Using Protection

These days everybody and their brother has an LED light bar mounted across their windshield. It is the best way to be identified as the cool off-roader and that everyone should take you seriously because you know what you are doing, and heaven forbid—do not forget your new Angry Eyes grill.

But was that $99 eBay special light bar the best investment you could have made for your multi-thousand dollar vehicle you are about to start slinging through the mud? So often forgotten are skid-plates and other options for protecting the most valuable assets under and around your vehicle. While many off-road vehicles come from the factory with skid plates that cover crucial elements like the fuel tank, or serve as cross members for things like transfer cases, there are other sensitive areas to vehicles that do not get any love from the OEM.

How unfortunate would it be if you, the Trail Boss, were traveling down that rocky road in the lead, having the time of your life while blaring Hank Williams Jr. with your $99 eBay special light bar illuminating the path in front of, around and above you when you hear that unmistakable crushing-soda-can noise of a rock piercing your oil pan? Your oil pressure gauge drops, the check engine light comes on and then you smell it—dinosaur.

Well, you could have spent that money on a skid plate to help protect your engine or transmission, the list goes on and on. Protecting these key assets is paramount and should not be overlooked. Whether it’s protection from below, or protection in the form of a bumper to keep an elk from totaling your beloved ride, it’s cheap insurance and should be number one on the list of the weekend warrior and the seasoned vet alike.

So do your part when you are going off-road. Don’t be a fool, wrap that tool.