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Skid Plates: Rock Hard vs. River Raider

38K views 69 replies 46 participants last post by  jvandy50 
#1 ·
I'm in the market for skids for my 08 JKU Rubicon.

Can anyone comment on these 2 systems?

Diferences in:

Weight?

Protection?

Ease of maintenance/fluid changes?

Ease of installation?

Durability?

Thanks!
 
#3 ·
WOW. Synergy was $1,800 for complete set with gas tank and powder coated. That seems pretty high? That is more than the River Raider complete set with gas tank.
 
#5 ·
Synergy system is utterly bullet proof. You can lift the entire rig on the main skid. Without the tank skid it weighs about 100 lbs. Only negative with their full skid design is that it replaces the crossmember and to get at anything other than the front driveshaft you have to remove the entire thing, something of a regular PITA but doable.
 
#6 ·
They all dent/smash in over time from prolonged hard use - all of them. They may be bulletproof, but none have been hammers-proof. So get whatever design you like, whats in your budget, or buy from a company you like dealing with.

I have gravitated back to the Rock hard skids because they are cheap, fit perfect, and those bolt sliders are a life saver for those of us who need to constantly remove plates to do mods. You will always beat on your trans skid the worst, so make sure you can easily remove that one to straighten out the dents. If you wheel extensively in the big rocks, consider trans skid plates an item that will need to be replaced every few years.

Poly and RR will probably provide the best customer service, that has been my experience.
 
#7 ·
Rockhard for the only reason is that you won't have to buy their bolt sliders for whatever else you get.

Stay away from River Raider if you value your Jeep. His design SUCKS!!!!! Worst thing I have EVER seen sold for a Jeep, PERIOD! The design is such that if you put ANY weight on it from the bottom, you WILL crush your tranny pan. There is less that a 1/4" of clearance in the two that I have seen so far and they have a lip (sharp edge) that is what is just a **** hair away from your tranny pan and the lip is UNDER the pan, not wide enough to clear. STUPID design!

BUT..... what DD stated is the truth. Every design out there is horrible. I have destroyed many sets of skids. They just can't hold up being so thin. I want to see a vendor come out with 1/4"+ skids with lots of cross stiffeners!
 
#10 ·
We have sold thousands of set of skids for 3.8l 3.6l and Hemi jeeps. Our design holds up incredibly well. The issue with the tranny pan on the automatics has been resolved quite some time ago and is really a non an issue. However I know who you are and have spoken with you personally and I feel that your incredibly biased against our product as a result of us not giving you a deeper discount on the River Raider parts you requested.

If anyone has any questions about our skids we would be happy to help you by phone .....717 262 3079





 
#8 · (Edited)
I had rock hard on both my JKU's. I recently switched them out to TnT Customs Al armor.

The rock hards are a good product. Well made. Fit well. Protect well. Only drawback is weight.

TNT armor is really light weight but strong. Every bit of weight savings helps these jku's.

Here is a vid.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ij6tSZckNnQ&feature=youtube_gdata_player
 
#9 ·
Out here we run Rock Hard skids since we play on the Hammers trails, Moab, and the Rubicon. One of the only designs out there that does not marry your oil pan skid plate to your frame. Systems that do that usually result in vibrations and bolts backing out since the engine cannot flex. Rock Hard ships powdercoated which helps keep customer costs down. The bolt head protectors are invaluable.

My typical skid plate package for customers:
Rock Hard gas tank, oil pan/transmission, transfer case skids
Poison Spyder Evap Skid (love the way it fully encases your evap canister)

We've installed Poly/Synergy skids - get system as well.
 
#12 ·
... Systems that do that usually result in vibrations and bolts backing out since the engine cannot flex...
I have the older RR skid plate and i have that issuse with vibs and bolts backing out between the oil skid and trans skid.


We have sold thousands of set of skids for 3.8l 3.6l and Hemi jeeps. Our design holds up incredibly well. The issue with the tranny pan on the automatics has been resolved quite some time ago and is really a non an issue. However I know who you are and have spoken with you personally and I feel that your incredibly biased against our product as a result of us not giving you a deeper discount on the River Raider parts you requested.

If anyone has any questions about our skids we would be happy to help you by phone .....717 262 3079


Crash- i noticed one of the pics shows the oil skid to the trans crossmember is now now one piece?
 
#16 ·
I have the Rockhard oil pan/tranny skid on my '07. It has worked well for me but it rides very close to the exhaust crossover pipe. My exhaust would contact the skid when the engine was under load in reverse. I called them up and asked for their "shim plate" which goes between the crossmember and the skid. It effectively lowers the skid and solved my problem.
The only suggestion I could make would be for them to harden the bolt protectors. The protectors work, but every time I have to remove the skid I usually need to remove metal to get a socket onto the bolt head. I usually have to chisel the lips of the protectors. Granted, that's easier than removing broken bolts, but it would seem to me to be easy just to harden them so they don't mushroom so bad on the rocks.
 
#18 ·
I recommend the Poly skids. The fit, design, durability, and countersunk screws are awesome. The beating they take without deforming is insane. I've had my beefs with a few of Poly's products, and still do, but I can't say shit about their skids. They are bad ass.
 
#20 ·
Yeah, I've been running the RR full skid system since day one on my JKU. First time I took it out I slammed pretty hard straight on the tranny skid full force. One of those jaw drop, pause, look at everyone else and see their expression before I moved. And while it had some scratching and a little dent, it isn't rubbing the trans and I think it has held up well. Just my two cents.
 
#27 ·
Well I'm not Ben Hendrick, but my name is Ben, and I can answer that for you. Those are aluminum with the plastic sheets on the bottom (can't remember that damn acronym).

Gotta watch the weight after adding 500 pounds of Hemi :thefinger:
 
#30 ·
I have the Rock Hard skids and have been happy with them.

The engine/trans skid is great, although as previously mentioned can be very close to the exhaust crossover pipe. The gas tank skid is excellent and takes a pounding very well. The t-case skid seems to take the most abuse and mine bowed up slightly in the middle, nothing to cause an issue, but I straightened it and welded some 1" x 1/4" ribs to the inside and it is now as tough as the rest of their stuff. It's worth mentioning that it took some heavy abuse to bend it, but it did bend.

The Synergy system, like all their stuff, is an excellent choice and very well made.
 
#31 ·
I've got the Rock Hard setup. Oil pan, gas tank, and transfer case. I also have the RROR evap/airtank skid.

It was cheap and it gets the job done. I've certainly beaten the shit out of the skids and never had a problem. They are thinner than the RROR skids though, but also lighter. I mention this because I was in the market for RROR, but I got a deal on the RH4x4 kit.

No complaints.
 
#34 ·
hope I don't get to far off topic but roomer has it that poison spyder is coming out with a skid plate system and it will be bad ass and different from what you see on the market today from what I know about it. I would really wait and see what they come out with and if its in your budget. The stock skid sytem isn't terrible on the rubicon and I did quite a bit of wheeln with my stock skids.

JK Neal
 
#35 ·
I have the full steel RROR system and love it, it has saved my ass a few times.

I got it through Jason at KOR, he hooked it up with a great price as well as great customer service.
 
#36 ·
RR thoughts

I've been running the River Raiders for a while, and folks in my club (Christian Crawler's 4 x 4) also have several sets of RR's (that kind of seems to happen in JK clubs.)
Anyway, we beat on our JK's pretty hard at Disney, SMOOR, Byrds, etc. In general the group is pretty satisfied with their performance, fit, and finish.
At the end of the day, regardless of brand, 3/16 will not take a heavy impact without bending. I pushed the op and tranny skid into my pans, but they kept the pans from taking the hit, whiich was the goal.
To Phils point, if you are going to beat the hell out of them, just re-enforce them before you put them on.
On the RR T-case skid, I finally tired of straightening it and just welded 1/2" ribs across the inside panel (plenty of clearance.) The span is just too wide between the rails to expect it not to bend.
If I have one knock on the RR's, it would be no bolt protection. I have smeared those button heads to the point of just welding a bar to them to get them off. I've heard that Rock Hard uses bolt protectors but have never seen them.

Ultimately, they are called "skids", not "Drop 5000 lb. vehicle directly ontoer's".

If you are going to do that, build your own.
 
#39 ·
If I have one knock on the RR's, it would be no bolt protection. I have smeared those button heads to the point of just welding a bar to them to get them off. I've heard that Rock Hard uses bolt protectors but have never seen them.
Those bolt head protectors seemed like a great idea and maybe they are, but mine are now smeared over the bolt faces. I'd have to dremel the area around the bolt to get a socket in there. I guess it's better than shearing off the bolt head.

They look like little volcanos as my son put it.
 
#37 ·
Skid plates

Thanks to the vendors that are here on the forum and participating in the discussion. I'm also looking to install a full skid system on my 2012 unlimited and have been looking into all the brands listed plus a few others.

Question for PIG: The Synergy website states, "•Note: PPM-5710-01 is NOT currently compatible with 2012 and newer JK's with the new 3.0L engine" Does it work with the 3.6L engine and auto trans?
 
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