Which JCR skids plate to instal first?

[DesertRat19]

You should check some of the early posts, of those people who actually installed the JCR's, on their Badlands!
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I tried finding prior posts but didn't see any. The total cost for the set I posted above is $1,543 before taxes

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[NMhunter]

Look up my previous post on the installation. I installed the JcR skid plate on the driver's side because I ripped the carpet on my first trip off road. The Badlands came with a small skid over the fuel pump (if I recall correctly), but it doesn't cover the gas lines. The JCR plates come with both sides. I couldn't see a need for the passenger side. Nothing important on that side. It was very hard to drill through the pinch weld on the frame until I bought an inexpensive Cobalt drill set on Amazon. . I wore out. a couple of DeWalt bits and took 1/2 an hour to drill one hole. I drilled all of the holes easily with the Cobalt bits.

You do have to remove the gas tank skid plate and cut it to fit. It isn't difficult to cut if you have an angle grinder.

The hardest part of the job was getting the gas tank skid plate off. It was LocTited on. I had to use a mini torch to burn off the LocTite before I could remove it. It is a bit dicey right next to the gas tank. I had a fan going, and a fire extinguisher at hand. I tried everything in my tool set to get those button bolts off before the torch. The air impact wrench just stripped it. Once I burned off the Loctite, it was easy to remove.

I drive a lot of roads that are rutted, and the BS lacks clearance even with my 1-1/2" lift and 30 inch tires. I was plowing snow and rocks with my Catalytic Converter on some trips a couple of years ago, and decided I needed that skid plate. It was easy to install, and I have scratched it many times since.

I think most people would be better off getting the cat skid first.

 

[DesertRat19]

Thanks you think then buying the gas tank skid along with the evaporator & floor skid make sense since the factory gas skid has to come off anyway? I watched the install video from JCR and they already had their gas tank skid installed

 

[Winds of Change]

Hello, looking to add some extra under protection to my Badlands. I am leaning towards JCR skid plates but not sure which order to instal them? I can't do all at once so maybe one or two now then more next year. The options are:

-Evap and floor skid
-Gas Tank Skid
-Engine skid
-Front bumper bash plate
-Catalytic converter skid

The Badlands already has some skid plates. When I had my 2023 Bronco Sport Badlands I added some. I got the JCR skid and sliders combo. I needed to buy the two skids for underneath to be able to install the sliders. I was pleased with them.

 

[NMhunter]

you think then buying the gas tank skid along with the evaporator & floor skid make sense since the factory gas skid has to come off anyway?

Since the Badlands already has a gas tank skid plate, there is no good reason to pay $300 for another one. Buy an angle grinder instead. It isn't that difficult to cut it to fit. The fit doesn't have to be perfect since there is some overlap.

I never knew how useful an angle grinder is until a friend gave me one. I don't know how I got by without it for all of those years.

 

[incavulator]

Installed the JCR engine skid on my BL a couple months ago. It's a pretty nice piece. There were some minor fastener issues, but I worked through them and JCR sent me some extra washers at no cost so I'm pleased with their customer service. I upgraded to the version with the oil change access door so I didn't have to remove the entire plate to do an oil change... something Ford should have done, in my opinion.

For Christmas, I asked for and received the HRG bash plate. I read on one of their sites that that they work together, and I guess they do......BUT, the HRG bash plate covers up the oil change access door on the JCR skid. I wish I would have known that before I ordered the JCR engine skid. I think I'll cut a hole in the bash plate to allow access to that door.... otherwise, I wasted my money on the upgraded version of the JCR skid AND I'll have to drop the entire HRG bash plate to do oil changes.

Also, I'm not entirely pleased with the fit of the HRG bash plate. It hugs the fascia in the center but leaves a 1/4" gap on the outer edges. I can make the passenger side fit better by loosening the rear most bolt on that side but I can't get the driver's side to do the same. Even if I could, I would be concerned the bolts might work loose. Also, HRG provides standard bolts and the hex heads are fully exposed. I'd be concerned that these might be damaged in heavy use. They provide spacers to put under the bolts. I wish they would have just welded in recessed pockets to make the bolt heads flush. In addition to eliminating potential damage to the bolt heads, it would have eliminated the need for the spacers. If I get real ambitious, I might try to fix this too.

I'm going to add these to my list of things to improve. I'll report back if I have any success.

 

[TheX]

You should check some of the early posts, of those people who actually installed the JCR's, on their Badlands!

^^This^^

 

[incavulator]

Sorry guys... what am I missing? I researched everything I could find in this forum before making these purchases. I even did a subsequent search following your replies above. Did someone already figure this out and I missed it (twice)? Are you suggesting there was a better option? Maybe you have a link you can share?

Thanks

 

[NMhunter]

Anyone interested can do a search using my handle for Installed JCR Offroad Evap Skid on Badlands. It details my installation. I wish I had read a post like that before I started the install. It would have made it pretty easy. If you high center, the fuel lines are way too exposed without a skid plate. That was my first priority. I haven't felt the need for replacing the engine skid.

I've had my Badlands for 3 years, and only once have I actually hit the front. It was a desert arroyo, and a steep climb. I backed up and did a little work with my Pulaski, then drove right up.

 

[incavulator]

Thanks @NMhunter. I do believe I read your post before starting my skid plate journey, but I haven't yet decided if I'm going to go further and add evap skids and sliders. It's on my "maybe" list. I agree that from a protection standpoint, the factory BL engine plate is probably sufficient and I could have probably passed on the JCR engine skid. The factory piece is quite heavy and has a lot of bends to add rigidity. My only gripe is having to remove the entire thing for oil changes! I don't plan on doing much extreme off roading with my BL. I've spent some time in a TRX and a J9 (392 JL) in Moab and my contact points usually involved the engine and front skids (long story, oh - the shame! ) so I figured I'd address those first. I guess I'll see how my planned vs. actual usage goes and if I think I'm going to get more extreme, I'll consider the additional protection and I'll definitely take advantage of the recommendations you provided. Many thanks!

 

[incavulator]

Installed the JCR engine skid on my BL a couple months ago. It's a pretty nice piece. There were some minor fastener issues, but I worked through them and JCR sent me some extra washers at no cost so I'm pleased with their customer service. I upgraded to the version with the oil change access door so I didn't have to remove the entire plate to do an oil change... something Ford should have done, in my opinion.

For Christmas, I asked for and received the HRG bash plate. I read on one of their sites that that they work together, and I guess they do......BUT, the HRG bash plate covers up the oil change access door on the JCR skid. I wish I would have known that before I ordered the JCR engine skid. I think I'll cut a hole in the bash plate to allow access to that door.... otherwise, I wasted my money on the upgraded version of the JCR skid AND I'll have to drop the entire HRG bash plate to do oil changes.

Also, I'm not entirely pleased with the fit of the HRG bash plate. It hugs the fascia in the center but leaves a 1/4" gap on the outer edges. I can make the passenger side fit better by loosening the rear most bolt on that side but I can't get the driver's side to do the same. Even if I could, I would be concerned the bolts might work loose. Also, HRG provides standard bolts and the hex heads are fully exposed. I'd be concerned that these might be damaged in heavy use. They provide spacers to put under the bolts. I wish they would have just welded in recessed pockets to make the bolt heads flush. In addition to eliminating potential damage to the bolt heads, it would have eliminated the need for the spacers. If I get real ambitious, I might try to fix this too.

I'm going to add these to my list of things to improve. I'll report back if I have any success.

Well, I said I would report back if I fixed anything, so here goes. By playing around with the provided spacers and some creative metal forming, I was able to get the HRG bash plate to fit nice against the front fascia. 1 problem down....2 to go.

 

[SHAKEmeBUNS]

I have the EVAP/Floor Skids + Engine Skid with additional Bash plate from JCR... After banging these things around a bit, I can say the Engine Skid and Bash plate take most of the beating, I would start with those.
I can also report that drilling through the pinch seams for the EVAP/Floor Skids was really tough and required lots of drill bits to complete! Definitely buy the best metal bits your hardware store has and buy several.
I've drilled through my old '62 Chevy to replace the floor pans, but this bronco was a bear to get through at those seams!

 

[Trist0n]

You should check some of the early posts, of those people who actually installed the JCR's, on their Badlands!

I tried finding prior posts but didn't see any. The total cost for the set I posted above is $1,543 before taxes
[/QUOTE]

It’s me also! Unlike @NMhunter I didn’t have too bad of a time getting the gas tank skid off (second his recommendation for heating the bolts though) but I had a HELL of a time drilling holes, even with cobalt bits. Thats some hard metal.

I did have to cut the gas tank skids but if you have an angle grinder this is fairly easy. Take the time for both these cuts and the holes especially to coat them with rust resistant paint, I also stuffed a ton of dielectric grease in/around the frame holes.

Overall pain in the ass to install but they’re quality plates, its your only option for real rock rails that can actually take the cars weight

I felt that the factory engine skid and the gas tank skids were plenty beefy enough to not replace. I did also add a rally innovations front bumper skid, so between all of those I feel pretty comfortable with the bottom of my sport being a tank.

The rally innovations skid is pretty light weight but I wanted to save a few pounds. I absolutely beat the crap out of it on one trip (oops), but being a light metal it was really easy to just unbolt it and hammer the dents right out!

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