Description
When designing this DIY weld-together skid plate set, we set out to strike the optimum balance of protection, ground clearance and weight. While this skid plate set provides total protection of the engine and drivetrain components, it at the same time avoids covering any areas that are unnecessary. This minimizes the size of the low-points that the skid plates create as well as keeps the weight as low as possible. In fact, this entire set weighs 82lbs in 3/16″ steel or 41lbs in 1/4″ aluminum, which helps preserve your vehicles payload capacity and fuel economy. This is especially noteworthy when you consider the amount of reinforcements we’ve used in the high impact areas of this skid plate set. This DIY weld together kit uses precise laser cut parts that are slotted and tabbed for guaranteed fitment and no measuring or guesswork. The detailed instructions guide you through the installation process step by step and make this a very suitable first welding project.
Starting at the front edge of the engine skid plate, we mount this plate to the factory crossmember using 4 factory mounting points. While this is totally overkill, it ensures impact forces are distributed evenly over your Dodge Ram’s frame and gives extra mounting options in case some of your factory mounting points are rusted or otherwise damaged. Moving to the front bottom edge of the engine skid, this is by far the area that sees the hardest and most frequent impacts on the trail. To account for this, we added another set of mounting points here that rest against a large surface area of the vehicle’s frame and is mounted using 5 bolts and provided nut plates to make installation easier – no more trying to access nuts in tight positions as you struggle to thread the bolt in! This makes this area of the skid plate nearly indestructible and will distribute those hard trail impacts over as large of a section of the vehicle’s frame as possible. At the rear edge of the engine skid plate, we use 4 more large thru-bolts and a nut plate to mount it to the front differential crossmember. This skid plate set is also provided with spacers that make it compatible with factory and aftermarket bumpers
For the transmission skid plate, we use two large vertical ribs that span the length between the differential and transmission crossmembers. These ribs fit tightly between the frame crossmembers, eliminating any weak points where the skid plate will bend under a hard impact. The fitment and size of these reinforcing ribs makes this skid plate extremely stiff with minimal weight gain over a simple flat skid plate. While the 4 bolt heads on the bottom of this skid plate are exposed, all of these mounting points use long thru-bolts that thread into nuts placed on the topside of each frame crossmember. This means that any damaged bolt heads can still be easily removed via the nuts on top, which are very well protected and out of harms way. We prefer this solution over bolt protection rings welded to the bottom side of the skid plate like some other skid plate sets use. These protection rings increase the size of the low hang-up points and often end up getting smooshed against the bolt heads anyways in the event of hard trail impacts! As an added feature, this skid plate is cut with drain holes to ensure water and debris does not accumulate on top of the skid plates.
The 3rd skid plate in this 3-piece set is the transfer case skid plate. This skid plate is offset to the driver’s side to reduce its footprint under the vehicle, minimizing additional weight and unnecessary ground clearance losses. Like the transmission skid plate, the transfer case skid plate has reinforcing ribs that fit tight between the crossmembers for a very stiff skid plate that will hold up under the weight of a heavily loaded Dodge Ram 1500.
•DIY Weld-together kit – This skid plate set arrives as precision CNC-laser cut pieces that you then weld together (detailed assembly instructions included). All plates are slotted and tabbed for guaranteed fitment and no guesswork.
•This skid plate kit only fits the (2009-2018) 4th generation Dodge Ram 1500 and (2019-2023) Dodge Ram 1500 Classic. It DOES NOT fit the 5th generation non-classic Dodge Ram 1500.
•Slot and Tab Fitment means the plates can only go together one way, making for a great first-time welding project! They can be fully assembled on a work surface without the vehicle being present for test fitting
•Heavy duty 3/16″ plate steel construction for maximum offroad strength and durability
•Optional 1/4″ 5052 aluminum construction for a lightweight yet very durable overlanding setup (41lb weight savings)
•3-Piece Set provides excellent protection of the radiator, front differential, engine oil pan, steering rack, transmission and transfer case while making removals easier
•Engine skid plate bolts directly to frame using 13 factory mounting points – no drilling required
•Transmission skid plate bolts directly to frame using 4 factory mounting points- no drilling required
•Transfer Case skid plate bolts directly to frame using either 2 or 4 factory mounting points – no drilling required
•All kits ship as clean, bare metal that is ready to weld out of the box – the Nitrogen laser cutting technology means no cutting edge oxidation and thus easier and stronger welds
•Provided nut plates make for easier installs and spread loads over a large area of your Ram’s frame
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