True North Fab Bolt Skids For Skid Plates

There are still a few skid plates on the market that don’t have protection built in for bolt heads. I am running the JD Fabrication lower control arm pivot kit and with that kit, the plate bolts up to cross-member. The problem is that the 14mm bolt heads sit flat against the skid with nothing to protect them. With bolt heads exposed, they’re more likely to get destroyed when dragging them over rocks. And once the bolt heads are mangled, you’re going to have a hard time getting a socket on the head which makes removing bolts a royal pain.

The True North Fab bolt skids are designed to prevent this. It’s a super simple mod that protects the bolt heads.

Some people refer to them as ramp washers or skid plate dome washers. You can find these in a wide variety of material types; galvanized steel, aluminum, or stainless steel. Out of the three, stainless steel is the strongest. The ones pictured here are 304 stainless steel (main benefit being its durability). They’re a bit pricey but you get what you pay for. Stainless steel is one of the strongest materials out there so you can trust that they can take a beating over time and not get mangled like traditional aluminum ramp washers.

Installation

The installation is simple. Just remove your bolts, drop the bolt skids in place, and then tighten your bolts down onto the washers.

Before

Here is a look at the skid plate with exposed bolt heads.

After

Here is a look at the bolt skids installed.

Final Thoughts

If your bolt heads are exposed on your skid plates, these are a no-brainer.