So I am looking for a front bumper, some skids maybe, and a roof rack. My Sliders should be shipping out this week, and I am thinking about selling the LFD rear bumper and going with something a little lighter. I have OME heavy springs in the front and rear but weight management is big. So what do you have and is there a reason why you choose it? Got pics?

the best way to figure out what you need is to just go out there. For me, i tend to stay away from technical trails unless i have to go on that trail to get to camp, so i ended up spending my money on the following:

1. low profile/slimline/hybrid front bumper w/ high clearance cutout: This has served me well. I was able to do moab, mohave road, pucker road (sp), boxcar canyon and a bunch of water crossings without damaging anything, or losing anything except a bolt. So that negates a need for a full plate front bumper.

2. front skids are important. I took a few hits on the aluminum front skids, and its held up fine both from high speed hits because i was too slow to dodge a boulder in the middle of the track, and obviously i took some slow speed hits in Moab playing on rocks.

3. Gas tank skid: I saw a buddy land hard on the gas tank skid in Moab. I picked a different line, and didn't take the hit but I ended up ordering it when i got home.

4. rear shock skids: this is actually important and not really talked about. I saw first hand this get hit on my truck and others in the convoy. Usually what happens is another vehicle will kick up a boulder in front of you, and you have no choice but to take the hit since you don't know where the boulder is going to stop rolling and you are going to fast to stop. Also, sometimes you slip off a rock or are straddling a rut and slip into the rut you were avoiding and bam....hit a rock.

optional:

1. transfer case/transmission skids: i have them, but haven't taken any hits on them, mainly because your front will take the hit first, or your lower hanging fruit in the rear will take a hit. You might as well buy this as part of your offroad insurance policy, since the tranny/transfer case damage will probably ruin your day.

2. Lower link skids: its a good idea to have these if you play in rock gardens. I have them as a insurance policy, but haven't taken a hit on them yet.

3. rear diff skid: not really necessary since our rear diff is pretty beefy. I've taken some hits to this skid, but it acts more like a slider for the rear diff, so less likely to get turtled on it (or my reasoning). It gives some protection to your Elocker (if you have it).

4. front lower A arm skid. Not really necessary, I bought it because it makes the LCA a flat surface so less likely to get stuck if they get caught on a rock. I've seen that happen a few times (although i've never seen any actual damage the LCA).

Well thats my reasoning for why I have all that stuff, and what I actually have used/damaged/hit in the real world. I don't regret having all this armor. Only thing i probably would do differently is go all aluminum if i could, since i rarely play in rock gardens and want to save as much weight as possible.

Some good advice here, IMO. Who's gas tank skid, rear shock skids and lower link skids do you have or are considering?

I have basically RCI everything mainly because i was being thrifty with my money. However, if i had to do it again, i would change the following since im not a rock crawler.

Rear shock skids: I would go with Rago over RCI on this one, mainly because it offers more protection to the rear shock shaft. however, some people argue that this extra protection is a liability if the armor were to collapse on itself, during rock crawling.... since I'm not a rock crawler, i rather have the extra protection from trail running than rock crawling. If you are a rock crawler, , there are better ones suited for that activity than RCI or Rago. I bought RCI cuz i was being financially cheap, but now looking back, maybe i should have paid more for little more protection

Lower link skids: I have RCI. I'm not a total fan of it, mainly because it says that its compatible with alot of sliders, when it really isn't. I ended up having to modify my RCI lower link skids to the point where I had it welded to the frame... If that was the case, I would have just gotten a weld on version in the first place. However, they are awesome if your sliders are compatible, because there is a substantial ramp built into them that act like sliders. However, its this same ramp that causes them to be a headache to install.

Gas tank skid: i also have RCI.. RCI redesigned their gas tank skid to beef up the front end, so i don't have a problem with the newer design. However, some people still have issues with the new design, because its not boxed in on all 4 corners. I would probably still get RCI again, because well im not a rock crawler, and am willing to sacrifice protection for weight reduction.

I have heard the same thing on the RCI rear shock skids. I have the short angled up Shrockworks sliders, so, I will have to see if they will work with them or look into another brand. I have heard the same on the RCI gas tank skid. Look for another brand there too.

I considered aluminum bumpers, because they are half the weight of steel, but after a lot of looking, I saw people with aluminum having welds crack at stress points, re-welding only to have the crack reappear. I also just felt uneasy about my recovery points being aluminum. Aluminum recovery points should be fine, but when I thought about the forces in play with a kinetic recovery, I decided to go with steel. For my skid plates I did go with the CBI aluminum set up. Expensive but very light and has served me well. It's scraped up and has taken some hits, but is still straight. I also have the Rago sliders, very beefy, but I think they were loosing money making them and are no longer offered on their site. Theres a current thread going right now on weight that might give some insight.

Lets address the "elephant"/ weight in the room!

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Thanks, I do not rock crawl so I would think the RCI shock skids would work just fine. I really like the Hybrid ideas of a front bumper and then cutting to trim it for clearance. I just got a few LFD crossbars (2) so I might get 2 ir 3 more and the rack is done until I am ready to spend close to 1k. I know there is LFD and SSO for the front hybrid bumpers, but are there any others that don't have their logo smack in the center? I prefer normal look