Rhino Hide: New product looks promising.

[LostInArizona]

I love off-roading and have generally accepted that scratches and dents are unavoidable. There are a lot of products on the market that can help protect against light scratches but as of yet I have not seen any non-permanent (like non-bolt on armor) solutions that can protect against anything a little more severe. Granted I don't think these things are going to help that much if you bring your a side panel down with the full weight of the truck on a rock or something. But it seems like this could really take a beating.. Of course, they something in development for jeeps, but I think if we hound them enough we can probably get them interested in the Bronco as well. In any case, worth keeping an eye on.

4x4 Paintwork Protection (rhinohide.com.au)

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[Philly]

Unless you can attach with something other than magnets, I think we are out of luck on the Bronco. I believe all body panels are aluminum.

 

[LostInArizona]

Unless you can attach with something other than magnets, I think we are out of luck on the Bronco. I believe all body panels are aluminum.

Oh really? I figured there would be some steel in there somewhere. That's s shame. Well, nevermind then, haha! I guess I will just be buying new body panels.

I wonder if they could figure out a different way to attach something like this. Like a lip that goes around the edge or something. I am less concerned about the fenders and more about the doors themselves as although being removeable are probably easy to replace, are not likely to be cost effective to do so. I mean, yea you could put some bar doors in there I suppose, but honestly I dont like wheeling like that in AZ due to the dust, especially when you're with other people and not in the front of the pack lol.

 

[mds5917]

saw the title and thought it was a "really tough leather" for the seats that would beat MGV for wear and water resistance as well!

If you really want to protect your panels, take 'em all off and go wild!

 

[LiquidIQ]

Ever since watching "Minority Report" about a potential future time and seeing the auto factory where they were STILL spray painting cars, I thought to myself "no way that will still be the technology then". Well here we are, farther into the future, and cars are still painted. It would be really, really nice if they didn't have such a delicate coating that needed constant care and protection. Especially on a vehicle meant to be a capable off-roader like the Bronco.

 

[buzpro]

great product i just dont like that ist rated up to 50MPH ...... it kind of limits you on when to put it on

 

[LostInArizona]

saw the title and thought it was a "really tough leather" for the seats that would beat MGV for wear and water resistance as well!

If you really want to protect your panels, take 'em all off and go wild!

Fair point, but there is plastic exposed on the right side of the engine bay. Looks like some sort of fluid reservoir, perhaps windshield wiper fluid or something? I would still want some sort of panel there to protect that. While Im sure there will be replacement "ruggedized" fenders. As I mentioned in my previous post I am more concerned about the doors as removing them or using bar doors is, or even taking the top off for that matter, is guaranteeing you a mouth full of thick nasty dust dust driving in the desert around here. A lot of trails I frequent have a lot of fast growing thorny and extremely dense trees as well so while banging up your paint with no protection seems inevitable, simple clear bra type coatings get torn to shreds pretty quickly. What I would really like is just a ruggedized cover for the door panel that can be removed afterwards. Hopefully somebody can come up with a similar solution that doesn't use magnets.

I guess its not that big of a deal, but until I realized the doors were entirely aluminum, those rhino hide things seemed like a good solution.

 

[mds5917]

Fair point, but there is plastic exposed on the right side of the engine bay. Looks like some sort of fluid reservoir, perhaps windshield wiper fluid or something? I would still want some sort of panel there to protect that. While Im sure there will be replacement "ruggedized" panels. As I mentioned in my previous post I am more concerned about the doors as removing them or using bar doors is, or even taking the top off for that matter, is guaranteeing you a mouth full of thick nasty dust dust driving in the desert around here.

I guess its not that big of a deal, but until I realized the doors were entirely aluminum, those rhino hide things seemed like a good solution.

I was just joking - the doors are easy to remove, but the panels, not so much. I love that you "can" do it, but for everyday use, no chance.

I'm going with a wrap (because I want green and am too damned impatient to wait for it) and hoping that it will provide some paint protection. Sadly, not like the rhino product, but at least a little.

 

[LostInArizona]

great product i just dont like that ist rated up to 50MPH ...... it kind of limits you on when to put it on

Youre probably right, but with these things it seems simple enough to remove them when youre back on the road.

 

[LostInArizona]

I was just joking - the doors are easy to remove, but the panels, not so much. I love that you "can" do it, but for everyday use, no chance.

I'm going with a wrap (because I want green and am too damned impatient to wait for it) and hoping that it will provide some paint protection. Sadly, not like the rhino product, but at least a little.

That wouldnt last a single outing here on some of these trails. Everything here has HUGE friggin thorns!

 

[VelocityBrew]

Would be nice if they made a magnetic backer that we could attach to the inside of the fender and doors. IIRC the rear quarters are steel.

 

[Chrism81]

Looks like a simple and easy way to protect your rig when off-roading. If they can figure out a way to attach it to the bronco I would be interested in it unless it's stupid expensive

 

[mds5917]

That wouldnt last a single outing here on some of these trails. Everything here has HUGE friggin thorns!

Damn! No way I’d be rolling without dots and windows to protect me from those!

 

[LostInArizona]

Damn! No way I’d be rolling without dots and windows to protect me from those!

Exactly my point haha! I have been literally gouged like somebody hooked me with a large fish hook and ripped it out, by these damn trees. Particularly the bottom one. They arent just soft needles like a cactus, although we have plenty of those as well, they are dense solid wood spears that will tear through your skin like tissue paper. Everything in Arizona is trying to kill you.

Anyway, you can see why nothing short of something like these rhino hide things will protect your paint.

 

[LostInArizona]

Would be nice if they made a magnetic backer that we could attach to the inside of the fender and doors. IIRC the rear quarters are steel.

This is a great idea! Seems reasonable installation wise, considering the panels are removable, and would likely be stronger than just the magnets on steel.

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