In Search of 2-Door Skids...

[4xFUN]

I have only had my Rubi 2-door (Rubi 2-door...sounds like a song!) a short time and almost all of 'mod time' has been consumed up till now with suspension / steering upgrades.

Now it is time to focus on protecting the undercarriage, so far I have completed just two mods: 1, Rancho rear LCA skids which are awesome and worth every penny! 2, Artec weld on front LCA skids...which so far, is the worst decision I have made. They were recommended by and installed by a reputable local shop (the only mod I have not done myself-poor welding skills) and this is one I would never do again! This is not a hit on Artec-they make great products but this made it impossible to remove the LCA's. After consulting with Artec, I took an angle grinder with a thin blade and cut a slit front to back on the bottom of the skid to allow the LCA bracket to open enough to remove and replace the LCA's during my lift install. PIA!

So on to the main underbody skids...

Artec is on my short list (they say a 2-door version is in the works) as I like the fact they replace the factory gas tank skid saving both weight and ground clearance...I specifically asked them for a steel / aluminum combo with just the gas tank skid being aluminum for weight savings, they did not say no...

Rock Hard is also one I was looking at and another member recently installed one on his 2-door and will post a review shortly. I like the idea of the additional two solid steel crossmembers, just a little concerned about extra weight (even with aluminum it weighs 180 pounds) and ground clearance loss due to overlaying OEM gas tank skid.

While I wait for Artec's and other 2-door skid systems to hit the market, I am almost ready to order the EVO ProTek engine/trans plus exhaust loop skid (total weight less than 40 pounds) and call it a day for now. There is some trimming that has to be done on the skid near the gas tank...something the manufacture should do or at the very minimum supply a template for...

Please, any other members or vendors, please chime in!

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[Rangerhughes]

ASFIR and Israeli company that ships internationally, look under JL short Wheel Base (SWB) or the small jeep symbol at the bottom of the product box. If or when you order there will be a box for SWB or LWB chose SWB.

Others on the forum have had good results, I ordered mine on Friday, good communication with the company they have already shipped the my order and gave me an Israeli Post Office tracking number.

Would have used a US based company but looking for skids for a two door is like chasing unicorns.
http://www.asfir.com/our-products/skid_plates

 

[Amaruq]

Looking for the same but for manual 2-door.

 

[4xFUN]

ASFIR and Israeli company that ships internationally, look under JL short Wheel Base (SWB) or the small jeep symbol at the bottom of the product box. If or when you order there will be a box for SWB or LWB chose SWB.

Others on the forum have had good results, I ordered mine on Friday, good communication with the company they have already shipped the my order and gave me an Israeli Post Office tracking number.

Would have used a US based company but looking for skids for a two door is like chasing unicorns.
http://www.asfir.com/our-products/skid_plates

Looks very interesting and reasonable pricing, could not find instructions so not sure if the gas tank skid is an OEM replacement or overlay. Please, post a review after your install!

 

[4xFUN]

Checked with Rusty's Off Road and while they do not currently offer a skid plate system for the 2-door JL, they did say it is on their radar...This China Coronavirus has postponed development of it for the time being however. What makes Rusty's really intriguing is like Artec, they remove and replace the gas tank skid plate, saving weight and increasing ground clearance...Another future option!

 

[Amaruq]

Asfir got back to me - they don’t have a manual transmission version.

 

[4xFUN]

For the time being I am going with the EVO ProTek engine/trans plus exhaust loop skid package. It does require some trimming of the skid by the gas tank to fit 2-door JL's, however this should be pretty easy. I am going to try and make a template of what / where to cut if possible and will then post a copy of the template...Really, if EVO is not going to offer a 2-door version the least they could do would be to include a template with instructions for 2-door JL's.

 

[texasrugby911]

I just ordered the Metalcloak 2-door Undercloak Skid plate system, and am pretty excited about it. I will post pictures when I get them installed, but they look solid as hell and protect all the essentials. As far as I can tell by reading the install instructions a handful of times, the stock gas tank skid is removed and replaced with the Metalcloak skid.

 

[4xFUN]

I just ordered the Metalcloak 2-door Undercloak Skid plate system, and am pretty excited about it. I will post pictures when I get them installed, but they look solid as hell and protect all the essentials. As far as I can tell by reading the install instructions a handful of times, the stock gas tank skid is removed and replaced with the Metalcloak skid.

Metalcloak make some awesome gear, looking forward to your review and pictures!

 

[texasrugby911]

Metalcloak make some awesome gear, looking forward to your review and pictures!

I will definitely post about how well they fit and perform. Unfortunately due to COVID, there is a 4 week wait until the should ship out. June is going to be torture.

 

[4xFUN]

Last night I installed the EVO ProTek engine/trans & exhaust loop skids. There is some 'trimming' you have to do on the passenger side rear skid on the 2-doors to clear the gas tank skid. I am including some pictures and a rough template of where & how much to trim. The area you have to trim is the breakformed edge which is structural and give the skid resistance to bending. That said, there is room on the top side of the side to add reinforcement and the area you trim is towards the rear of the skid just in front of the main factory cross member. I also added a rubber strip between the ProTek skid where I cut and the bottom of the OEM gas tank skid-I hate squeaks! Overall I think the skids are well made, offer a good value and will provide much needed protection on the trail.

As for the 'ultimate' skid design... (IMO) That would likely be a blending of Rock Hard (I like the idea of the two steel cross members Rock Hard adds and clearly it's an advantage when taking hard hits) and Artec. (Artec's replacement of the gas tank skid instead of adding another skid over it is brilliant-saves weight and increases ground clearance)

 

[Creeker]

The two door skid on my JLR was made from a 4-Door aluminum Artec skid. The folks at Stacked Off Road in NC did the work. As far as I know, this was the first one done.

 

[Creeker]

Here is some additional information Diezel posted regarding the Artec Skids and the Artec Truss Systems.

https://video-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v...=2adcda9e20f9d8ae20657d81c9001581&oe=5F10F470

Also,

Here is some information on the Rear Diff Skid that was installed on the JLR.

https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/manual-2-door-rubicon-bikini-build.48532/page-6

The RDS has already been trail tested and it worked amazing!

 

[4xFUN]

Here is some additional information Diezel posted regarding the Artec Skids and the Artec Truss Systems.

https://video-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v...=2adcda9e20f9d8ae20657d81c9001581&oe=5F10F470

Also,

Here is some information on the Rear Diff Skid that was installed on the JLR.

https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/manual-2-door-rubicon-bikini-build.48532/page-6

The RDS has already been trail tested and it worked amazing!

Awesome Build!! Nice to see someone modify an Artec skid system to work on our 2-doors, Artec still claims a 2-door version is in the works...

Thanks for the heads up on the RDS! I have Metalcloak's front diff cover/skid combo on order but still looking for the rear-this looks like just what I was looking for.

 

[texasrugby911]

After 5 weeks of waiting, I finally received my MetalCloak UnderCloak skid system for my 2 door. I also ordered the Overline rocker rails and installed them this weekend as well. Initial thoughts are that the welds are beautiful, and the plates are 7 gauge (3/16th) thick steel plating for the skids. I am very impressed with the craftsmanship of the armor, and the armor was packed very well. There were no dings or anything on the skids from shipping. The Transfer case, front gas tank, and transmission mopar skids were removed for the MC skids install. The install was fairly straight forward, except for finding the mounting locations for the front engine skid. I am excited to get to try these skids out on my wheeling trip at some point next month. All in all, I would highly recommend the skids.

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