TL;DR - The skid plates are holding up, but the mounting strategy could have been better. For the 3rd time, I'm modifying it.
I had some significant trouble with the Relentless skid plates on the last trip to Colorado. I've always had an issue with the bolts in the rearmost mounts on the mid (transfer case) skid loosening up over time - I believe due to the fact that the bolts simply thread into the <1/8" frame, which is just too thin to really secure them.
Additionally, I've had a problem a year ago where the crossmember mounts sheared off, and had to be rewelded to the skid plate.
Both of these things were a problem this trip, and I also apparently ripped both bolts out of the IFS mounts on the front skid.
As a result, I'll be making the following modifications:
- For the front skid IFS mounts, I'll be drilling out and re-tapping the mounts that I welded on to the LCA locations so that I can insert larger bolts. I'll also be welding a bit of a lip around the bolt heads to try and protect them more.
- For the mid skid, I'll be welding the crossmember mounts on again, and I'll just cross my fingers that they last another year. If/when they fail again, I may consider a different mounting strategy.
- For the mid skid, I'll be using Rivnuts to secure it to the frame in the rear-most position. I've already done this on the passenger side and it seemed to work well.
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