I currently have cbi covert front bumper, Vixtory 4x4 mid and transfer case black powder coated aluminum skids. I am interested in getting a steel front engine skid. RCI and Victory 4x4 have sales going on right now. I’ve been going down the wormhole of reading comments/reviews and seems like all the major brands have their own issues. Can anyone with experience with multiple brands help? I’m leaning towards Victory 4x4 steel front engine skid since I already have their mid + transfer case skid
Need help picking skids for 2020 GX
- Thread starter TxGxer
- Start date
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.
As far as I know, budbuilt offers the only front skid that has easy oil drain plug and filter access. Been happy with mine. Solid and everything matches up perfectly, even the mounting screws to the plastic trim.
Looked at your post again and forgot that you have that new cbi bumper, so not sure how the budbuilt would look like fit up to it.
- Thread starter
- #6
Thanks! I’ll reach out to Bud to see if his front skid is compatible with a cbi front bumper.
What did you end up going with?
r2m
Richard
Also, what rock sliders is it wearing?
I second budbuilt. If you are doing your own maintenance it is super convenient.
blinder52
SILVER Star
Looks awesome. What sliders are those?
Does Victory not have an oil pan drain bolt access hole?
r2m
Richard
Check the sticky after market thread on the main page:
Guide to GX 460 Builds and Aftermarket Products
forum.ih8mud.com
I got an email from Victory4x4 suggesting to use a Fumoto oil drain plug for ease of oil changes. I've used them before and am not opposed to it.
Will report back once I receive my skids and get everything installed.
I think I’m going to order budbuilt.
I have a Victory 4x4 Blitz front bumper and the Budbuilt front skid works perfectly with it.
Last edited:
How about a bump? I'm on the hunt for skids and also have the CBI bumper. What have people done?
r2m
Richard
First, do you want steel or aluminum skids? What type of trails are you anticipating?
I have aluminum and have been through some rock gardens and they've held up fine. Yeah, you can see some bumps and dents, but they did what I bought them for. I wouldn't use them for rock gardens and crawling all the time, but for the occasion when I drop on something too hard or drag over a rock, they do fine.
Keep your rig a light as possible, unless you really need steel.
+1 on Al skids to keep the weight down. I'm using Talon's garage for the transmission and cats, plan on getting the extension to cover the transfer case. I went steel for the front skid as this is likely where you will be hitting the most. For that you can't go wrong with budbuilt, especially with their access port for the oil filter.
I have a CBI bumper and went with a full set of CBI skids in aluminum. I went back and forth between all steel, steel front, or all aluminum. Ultimately I went with all aluminum for the weight savings and my primary use case which is just getting out to remote places and not rock crawling. They've held up just fine, but I've never seriously dragged them over anything. There's an oil drain panel, but it's pretty easy to drop the whole front skid and that's what I usually do. The front skid doesn't have the reinforced center section that lines up with the front jack point. I've nonetheless jacked up the front of the truck using the front skid to slide in jack stands. That didn't bend anything. The rear skid has one very difficult to reach bolt. I once got myself into a pickle when I used a ratcheting box wrench to tighten up a nut. The CBI front skid is one of the wider skids out there and extends past the KDSS shock. I installed a front KDSS space with my lift to pre-empt any KDSS lean. It didn't work and I still got leaning. The front KDSS spacer extended the KDSS shock which caused it to run into the backside of the skid. I've since taken out the front KDSS spacer. As an aside, I haven't had any noticeable leaning lately. I didn't mess with the KDSS valves or do anything to try and fix so I'm wondering if it just took some time and driving to get the fluid equalized. Fingers crossed.
I don't know how other skids work, but the CBI rear skid required removing two pieces of diagonal bracing. I was kinda concerned about that. I emailed CBI and according to them, the strength of their skid more than makes up for the removal of the bracing.
I don't know how other skids work, but the CBI rear skid required removing two pieces of diagonal bracing. I was kinda concerned about that. I emailed CBI and according to them, the strength of their skid more than makes up for the removal of the bracing.
