I have been looking into getting skidplates for my truck. This thread popped up, and seems like a good place to ask. What are the best options for putting skidplates on my truck? Are there good aftermarket ones? Should I just get OEM ones? Also, if OEM are the way to go, could someone hook me up with part numbers?

 

the funny thing is that t skid in the back is plastic!! I was totally surprised when I took it down!!

 

The front one is offset if that makes any difference... yeah, I think all of the oem skidplates are plastic, they arent meant for heavy impact, just for sliding on stuff, hence the name skidplate, not impactplate.

 

Doesn't the factory use large, self tapping bolts? This is why the holes aren't tapped.

 

in my truck they are the same ones for transfercase and diifs

 

This one here is OEM and is fairly thick steel.

Lxman, the bolts he gave me are originals. They appear to have a slight taper and are triangular in shape at the tip. I just don't see them being able to tap through metal that is 1/4" thick. Just doesn't seem practical? The bolts themselves are fairly thin, not thick at all.

 

yep, is front diff to be sure and yes they are quite heavy steel. I remember when I put mine up for sale the first guy interested was from Texas, shipping killed it. Ended up selling them to a guy about 45 miles away, came and got them...

 

I cant believe they expect you to drill into the frame... That compromises the frame... Thats the reason I never drilled into the front crossbar behind the grill to put lights in there...

 

On my 2008 1500, the front and rear skid plates are the same. They are steel, not plastic. To put that skid on the rear, you will need the rear cross member also.

 

98 Cherry, the holes are there, just that th threads aren't tapped. Drilling a couple of small holes smaller than pen thickness isn't going to cause any issue's in frame strength. Now drilling multiple holes next to each other will, but the frame is so thick, I wouldn't think twise about drilling into it. My Silverado frame was a C-channel and not box, so there's a big diff right there.