Also remember to remove running boards as they will get hung up on
embankments..dont they Mr. Plow??!! LOL
-Dakota
> In my opinion, the Mopar plates absolutely suck. '99 and previous were
all
> metal, and not too bad, even though i thought they were pretty thin.
> My Dak is a '00 so came with 2 plastic ones, and the metal one over the
> tank.
> Just to make a comment on Scott's remark saying that the metal one was
> flimsy: The reason that there's a metal one on the gas tank is to prevent
> punctures, obviously a puncture would be very dangerous in the tank.
That's
> why they put the stronger metal plate there.
>
> Anyone that was at the '00 trail ride at Jon's will remember my plastic
> piedes of crap hanging down from my truck. I snapped those things pretty
> quick. They look sturdy to the eye, and feel the same to our hand, but
they
> have very little flex, and are brittle. Both of my plastic plates snapped
> in a couple different spots. Metal will bend into a different shape under
> the 5000lb truck, the plastic obviously didn't.
> What i did was get a 7' piece of 1/4" steel plate, and 2 feet wide, had
the
> guys at the shop put a couple bends in it, and i used the existing holes
in
> the frame to bolt her up.
> Now, this plate i have now can easily support the full weight of the
truck,
> and it barely even scratched.
> Downside is that it's very heavy, probably approaching 200 lbs.
> We used a little forklift to hold it in place the first time. :)
>
> I wheel a little harder than most people, and that's why i did my full
steel
> plate. But if you're just going to hit the occassional mud hole, or light
> trail, then those plastic jobbers might be ok. Just remember not to put
all
> your confidence in them, they will fail under more "XTREME" loads.
hehehe
>
>
> Mr. Plow
>
>
>
> >
> >I put the MOPAR skidplates on myself after I bought my '01 CC. There are
> >three skidplates, engine, transmission/transfer case, and fuel tank. The
> >installation is pretty straightforward on all three, the fuel tank being
> >the
> >most difficult due to tight quarters on some of the bolts. The engine
and
> >transmission/transfer case plates are very easy to install, they supply
the
> >bolts that go into nuts in the frame.
> >
> >The engine and transmission/transfer case are some sort of composite
> >(plastic). They seem very robust, with molded gussets and support
ridges.
> >The fuel tank skid plate is metal (as I remember) and seems the flimsiest
> >of
> >the three.
> >
> >I would recommend enlarging the oil drain hole in the engine skid plate
> >before you install it. It's located too far toward the front of the
truck,
> >and the oil stream coming out of the pan runs onto the skid plate instead
> >of
> >through the hole. Mopar has drain holes molded in the plate, so the oil
is
> >dispersed across your garage floor over a 2'X3' area. My wife was
> >impressed, she never saw me move so fast to grab a bunch of rags.
> >
> >Scott
>
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