ARB UVP/Skid Plates Opinion

[DrewPeakoc]

So I just installed the ARB skid plates and I'm not impressed. The quality seems fine, but the fitment and final look is terrible.

I reached out to ARB just to make sure I didn't get the wrong plates or somehow installed them wrong. According to ARB, everything is in correctly and this is look the look they were going for.

What do you think? Am I being too picky or do they look as bad as I think?

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[Dialtone]

So I just installed the ARB skid plates and I'm not impressed. The quality seems fine, but the fitment and final look is terrible.

I reached out to ARB just to make sure I didn't get the wrong plates or somehow installed them wrong. According to ARB, everything is in correctly and this is look the look they were going for.

What do you think? Am I being too picky or do they look as bad as I think?

Personally I don't think it looks bad. The only issue that might bug me personally is the plate being a straight line and the bumper curving. If the gap were uniform instead of opening up a bit I'd say it looks great. Run it into a big rock until the bend is right. Better fittest and some off road crew to boot I'm kidding of course but you get the idea.

 

[DrewPeakoc]

Personally I don't think it looks bad. The only issue that might bug me personally is the plate being a straight line and the bumper curving. If the gap were uniform instead of opening up a bit I'd say it looks great. Run it into a big rock until the bend is right. Better fittest and some off road crew to boot I'm kidding of course but you get the idea.

Lol. I get what your saying and yeah, after a couple trail runs, is going to be banged up, but realistically, the top lip is going to bend out even more after a few good hits. It's also basically a shovel...

 

[Doc TOC]

It does help your shackles match the license plate.

For my personal preference, I would return it and buy some other brand, or Ford's.

You should really like your mods. Your going to be looking at that a lot.

 

[Fmuguira]

And paying big dollars for every one of them

 

[Lcubed]

might look more integrated with the matching ARB front bumper

 

[swamp2]

That does not look in the least as if it was designed to go together. Odd.

 

[DrewPeakoc]

It does help your shackles match the license plate.

For my personal preference, I would return it and buy some other brand, or Ford's.

You should really like your mods. Your going to be looking at that a lot.

So, here's the bummer-I put three bolts in (only the front plate) to see what it looked like and ARB says that I can't return it because it's been "installed". The dude was kind of crappy about the whole thing. Pretty disappointed with the whole situation, honestly. It kind of surprised me because I've heard that ARB was great to deal with, but this guy was no help at all.

 

[DrewPeakoc]

might look more integrated with the matching ARB front bumper

It might, but the ARB bumper looks ridiculous. It's massive and I don't get into anything that requires a bumper like that. I'm not into buying stuff that won't get any use.

 

[DrewPeakoc]

That does not look in the least as if it was designed to go together. Odd.

Agreed. According to ARB, that's the design.

 

[DrewPeakoc]

And paying big dollars for every one of them

Yeah. The ARB plates are one of the cheaper options, but still not cheap. The matching bumper is more than twice the cost of the entire skid plate set. I would have happily bought a transition plate or trim piece if it were an option.

 

[Jazer]

Dang, that's pretty off. I mean, I know it's impossible to design a skid plate that works with every bumper but you would think the stock modular bumper would have been a really good place to start. I've heard their customer service being pretty good too (I know someone who bent the hell out of his and they sent him replacements).. surprised they used that excuse for a test fit.

 

[KABQ]

I have the Turn Offroad Baja front bumper, so I didn't expect the ARB front skid plate to play nice with the bumper and had already decided not to use it (the bumper came with that plate anyway). What I DIDN'T expect was that the engine skid plate wouldn't mate up either... So now I have Turn front skid, plastic engine skid until I can find a metal one that will interface, and ARB for the rest. It's going to be a real Frankenstein set.

 

[DrewPeakoc]

I have the Turn Offroad Baja front bumper, so I didn't expect the ARB front skid plate to play nice with the bumper and had already decided not to use it (the bumper came with that plate anyway). What I DIDN'T expect was that the engine skid plate wouldn't mate up either... So now I have Turn front skid, plastic engine skid until I can find a metal one that will interface, and ARB for the rest. It's going to be a real Frankenstein set.

Yikes. I guess I shouldn't be too upset. I could be in your situation.

 

[DrewPeakoc]

Dang, that's pretty off. I mean, I know it's impossible to design a skid plate that works with every bumper but you would think the stock modular bumper would have been a really good place to start. I've heard their customer service being pretty good too (I know someone who bent the hell out of his and they sent him replacements).. surprised they used that excuse for a test fit.

I actually saw the post your referring to and, ironically, that was a big part of why I went with ARB. I guess there's two sides to the coin.

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