200 Skid Plate Protection (1 Viewer)

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Mar 6, 2017
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Virginia
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forum.ih8mud.com
I’m in the midst of finishing the build on my 2016 200 and I was looking at under-carriage protection. I have been leaning towards Bud Built and was readying to order their “Overlander Stage 4” package. Over the weekend their website had 3-4 weeks of lead time advertised and now they have 9-10 weeks. At that lead time, their gear would be pushing right up until the last part of June which is getting a bit too close to comfort for me as I’m planning a trip to AZ, UT, CO the first week of July.

Do you all have any other suggestions on skid plate brands that I should consider. I could go the ARB route, but I think that’s my least preferred.

Ready, Go!
 
Theoretically Slee is making a BudBuilt competitor, complete with an oil access hatch. I’m in line when they get produced, but at this point there is no definite time line. Could well be 9-12 weeks, could be next week too.
 
Theoretically Slee is making a BudBuilt competitor, complete with an oil access hatch. I’m in line when they get produced, but at this point there is no definite time line. Could well be 9-12 weeks, could be next week too.

To be honest, I wouldn't hold your breath. Slee is my go to shop (my truck is literally there right now actually), and last year I had them add ARB skids to my old truck. They mentioned they were working on their own branded skids and they could be ready any time, and I ALMOST decided to wait until theirs we ready. Well that was 13 months ago, and there still is no ETA for them. It's an incredible shop, but they've been so busy, the R&D on new products has been taking a long time. They've been selling the 200 rear bumper for a year now, but it's still not on their website and every single one they've made and in the pipeline has been sold already. I'm looking forward to their skids, but if you need something soon I would not wait.
 
Good to know - I might just then go with the ARB and save the $500 - any issues or extraordinary PITA with oil changes?

To be honest, I always have my truck serviced at the dealer or Slee, and neither has any trouble with the skids. My local dealer (Mountain States) actually loves working on the 200 and puts their lead tech on my truck when I bring it in, and they've never messed anything up - knock on wood. They don't charge extra for the slight added labor to lower the front skid btw.
 
To be honest, I always have my truck serviced at the dealer or Slee, and neither has any trouble with the skids. My local dealer (Mountain States) actually loves working on the 200 and puts their lead tech on my truck when I bring it in, and they've never messed anything up - knock on wood. They don't charge extra for the slight added labor to lower the front skid btw.

Good to know! It isn't really added labor because if you didn't have the ARB skid they would have to drop the factory skid anyway - so that makes sense!

Thanks - might be the new plan......
 
Good to know! It isn't really added labor because if you didn't have the ARB skid they would have to drop the factory skid anyway - so that makes sense!

Thanks - might be the new plan......

Yes that's true, but some shops love to charge for anything "non-standard" or modified. My dealer is mod friendly - in fact they LOVE to work on lifted trucks from what I can tell. The ARBs are a good value IMO, and I didn't regret putting them on my last truck.
 
Love my BB aluminum stage 2

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I haven’t decided, but I’m leaning towards steel depending on the weight penalty over steel. Any idea what the difference is between the 2? With BB, I’d be looking at stage 3 most likely.
Stage 3 Overland Lite steel (1/8” steel, or just slightly thicker than ARB UVPs) weights 130 lbs. 1/4” aluminum weights 89 lbs.

If you need to reference weights, they are on the website under the materials tab.
 
Good to know - I might just then go with the ARB and save the $500 - any issues or extraordinary PITA with oil changes?

If you get your oil changed at dealer or a drive through place, the grease monkeys will hate your skids. IF they don't charge you extra, they might throw away half of your hardware holding them on for less wrenching next time. If you have spacers (to accommodate a diff drop) they will be "lost" after the first oil change. I suggest cutting access holes if the skids are not built with them. Or at least JB weld the spacers on so they aren't discarded by the tech.

You can ask for new bolts from dealer techs and they may/may not oblige

Source: have been a grease monkey, have had skids
 
That’s why I went with bb since they have access points for oil and filter change.
My dealership was bad at reinstalling the standard skid after the oil change.
 
Painless. Even my local dealership was able to re-install it properly after having to take it down for a Belt/Pulley change.
 
Good to know - I might just then go with the ARB and save the $500 - any issues or extraordinary PITA with oil changes?

Thunk, thud, thunk thunk thunk....quiet, thunk... no consistency, not specific to road conditions. The noise was coming from the front passenger side. I measured to check the lift, level. I had just had my 200 serviced at the dealership so I took it back 2 days later....apparently they did not replace a bolt or did not tighten it properly and that caused the plate to rattle and cause serious panic and chest pain for me.
 
Anyone know where to find best price on a set of skids? Brand doesn't matter. New or used.
 
+1 for BB, I have the Stage 3 in stainless.
 

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