Phew. 'Cause I heard the MAF sacrifice small children.
Seriously, I've bought from Bud and from MAF and (shock) both area great companies and great guys.
fj skid plate
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Phew. 'Cause I heard the MAF sacrifice small children.
Seriously, I've bought from Bud and from MAF and (shock) both area great companies and great guys.
Sporin
Site Addict
C'Mon... don't be ridiculous, no on said that.... people are just recommending a guy they worked with an d liked, not disparaging anyone else.
Search for horror stories dealing with both MAF and Bud Built and then decide. My personal experiences with Bud have been great. My experiences with MAF have not been bad, but they don't communicate at all and I don't like getting bent over on shipping.
I've had good and marginal w/ Man-A-Fre - it depends on who you get on the phone I suppose.
As far as shipping, to ship a set of springs from LA to PHX tho was 2x that to get from Toyota of Dallas to PHX, go figure...
Bud is a much smaller, more personal operation. He evidently cares about each and every customer, and he builds a quality product he backs up. Shipping as a breeze and done as he promised.
That said, MAF carries a much more diversified range of products and is a much larger operation, so you will get a wider selection to meet individual needs/wants.
spaldam
S.J.'s Adventures
My experience was about the same. My biggest complaint was how much they seem to rely on the customer to make sure the order is getting processed. It's almost like submitting the order on-line doesn't notify anyone, so you have to e-mail them to get them to look into it. Shipping was a lot, but then skids are heavy, so you can't just drop them off at the post office. It looks like a really good product though. I just need to get them installed and try them out.
HA!! I think Toyota is the only one making aluminum skids.
I'll go with a big recommendation for the Buds as well. I've REALLY beat my skids up and they have stood up to every bit of it. Nothing like running over boulders you KNOW you can't get over, only to just drag your belly over it, knowing those skids or doing their job! The Buds weigh about 150 lbs. About 45 more if you get the gas tank skid.
As far a MAF, their skids also look very nice. Not nearly as wide as the Buds, and don't offer the same protection as the Buds. But they do look stout. Only problem is, over the six month period I spend saving for skids and researching what I would eventually buy, I tried three or four times to get some info from MAF. All I got was a quick note with a kinda crappy attitude. I asked why it was every time I tried to order their skids, they NEVER had them. The sent me a note back saying "Put your order in NOW, we will have some in three weeks!" Didn't bother to answer ANY of my other questions. What kind of crap is that?! At the same time, Bud and I talked like three times and he was SUPER cool about all my stupid questions. And when I finally got around to ordering them, I had them in FIVE DAYS!
Nope... didn't you guys check that link to the Rasta 4x4 page? They have full heavy duty skids for the FJ. They look like they are for real.....not a bling plate. I wonder how much weight they save. I have the Budbuilt skids all the way, including the heavy duty gas tank skid (he has two versions), and I love them. They are steel and they are heavy. Another question about the aluminum skids is how well they slide off rocks. I read somewhere that aluminum is "stickier" than steel.
Oops, I didn't see the second post.. If the the full skid setup weighs only 84lbs, that is a huge weight savings over Bud or MAF. Hell, I'm pretty sure the heavy gas tank skid is over fifty pounds alone!
spaldam
S.J.'s Adventures
I weighed the MAF's and it came out to about 105 lbs. Minus the 20 or so lbs for the stock, and you only adding about 80 lbs. of weight. Most of the weight is towards the front.
I also agree that they aren't very wide, and do leave some things a little more exposed then I'd like.
Install pictures of the MAF:
Installing Skid Plates in March 2008
I also agree that they aren't very wide, and do leave some things a little more exposed then I'd like.
Install pictures of the MAF:
Installing Skid Plates in March 2008
Rasta4x4USA recently got approved by toyota for the Dakar race in france, every car in the race will be equipped with Rasta's skid plates.
Rasta is offering a $50 discount on shipping on a complete set of skids for the FJ through out this month.
I'm looking at high density plastic for the skids. My stockers took a huge beating and aren't made for the abuse. I'll also chime in on the Bud's as well. I know a few folks running them and have nothing but high praise for them and Bud!
I tested my RASTA skids at HANNIBAL ROCKS and they did fine, unlike my passenger fender
Will the manafre skids work with the URD Y-Pipes?
I bought some 10 gauge steel and a plasma and just built my own. If you're just looking to cover your Trans you could probably just have a sheet cut at the steel yard and punch some holes in it to bolt it to the IFS cross member and the Trans cross member and Bob's your uncle yer set...
You must be really cute. Bud took it in the shorts for 60.00.
I am the builder of 4 plus. Bud builds a great product. Either way you go his or ours , you will benefit. I will state for the record that Man-a-fre is not gouging in the shipping. I have run numbers with numerous trucking companies and found even if I sell wholesale direct the shipping cost, because of man-a-fre's volume discount, it's cheaper for the customer to buy from them than me.
I had quotes this week for 300lbs, az to pittsburg
fedex truck ..my cost 678.00
man-a-fre cost.........365.00
GI TRUCKING
my cost ......634.00
Man-a fre's cost 328.00
You are welcome to call a trucking company. Most heavy items go "class 100"
Ask the frieght for 1 pallet.
You'll find it unfortunate but with diesel at 5.00 a gallon I fear for the mail order business.
I supply Man-a-fre because I believe in their integrity. I suupport all my competitors because I won't live forever and I love Land Cruisers
Please support al the Land Cruiser vendors because without them your trucks would go the way of the Scout
I am the builder of 4 plus. Bud builds a great product. Either way you go his or ours , you will benefit. I will state for the record that Man-a-fre is not gouging in the shipping. I have run numbers with numerous trucking companies and found even if I sell wholesale direct the shipping cost, because of man-a-fre's volume discount, it's cheaper for the customer to buy from them than me.
I had quotes this week for 300lbs, az to pittsburg
fedex truck ..my cost 678.00
man-a-fre cost.........365.00
GI TRUCKING
my cost ......634.00
Man-a fre's cost 328.00
You are welcome to call a trucking company. Most heavy items go "class 100"
Ask the frieght for 1 pallet.
You'll find it unfortunate but with diesel at 5.00 a gallon I fear for the mail order business.
I supply Man-a-fre because I believe in their integrity. I suupport all my competitors because I won't live forever and I love Land Cruisers
Please support al the Land Cruiser vendors because without them your trucks would go the way of the Scout
Can you have any forum members that have installed your skids report on their experiences?
I just posted in another thread b4 I saw this one regarding the long term durability of these.
What I fear is the aluminium taking a big hit requring a dent to be banged out of it then the aluminimum cracking...These are very expensive, but the weight savings is the biggest appeal for me...just want to know what I'm really sacrificing (beyond the obvious).
Even if you go extreme off-roading and dent them, they can be bent back.. Aluminum this thick will not crack. Here are some comments...
KUBICIDE - Rasta did a good job in packaging and shipping was fast. The overall heavy alloy material and construction is solid and well made. I work with aerospace components, and have no concern as to whether these will hold up or not...
Installation was straight-forward without lifting the FJ. Only trouble was the alignment of the attached grille section which came installed too far forward. This caused the brackets to misalign preventing the main center bolts from going in. But my "hats off" to Rasta who made themselves available to help via cell phone late on Saturday.
The front plate nicely fills up the gap between the bumper and where the stock tin plates were located. The gear plate connects to the rear of the front plate, and carries back to the stock cross member fully protecting the tranny. Rasta includes some clever bolt-brackets to simplify the install.
So, overall the plates are impressive.
Athenaceleste - "Yesterday hit some pretty hard rocks... hit the middle plate and had to winch off of it.. I saw it bent with weight but as soon as we took weight off of it..it bounced back.. unbelievable!"
JOEUSER - "I decided to go with the Rasta skids, and weight was the primary factor; net gain of ~53 lbs, after subtracting the stock skids, compared to approximately three times that for a full set of Bud Builts.
If the Rasta skids were not available, I would have gone with the Bud Builts, as their reputation is solid. However, after seeing the trial that athenaceleste put the Rasta skids through at Moab, that sealed the deal."
SONOF40 - "I had a chance to test my Rasta skids at the Eagle Lakes run here in NorCal. There was some snow so the slidability of aluminum will have to wait for later. But I did take a few hard clunks on the underbelly and after inspection saw NO dents whatsoever."
These are some of the remarks from members on FJCRUISERFORUMS.com
KUBICIDE - Rasta did a good job in packaging and shipping was fast. The overall heavy alloy material and construction is solid and well made. I work with aerospace components, and have no concern as to whether these will hold up or not...
Installation was straight-forward without lifting the FJ. Only trouble was the alignment of the attached grille section which came installed too far forward. This caused the brackets to misalign preventing the main center bolts from going in. But my "hats off" to Rasta who made themselves available to help via cell phone late on Saturday.
The front plate nicely fills up the gap between the bumper and where the stock tin plates were located. The gear plate connects to the rear of the front plate, and carries back to the stock cross member fully protecting the tranny. Rasta includes some clever bolt-brackets to simplify the install.
So, overall the plates are impressive.
Athenaceleste - "Yesterday hit some pretty hard rocks... hit the middle plate and had to winch off of it.. I saw it bent with weight but as soon as we took weight off of it..it bounced back.. unbelievable!"
JOEUSER - "I decided to go with the Rasta skids, and weight was the primary factor; net gain of ~53 lbs, after subtracting the stock skids, compared to approximately three times that for a full set of Bud Builts.
If the Rasta skids were not available, I would have gone with the Bud Builts, as their reputation is solid. However, after seeing the trial that athenaceleste put the Rasta skids through at Moab, that sealed the deal."
SONOF40 - "I had a chance to test my Rasta skids at the Eagle Lakes run here in NorCal. There was some snow so the slidability of aluminum will have to wait for later. But I did take a few hard clunks on the underbelly and after inspection saw NO dents whatsoever."
These are some of the remarks from members on FJCRUISERFORUMS.com
yep...go to blue forum and read what Athenaceleste has written...she wheels the s*** out of her rasta skids with no problems yet. it comes down to personal preference and whether you can justify the extra weight and strength of the steel skids....or think that 90% of your wheeling will be more than satisfied by Rasta plus looking for weight savings. Athena has proven so far that they will hold up.... I recommend contacting her and see if she will give you a call and share some of her experiences thus far....
