Just recently purchased a 2010 S. One thing I wish it had was skid-plates. A friend of mine just bought a 2011 Pro4x4 with factory skids, but I am not impressed.
I am not planning on any other mods right now. I am also only looking at moderate off-roading (for now); something a little more than your average SUV can handle. I would like skids that are heavier than the stock skids, but I don't need something built for rock crawling/sliding. Does such a thing exist?
I have seen Shrock recommended in a few other threads for 1st Gen. Does that hold true for 2nd Gen?

go to heftyfabworks.com those are going to be your best bet, your buddy will be envious in the strength of yours since his are made thin weak steel(?) yours will be almost bulletproof!

Thanks, I'll keep that in my list. However, I noticed that they don't have dealers - they ship to the customer. Is this something I can do myself with limited tools?

Yes they ship from fabricator to customer. He's based out of Colorado, you could probably pick them up if you are close enough. As far as the install goes, get a buddy to help you and you will need a drill, wrenches, and a jack aside from that they are pretty easy the hardest part is holding them in place if you don't have a jack.

yeah, the hefty skids are super nice (i got the NXRocks set before NX sold to Hefty; but they are the same thing)

these are heavy. a whole skid set will weigh in around 175-190 pounds. they are 3/8" steel (like shrockworks) and are infinitely better than the factory skids.

the only thing to be jealous of on the pro4x vs your S is that you don't have a locking rear diff . . .

Hefty x3 again. I've got a full set of them (minus gas skid) when they were made by NXRocks. Best thing I've ever done for my X & moderate wheeling.

Managed to bust a weld on my transfer case skid though....smashed down on a rock or something that I dont' recall. It paid for itself right there...otherwise, my transfer case more than likely would've been done for.

regarding doing it yourself w/ limited tools....i highly doubt it. I'm not a fabricator or welder, but just the press itself you'd need to bend 3/8" metal isn't something you find at a garage sale ;-)

pic from Hefty's Facebook page:
http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/167004_172194436156155_123162537726012_333894_3278 822_n.jpg

Hefty FTW!

the only thing to be jealous of on the pro4x vs your S is that you don't have a locking rear diff . . .

Well, there is also hill descent assist, off-road lights, and upgraded shocks. I'm only a little jealous of the hill descent and shocks.

regarding doing it yourself w/ limited tools....i highly doubt it. I'm not a fabricator or welder, but just the press itself you'd need to bend 3/8" metal isn't something you find at a garage sale ;-)


I wasn't thinking of making my own skids. It was a question about installing the Hefty Works skids. I need to know whether I could do that with limited tools by myself, or find a good mod shop to do it.
Speaking of which, a drill is listed in the tools needed for install. What will I be drilling through? I have a drill, but it may not be powerful enough to drill through the frame.

I wasn't thinking of making my own skids. It was a question about installing the Hefty Works skids. I need to know whether I could do that with limited tools by myself, or find a good mod shop to do it.
Speaking of which, a drill is listed in the tools needed for install. What will I be drilling through? I have a drill, but it may not be powerful enough to drill through the frame.

The skids can be installed without drilling any holes. There are 4 additional holes in the engine skid that can be drilled to add additional bolts to support the extra load on the engine skid. Where are you in Colorado? We are on the north side of Colorado Springs so there is the option of saving some shipping adn using that towards the install cost.

The skids can be installed without drilling any holes. There are 4 additional holes in the engine skid that can be drilled to add additional bolts to support the extra load on the engine skid. Where are you in Colorado? We are on the north side of Colorado Springs so there is the option of saving some shipping adn using that towards the install cost.

Well, this is awesome! Someone said you were in Colorado, but I had not had a chance to look you up yet. I live East of the Springs (can't quite see Kansas), so that would be great if I could pick them up when I am ready.
I'll have to save up a bit first, but it is good to know you are not too far away.

i know it would be nice to have Hefty install for you, but i would HIGHLY suggest doing the install yourself. yes it is cumbersome, you need a friend and at least 1 floorjack, BUT you actually LEARN how they go on/off in case you need to drop the skids later.

as in: you may need to drop the skids to change the ATF, front diff fluid, and transfer case fluid. you don't HAVE to drop the skid to get to the oil, but you may want to in order to keep things clean.

Even if you have no intention of changing any fluids yourself you may get charged more by a mechanic because THEY will have to drop the skids. Personally, I will be dropping my skids before i have the fluids changed because i don't want a mechanic who has no idea what they are or how they are secured to mess with them. (i won't change my own fluids since i won't have a garage for the next round and i already know how to do it myself . . . :) )

Thanks for the tip Loki.

I stopped by Heft Fabworks today and ordered the skids. They had a nicely modded X in the shop working on skids, sliders, and bumper. I am impressed with their work and can't wait for my skids to come in.

For those of you looking for a lighter weight option, but something better than factory, check out ASFIR4x4 - they make aluminum skids for the 2nd gen, the FJ, and several more makes. I have seen them in person, and they look like they would hold up to some light wheeling. That being said, they are not useful for boulder hopping.

Have you got your skids? If so post up some pics!!!! :)

Oh, yeah, I picked them up a couple of weeks ago. Installed them myself - which took much longer than expected.

Gas tank skid took the longest. It was really hard to get all of the mounting points to line up.
http://www.clubxterra.org/forums/vbpgimage.php?do=full&p=1268&d=1308512321

Transfer case skid was fairly easy, though I had to go back and loosen the gas tank skid for one mounting point to line up.
http://www.clubxterra.org/forums/vbpgimage.php?do=full&p=1269&d=1308512514

Transmission skid was also a little difficult. Where it meets the transfer case skid was very tight. Had to go back and loosen up the transfer case and gas tank skid, as well as a little pounding, to get things to line up. Transmission skid is almost the full width of the frame.
http://www.clubxterra.org/forums/vbpgimage.php?do=full&p=1270&d=1308512531

Engine skid was the easiest, but I had to run and get new bolts where it overlaps with the transmission skid (what I had were not long enough).
http://www.clubxterra.org/forums/vbpgimage.php?do=full&p=1271&d=1308512554

Wow!!! those are AwEsoME!!!

Looks really good man, feels good to do the install yourself huh?

Do you mind if I ask what they cost?

regarding doing it yourself w/ limited tools....i highly doubt it. I'm not a fabricator or welder, but just the press itself you'd need to bend 3/8" metal isn't something you find at a garage sale ;-)

pic from Hefty's Facebook page:
http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/167004_172194436156155_123162537726012_333894_3278 822_n.jpg

Pretty sure he was just asking about doing the installation himself, not the fabrication.

For those of you looking for a lighter weight option, but something better than factory, check out ASFIR4x4 - they make aluminum skids for the 2nd gen, the FJ, and several more makes. I have seen them in person, and they look like they would hold up to some light wheeling. That being said, they are not useful for boulder hopping.

Actually the aluminum is designed to hold up to decent rocking. We have installations on a number of different vehicles that see some good usage.
Even an offroad school in Sedona that outfits all of their vehicles with our skids.

All of our skids are made from 1/4" 5052 Aluminum, same material used in armored tanks, and use factory mounts or we add in 1/4" Steel brackets.

Ted, come on over and check the skids out again I think we might surprise you!

Wow!!! those are AwEsoME!!!

Looks really good man, feels good to do the install yourself huh?

Do you mind if I ask what they cost?

Actually, no, it did not feel good to do the install myself. It was literally a pain in the neck (and arms). I am getting too old for this stuff.

I paid what Hefty Fabworks has on their site (http://www.heftyfabworks.com/), 670 something for powder-coated. I live near enough that I could pick them up instead of paying shipping.