do know they’re lighter than most heavier gauge metal skid plates.

If I had to guess, the panels range between 35-55 lbs each, the front and rear panels being heavier and the center two being on the lighter side. In order from front to back, I’d guess 50/40/35/55, so 180lbs total. I’d assume I could be up to 30% light on that number though, so potentially 230-ish lbs.

 

Little update, the rear most panel that covers the exhaust cross over sure is stinking low.

Little crest over humps on this trail I was on tester and that low hanging panel scrapped at least a dozen times:



I’m going to look into rerouting that exhaust crossover higher and leaving off that rearmost panel. Without running a lift, I just can’t loose the ground clearance that section takes away.

 

That thing looks way too low. That has to be a design flaw.

 

I've seen similar posts about the RCI T Case skid w/o the reroute option. That's why I'm planning to have a reroute done before I buy it

Is that stock height?

Thanks for the post. Very helpful!

 

Yeah, stock height and DCLB which doesn’t help with break over angles.

 

Wondering if anyone knows if this skid plate is ARB ‘millennium gray’ or even better, what would be a good paint match for touch ups?

 

Try giving ARB a call. They will probably be able to telll you something close. If they don't, take it to s paint shop or a wheel repair shop, as they will be able to match the colors. Hope this helps.

 

I appreciate the write up. Currently trying to decide what's going on my truck in terms of armor. The information out there, the better.

 

great thinking I’ll be using your advice appreciate it

 

You're welcome