Have you installed your Bull Bar yet? I was wondering how they work with the factory skid plates. Does the Bull Bar skid plate replace the existing skid plate? The factory plates have some cooling scopes. Do you foresee any issues with cooling using the Bull Bar? Thanks
The installation was not complicated at all. The most difficult part was torquing down the bolts with the bull bar in place. It required a swivel-head ratchet that I had to pick up at a local hardware store. Unless you've got a very compact air ratchet, this will likely be the most difficult part of the install.
After removing the bumper's lower cover and two plastic splash guards, getting the bumper retention bolts off was fairly easy. Since you are not removing
all the bolts, the bumper stays securely in place during the install.
There is no need to remove or alter the skid plate at all. When installing the retention bolts, the only thing that I would suggest (not in the instructions) is that you apply a liberal amount of blue thread lock on the bolts as you re-install them.
The most challenging part of the installation (though not the most difficult) was cutting out a 'notch' (approximately 2"x3.5") of the plastic splash guards on either side after installation of the bull bar. The installation sheet provides an illustrative photo of where and how to cut (see the link to the instruction sheet in the OP), but you'll want to eyeball it and make your own measurements before getting out the Dremel (a heated wire would work about as well). Keep in mind the old adage:
measure twice cut once.
The mounted bar looks great (IMHO). Given the way that it attaches, I do believe that it will provide the desired 'idiot protection' (i.e., parking lot bumps, etc.). But like comments about the various bull bar options elsewhere on the forum, I would not count upon the SteelCraft sustaining a more significant blow (i.e., a front-end collision) without some bumper and perhaps some grill damage. It looks & feels pretty beefy. It connects pretty securely. But ultimately it is not designed to sustain major impacts. But I am absolutely content with the end result.
The instruction sheet (linked above) provides an image of the bars installed on a Gen5, but I'll post a pic of mine shortly...
