Underbody Protection from Rival

[Commodore]

Yes we did no they didn’t. If you’ve a code from elsewhere then I’d use that

“As our US business is different from RIVAL EU or RIVAL Australia etc, neither of us can represent whole RIVAL brand in this forum.”

This was from their top brass.

There are more and more manufacturers making underbody protection is also have a look at those. Not to hijack the thread but steel would always be my preference.

Who else is making cost effective protection.

 

[Stu_Barnes]

Who else is making cost effective protection.

I’m pushing the usual suspects so to speak. A few will announce on the vendors forum I’m sure pretty soon. I told everyone looking at making protection to focus on the transmission pan as a #1 then go from there.

 

[TCMColorado]

Overland Garage 4x4, also selling as Everything Grenadier, has a nice skid plate setup.

Overland Garage 4x4 Skid Plates

 

[TCMColorado]

The weakness of the Rival system is that it does not create a very smooth surface under the vehicle. There are lots of changes in height between the skids and the OEM cross member which could result in the vehicle getting hung up on obstacles. Conversely, The SPP skids do create a relatively smooth flat surface that would be less likely to get caught up.

 

[Commodore]

Overland Garage 4x4, also selling as Everything Grenadier, has a nice skid plate setup.

Overland Garage 4x4 Skid Plates

$1,400 for a stamped piece of metal doesn’t make sense to me. I see that Custom Off-road our of OZ makes a nice looking set of bash plates for about $450 USD but I’m not sure if they will ship to California.

 

[Mountain4x4]

Looks like rival is finally getting some back in soon.

 

[pmatusov]

I’m pushing the usual suspects so to speak. A few will announce on the vendors forum I’m sure pretty soon. I told everyone looking at making protection to focus on the transmission pan as a #1 then go from there.

Transmission protection is so easy to DIY. Piece of cake (rather, aluminum, or steel if desired).

 

[PDX_Keith]

To be clear, I doubt the ssp will fail in any significant way, I just think it’s more likely to deform under lighter use. The biggest weakness with either is the material. Aluminum gouges. After waiting for steel units, I bought the Rival stuff, they are sitting at a friends to be coated to match, and I may cut steel plates and fasten them to the underside. The aluminum will act as the supporting structure and the plate will take and distribute the impacts, and provide a “slippery” surface. I typically use .25 steel, but with the Al backing the ply, using .185 may be comparatively superior. I could end up with a better product than straight steel at a weight savings. I had a rough calculation of pert near 400lbs for everything. It was turning out to be sailboat ballast, and that fuel tank needs protecting. (I also am considering getting the 25g aux tank and eliminating the main tank. It sucks where it’s at. I would lose the spot for the rear winch though)

Sometimes you gotta work with what ya got.

You should consider using some UHMW versus steel. I use UHMW sliders on my rock crawling SXS and they are amazing. Way less friction on the rocks and take one hell of a beating. No corrosion either.

 

[Commodore]

Transmission protection is so easy to DIY. Piece of cake (rather, aluminum, or steel if desired).

Do you have any pictures of that DIY?

 

[Zimm]

Yes we did no they didn’t. If you’ve a code from elsewhere then I’d use that

“As our US business is different from RIVAL EU or RIVAL Australia etc, neither of us can represent whole RIVAL brand in this forum.”

This was from their top brass.

There are more and more manufacturers making underbody protection is also have a look at those. Not to hijack the thread but steel would always be my preference.

I am a big steel advocate, but, when you do the math, the size of the pieces needed for this rigs layout gets onerous, and then add on sliders, winch, and front and rear bumpers, and it’s 800+ pounds…. And we have zero selection for available spring rates at this time. As superior as steel performs in this application, at this time weight is a justifiable argument to go aluminum. At least until there are alternative gvw enchantments that aren’t airbags.

 

[Zimm]

You should consider using some UHMW versus steel. I use UHMW sliders on my rock crawling SXS and they are amazing. Way less friction on the rocks and take one hell of a beating. No corrosion either.

True, and I may try them as I never have, but steel adds more structural strength across the long and wide plates.

 

[Stu_Barnes]

I’m also in the camp of steel for its repairability and ductility. But as people have said, it’s early doors for the platform with regards for “upgrades” however the level of aftermarket interest so far is astonishing for a vehicle with about 18k real world examples worldwide.