Has anyone damaged their undercarriage yet from off-roading?

[Badassbronco]

Just curious if anyone has damaged any part of the undercarriage such as gas tank, transmission, transfer case etc?

I have the mod bumper and ordered the OEM transfer case skid. I don’t plan on going on anything higher than say a 5 (scale 1-10) but don’t want to damage anything underneath

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[cardad]

What size wheels are you running? You can scrape on any trail if you pick the wrong line but I found the stock 32s on the Badlands were just borderline at Moab OFFROADEO on Dome Plateau (4) and that convinced me to go with the 33 MTs. I have to take the family and 4 is the limit. On a 5 you might need a slight lift even with Sas as people were scraping at Off Roadeo.

 

[Theherofails]

Factory skids are more than satisfactory for anything you'll run into on a 5 rated trail.

I've taken my Badlands on tons of 7-8 rated trails without anything more than scrapes on skids.


The most important rule is don't let any rock bigger than 6 or so inches between your wheels. Always put your wheel on the rock and you'll be fine. The big rookie mistake is trying to drive over large rocks in the middle of the road and smacking them on undercarriage parts.

This photo is a decent example. Wheels are on the rocks and I didnt try putting the large boulder on the left under the vehicle as you can see a lot of people have done by the rock piles everywhere.

This is a 7-8 rated trail so you won't run into stuff this big on a 5 typically.

 

[NORCALGXP]

Just got back from Moab Utah and still need to fully inspect the under carriage. But I do know there will be damage. If you want I can post photos tomorrow

.

 

[mike8675309]

You just need to make sure you don't drop the vehicle on a large rock. Dropping it with a rock in the wrong position could mess up the driveshaft or the exhaust system. Just be smooth, and take it easy. Don't let it start hopping as you try to clear something with "momentum" .

 

[BAUS67]

As the others have said, best advice is to drive on the rocks NOT straddle them. I only took my son one lesson on the 4-wheelers to learn this. He was mad, I made it through the rock garden, and he didn't. I showed him how drive on the rocks not to straddle them and now he just blows through rock gardens like the are gravel roads.

If you don't have sliders/rock rails, then I would suggest getting a set to save your rockers from being smashed. Better that the rock rail to take it than the undercarriage. Besides most times you won't get hung up on the rails but you will get hung up on the undercarriage, sometimes referred to as turtling.

 

[Badassbronco]

Just got back from Moab Utah and still need to fully inspect the under carriage. But I do know there will be damage. If you want I can post photos tomorrow

.

Yes I’m curious what type of damage you took. No rush in posting the photos. Whenever you have time. Thanks

 

[Badassbronco]

Factory skids are more than satisfactory for anything you'll run into on a 5 rated trail.

I've taken my Badlands on tons of 7-8 rated trails without anything more than scrapes on skids.


The most important rule is don't let any rock bigger than 6 or so inches between your wheels. Always put your wheel on the rock and you'll be fine. The big rookie mistake is trying to drive over large rocks in the middle of the road and smacking them on undercarriage parts.

This photo is a decent example. Wheels are on the rocks and I didnt try putting the large boulder on the left under the vehicle as you can see a lot of people have done by the rock piles everywhere.

This is a 7-8 rated trail so you won't run into stuff this big on a 5 typically.

Thanks for the advice on not straddling the rocks. Unfortunately I don’t have full factory skids but will add a few additional plates when I get a chance.

 

[Razorbak86]

Thanks for the advice on not straddling the rocks. Unfortunately I don’t have full factory skids but will add a few additional plates when I get a chance.

Now that aftermarket skids are available, you should start seeing factory takeoffs hitting the market soon. I know I’m installing aftermarket skids next week, so I will have takeoffs available for sale soon.

 

[AZMikeL]

I've relieved the bottom frame of some paint crossing the 2021 rearranged New River - but that's it so far. Bonus - slightly less weight = slightly better gas mileage


@Theherofails what trail is that pic from?

 

[Theherofails]

I've relieved the bottom frame of some paint crossing the 2021 rearranged New River - but that's it so far. Bonus - slightly less weight = slightly better gas mileage


@Theherofails what trail is that pic from?

Back road to Crown King. One of the best trails in the Phoenix area IMO. Between a 6-8 on difficulty depending on the season you go.

 

[Theherofails]

Thanks for the advice on not straddling the rocks. Unfortunately I don’t have full factory skids but will add a few additional plates when I get a chance.

I have a buddy who does all the same stuff I do but in a F250 with zero skids. He's so far managed not to do any damage other than normal wear and tear on his suspension. Keeping rocks from going between your wheels really allows you to stretch what you can do without skids. Good luck out there!

 

[AZMikeL]

Back road to Crown King. One of the best trails in the Phoenix area IMO. Between a 6-8 on difficulty depending on the season you go.

It is an awesome trail - not been on that section for years though. Just Crown King to Horse Theif was brutal in the F-350.

The inlaws are coming next month from Illinois. I may do that trail with the Father-In-Law, assuming it's not on fire. I'm laying 70% odds that he'll actually crap his pants

 

[j_4260]

My rear trailing arm took a whack this past weekend - I wasn't smooth on the throttle while going over a woop and landed on the log. Oops.

@NORCALGXP how'd yours fair?

 

[NORCALGXP]

My rear trailing arm took a whack this past weekend - I wasn't smooth on the throttle while going over a woop and landed on the log. Oops.

@NORCALGXP how'd yours fair?

All the rims are now well used. The front winch mount is scraped along with the rear bumper. The covers for the trailing plugs completely gone. Two of the frame supports have rock scrapes. The plates put on to protect the rear shocks not a mark except for rock chips to the paint. I guess i can't go mall crawling any more it not perfect any more.

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