Gas tank armor

I also have a wildtrak and had to add skid plates after a bit of a scare on the trail. I slipped on a rock and landed on my gas tank. Luckily I only banged up the gas tank strap and no damage done to the tank itself … once I got it fixed I added the skids to the shopping cart with no regrets and a better peace of mind

My 22 Wildtrak has a gas tank skid, but it is not hefty by any means. Wonder if this is from Ford, or the previous owner added some cheap-o brand? Not that I looked super hard, but no number/name on it I could see.

Banged up gas tank straps ....

Which skids do you go with @Roc_Steady?
I'm probably going with RCI, have the full skids, diff skid, and rock sliders from them.

RobWTx

Which skids do you go with @Roc_Steady?
I'm probably going with RCI, have the full skids, diff skid, and rock sliders from them.

I ended up getting the same thing. I have full RCI skids and rocksliders. They are well built and have held up well thus far. I am still missing the rear diff skid and the shock mount skid (still on the to-add list).

Weight isn't an issue to me because its not like I am doing any Baja style driving in Virginia .... I will gladly lose gas mileage than to have to pay for a new gas tank.

Roc_Steady88

I ended up getting the same thing. I have full RCI skids and rocksliders. They are well built and have held up well thus far. I am still missing the rear diff skid and the shock mount skid (still on the to-add list).

Weight isn't an issue to me because its not like I am doing any Baja style driving in Virginia .... I will gladly lose gas mileage than to have to pay for a new gas tank.

They do not offer HOSS 3.0 rear shock skids, I ordered from Lobo last week and they were shipped yesterday. But other than that, I really liked RCI, had them on my F-150 as well for 5 years of abuse, lol.

RobWTx

They do not offer HOSS 3.0 rear shock skids, I ordered from Lobo last week and they were shipped yesterday. But other than that, I really liked RCI, had them on my F-150 as well for 5 years of abuse, lol.

Did you add the HOSS 3.0 Shocks? I also have a 22 Wildtrak but I have HOSS 2.0.

Is the mounting different between the two versions?

Roc_Steady88

Did you add the HOSS 3.0 Shocks? I also have a 22 Wildtrak but I have HOSS 2.0.

Is the mounting different between the two versions?

Ahh, mine has the HOSS 3.0 shocks from the factory, guess it was built after the change mid-year. The HOSS 3.0 is a little bigger, so they skid won't fit over it to bolt on. I'd ask RCI if they have verified HOSS 2 will fit, before ordering and finding out the hard way it does not. ;-)

RobWTx

Ahh, mine has the HOSS 3.0 shocks from the factory, guess it was built after the change mid-year. The HOSS 3.0 is a little bigger, so they skid won't fit over it to bolt on. I'd ask RCI if they have verified HOSS 2 will fit, before ordering and finding out the hard way it does not. ;-)

ah man that makes sense. I am sure you can check with a different Skid Plate manufacturer for that. Or maybe wait for RCI to make one.

Yeah, agree fuel tank damage is a valid concern. Haven't seen actual fuel leaks and hope we never do - That could end very badly!

IMO, OEM's bash plates are OK for an initial big hit. I have seen an example that demonstrated Ford's plates are single use though. I mean, after that single big hit, this plate was pushed up into the truck's belly and a second hit may have damaged the vehicle.

We luv our '23 Wildtrak and greatly enjoyed 6 or 7 off-roading adventures here in Colorado's high mtns last summer & fall, as well as a Moab trip last February - And plan to do a lot more!

These trips made it obvious we needed protection for our mostly unprotected WildTrak. These are VERY rocky trails here, and off-road recovery of a disabled truck is both difficult and very expensive.

So, we've done quite a bit of WildTrak protection (See this BN thread for details) including a 3/16" steel fuel tank skid. Sure, we need to properly manage adding weight. We've added almost 300lbs with rock sliders and front a-arm, tranny, catalytic, transfer case, fuel tank & rear shock mount skids.

I really haven't noticed significant handling changes with this weight gain, probably because it's located really low on the vehicle. Also, WildTrak's 19.1 MPG hasn't changed. FYI, other changes may have somewhat offset these protection additions. Specifically, we've installed a cool-air intake, high-flow exhaust systems and lighter wheels.

I'm sure WildTrak's not as fast on acceleration, but I wouldn't notice that because I'm not a 'fast-off-the-line' kind'a driver.

Obviously, 300lb is a significant hit to the 1,000 weight capacity our Bronco had when new. So, if/when we add heavier bumpers & wrench, we'll at least upgrade our Bronco's spring package.

Cheers

RobWTx

They do not offer HOSS 3.0 rear shock skids, I ordered from Lobo last week and they were shipped yesterday. But other than that, I really liked RCI, had them on my F-150 as well for 5 years of abuse, lol.

I'm curious what the shipping was.
I ordered 4 of the little parking sensor mounts for the bumper I'm installing.
$10/pc was reasonable for the part.
$28 for shipping less than 4 ounces of plastic was pretty spicy however.
And when I first put them in the cart, it tried to charge me $114 for shipping!
I left the cart abandoned & they reached out to me the next day asking if there was a reason.

After all that, it took them 10 days to process the order & for $28 I got UPS ground shipping that took 4 days.
I was not impressed in the least by Lobo.

jtgensler

I'm curious what the shipping was.
I ordered 4 of the little parking sensor mounts for the bumper I'm installing.
$10/pc was reasonable for the part.
$28 for shipping less than 4 ounces of plastic was pretty spicy however.
And when I first put them in the cart, it tried to charge me $114 for shipping!
I left the cart abandoned & they reached out to me the next day asking if there was a reason.

After all that, it took them 10 days to process the order & for $28 I got UPS ground shipping that took 4 days.
I was not impressed in the least by Lobo.

Yeah, shipping is on the high side. ($28.69 via Ground (UPS)). They are slow to respond and ship as well, but they seem to make a good product.

Haha, I ordered April 9th, shipped April 17th... Seems to be similar to your experience.

RobWTx

Yeah, shipping is on the high side. ($28.69 via Ground (UPS)). They are slow to respond and ship as well, but they seem to make a good product.

Haha, I ordered April 9th, shipped April 17th... Seems to be similar to your experience.

yeah they told me they were processing all open orders last Tuesday. So apparently they only do that once every couple weeks? They must be charging some kind of flat rate for shipping, if my little parking sensors cost the same as your skid plate to ship lol.

Thanks ALL!!! Going with a full set of RCI Aluminums… first time ever with aluminums, used to joke whenever you see a skid plate laying in the desert you knew it was aluminum :-0 !
But, weight is such an issue (GVWR) with pudgy Broncs, especially if yer planning on towing anything or just carrying camp gear, you just can’t go steel…250-300lbs+/-, yikes! At least that’s what methinks! Comments?
Cheers All! Marty

This may cost you in terms of money and weight, but I've bought a few products from iAG and found them to be very well-built (also US-sourced). And their customer service is top-notch. They stand by their products.

https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/threads/coming-soon-iag-rock-armor-skid-plates.83759/

Just a heads up for ya. If you're gonna do rock sliders, they should install before the fuel tank skid. Frame mounted rock sliders mount directly against the frame. RCI uses 7 bolts, 4 into the frame's underside and 3 carriage bolts horizontally across the frame on each side. Passenger side access for one of those carriage bolts will require dropping the fuel tank skid. Also, 2 of the underside frame bolts will go under the tank's skid bolts too.

You didn't mention sliders and maybe they're not a priority for the terrain you wheel. I'll mention that damage in your rocker area can be especially troublesome because it could impact your doors. Once a door gets bent, it's very difficult to avoid opening/closing, wind & water leak problems..

Cheers

Thanks Ken! Rock sliders were my 1st priority. The bronc is wearing Demello Off-road frame mounted sliders. Amazingly beefy @ 50# each but I agree with you they are vital!

My Bronc dealer just told me they want $110.00 to change my cabin air filter (@4,800 mi)!!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣
UNBELIEVABLE!

Snake

My Bronc dealer just told me they want $110.00 to change my cabin air filter (@4,800 mi)!!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣
UNBELIEVABLE!

Crazy!! Maybe in a year you’ll want’a check it. Think that’s a Fram 12772 filter that’ll take ya ‘bout 2 minutes to change..

Cheers