Barnes 4wd shock skids

[Zixer37]

I have been looking at these for a while. The reservoir shocks seem kind of exposed on the bronco.
A few other shock skid options:

https://www.asfir.com/skid-plate-599666.html

https://www.jcroffroad.com/product/BR6SD-SH.html

https://broncbustertx.com/products/bronc-shock-skid

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[ChompSticks]

Being new to offroad how often does one drag their shock mount? Seems slow close to the tire you would have to be in some really rocky terrain.

Often enough that I bent both sides now and you risk puncturing the reservoir.

 

[OffroadBandit]

I just unboxed the Barnes shock skids to try to install them on my 2022 badlands. Looks like they don't fit. One of the mounting screws as well as the actual skid itself come into contact with the reservoir rubber shell. Anyone else with a 2022 experience this?

I'm hoping I can get a refund for the skids and shipping, but I'll probably be out $40+ for shipping.

 

[Sewie]

I just unboxed the Barnes shock skids to try to install them on my 2022 badlands. Looks like they don't fit. One of the mounting screws as well as the actual skid itself come into contact with the reservoir rubber shell. Anyone else with a 2022 experience this?

I'm hoping I can get a refund for the skids and shipping, but I'll probably be out $40+ for shipping.

Can you post pics? Mine is a '22 Badlands and there was no issue with fit.

 

[OffroadBandit]

Can you post pics? Mine is a '22 Badlands and there was no issue with fit.

Yours don't touch the reservoir rubber covering?

Here's a shot of the bolt hitting the reservoir covering. I can also reach my hand behind the plate and feel it touching the rubber covering. Any hit to the plate will transfer right into the shock, which kinda defeats the purpose of the protection.

 

[0ne]

@OffroadBandit Put some washers under the bolt head to pull it away and contact Barnes, they’ll make it right if you provide pictures and details.

 

[OffroadBandit]

@OffroadBandit Put some washers under the bolt head to pull it away and contact Barnes, they’ll make it right if you provide pictures and details.

Thanks for the suggestion. I think I'm going to make a new post to see if I can get feedback from other forum members about this.

After doing some digging and comparing to my friend's sas'ed base, it looks like the badlands, nonsas, Bilstein shocks have lower reservoirs than the sas shocks. This causes them to interfere with the bolt and press against the skid plate when mounted.

Unfortunately, this also means it's possible that all shock skid plates that were manufactured and tested on sas broncos will be incompatible with nonsas badlands. @Sewie , do you have sas on your badlands?

 

[Sewie]

Thanks for the suggestion. I think I'm going to make a new post to see if I can get feedback from other forum members about this.

After doing some digging and comparing to my friend's sas'ed base, it looks like the badlands, nonsas, Bilstein shocks have lower reservoirs than the sas shocks. This causes them to interfere with the bolt and press against the skid plate when mounted.

Unfortunately, this also means it's possible that all shock skid plates that were manufactured and tested on sas broncos will be incompatible with nonsas badlands. @Sewie , do you have sas on your badlands?

Yes, I have Sas. Kind of hard to get measurements without jacking up the rear end, but took a couple more pics to show clearance.

 

[Sewie]

Just found this thread which confirms different reservoir mounts for Badlands vs. Sas Bilsteins.

https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/thre...itive-dampers-part-numbers-differences.14939/

I would think that will affect every skid that mounts this way. I don't remember any of the ones I looked at mentioning trim/model compatibility though.

 

[da_jokker]

So you can't just get shorter bolts or flip them around so the nut is on the outside?

I have a pair of these sitting on my floor waiting for my Bronco to show up. It has SAS so hopefully these fit.

 

[GroovyGeek]

Anyone installed them on a non-Bilstein or HOSS shock (i.e. black Hitachi strut without reservoir used on the Black Diamond and everything below)? I reached out to Barnes and they said they have tested it only on a BL

 

[0ne]

Anyone installed them on a non-Bilstein or HOSS shock (i.e. black Hitachi strut without reservoir used on the Black Diamond and everything below)? I reached out to Barnes and they said they have tested it only on a BL

You should be fine, the lower strut mount bracket is the same across all trim levels and suspensions except BRaptor so the holes will line up no problem. You don’t have to remove the lower strut bolt which is torqued to something like 400ft.lb so that’s a big plus. The front of the Barnes skid is designed to protect the/a reservoir as a primary design function so if you’re looking for more bottom protection there are better designs out there.

 

[GroovyGeek]

You should be fine, the lower strut mount bracket is the same across all trim levels and suspensions except BRaptor so the holes will line up no problem. You don’t have to remove the lower strut bolt which is torqued to something like 400ft.lb so that’s a big plus. The front of the Barnes skid is designed to protect the/a reservoir as a primary design function so if you’re looking for more bottom protection there are better designs out there.

Thanks. What are the better designs for the BD that do not require touching the strut bolt? The only ones I am aware of are Barnes, Valkyrie, and NVM. I won't be rock crawling ever, will mostly be doing rough logging roads and need a bit of protection against the occasional mishap.

 

[0ne]

Thanks. What are the better designs for the BD that do not require touching the strut bolt? The only ones I am aware of are Barnes, Valkyrie, and NVM. I won't be rock crawling ever, will mostly be doing rough logging roads and need a bit of protection against the occasional mishap.

Looks like you’ve done your research, the Barnes skid does wrap around the bottom of the strut mount and offers some bottom protection but unfortunately most of the better designs require the big tight bottom strut bolt removal. It’s been argued that a skid incorporating that big bolt provides superior strength and rigidity.

 

[dgorsett]

Anyone installed them on a non-Bilstein or HOSS shock (i.e. black Hitachi strut without reservoir used on the Black Diamond and everything below)? I reached out to Barnes and they said they have tested it only on a BL

They will fit Hitachi equipped well, 10 minute install. Two days after my install I was driving in muddy ruts, a rock was protruding into rut. Skid took the hit which probably would have bent the inside of the shock mount, so they work for me.

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