My take on replacing the front skid plate...

DIABLOPOWER702 · Sep 17, 2022

Nice video.

It’s ridiculous Ram didn’t manufacture them like this.

Big500 · Sep 17, 2022

HorsePowerObsessed said:
In my opinion it is MUCH needed on the black TRX especially. I didn't want to paint it because living here in PA the road debris would have the painted portion looking bad in the matter of days so this was really my only option and it is a lot more work than you may think!

It looks great. By any chance do you have the black skid plate part number? Thanks.

JBTRXNJ · Sep 17, 2022

Big500 said:
It looks great. By any chance do you have the black skid plate part number? Thanks.

5ZB47GXHAA

Kilo-9 · Sep 17, 2022

HorsePowerObsessed said:
Definitely. Powder coat here was going to be very similar in cost to just buying the skid plate and with the added downtime it was a no brainer for me. I got my skid plate for a hair under 200 bucks.

Did you get it here in the PGH area at that price?

Informal · Sep 17, 2022

4GIVEN1 said:
What paint did you use?

Informal · Sep 17, 2022

Spray painting the lower front bumper

Anyone use a good quality spray paint to paint the lower front bumper to black?

www.ram-trx.com

Jcall34 · Sep 17, 2022

Informal said:
This is my painted one 1500 miles later..... $25 and less than 2 hours work

Just drove it to Phoenix and back, not one chip yet...

Been off road since I painted it, but less than 10 miles I'd guess.

What paint did you use? Looks good!

Tribb · Sep 17, 2022

DIABLOPOWER702 said:
Nice video.

It’s ridiculous Ram didn’t manufacture them like this. View attachment 51752

That’s hot

Informal · Sep 17, 2022

Jcall34 said:
What paint did you use? Looks good!

Sorry, I linked it above..

DIABLOPOWER702 · Sep 17, 2022

Tribb said:
That’s hot

Thanks

gcm2022 · Sep 17, 2022

I went the cheap, easy route, too. Hopefully it holds up. VHT satin black matches perfectly.

HorsePowerObsessed · Sep 17, 2022

Ducc said:
I second this. I used Rustoleum bed liner but it's not nearly as dark (and it's chipping like a bitch)

This was exactly my concern. Especially here in the north east the road debris is serious stuff!

HorsePowerObsessed · Sep 17, 2022

Kilo-9 said:
Did you get it here in the PGH area at that price?

I did. I actually ended up buying it off of a friend that had sold his TRX before he got a chance to install it. My local dealer is around 250 for the same part, though.

Kilo-9 · Sep 17, 2022

HorsePowerObsessed said:
I did. I actually ended up buying it off of a friend that had sold his TRX before he got a chance to install it. My local dealer is around 250 for the same part, though.

Which dealer are you referring to? I'm about equal distance from Jim Shorkey and Ron Lewis.

HorsePowerObsessed · Sep 17, 2022

Kilo-9 said:
Which dealer are you referring to? I'm about equal distance from Jim Shorkey and Ron Lewis.

Laurel Valley Motors in Latrobe, PA. When I got mine back around April they had it for 250ish.

JBTRXNJ · Sep 18, 2022

HorsePowerObsessed said:
This was exactly my concern. Especially here in the north east the road debris is serious stuff!

This is probably why the TRXs mostly use the grey skid plate, scratches far less visable… paint/powder coat, both are going to be banged up… the powder coat a little more durable, but will still get banged up… Mine will not be one of the factory colors so I’m agonizing over paint vs powder coat… paint is less durable, but easier and cheaper to fix… powder is more durable, but basically the entire part will need to be sand blasted and Re coated. What to do

HorsePowerObsessed · Sep 18, 2022

JBTRXNJ said:
This is probably why the TRXs mostly use the grey skid plate, scratches far less visable… paint/powder coat, both are going to be banged up… the powder coat a little more durable, but will still get banged up… Mine will not be one of the factory colors so I’m agonizing over paint vs powder coat… paint is less durable, but easier and cheaper to fix… powder is more durable, but basically the entire part will need to be sand blasted and Re coated. What to do

Funny you say that, my gray skid plate had a very noticeable chip on it which is one of the reasons I moved forward with replacing it even though I knew it was going to be a pain in the butt.

With that said, no marks at all on the black one yet, and the things I've had powdercoated locally have held up really well to the salt/rocks/crap that is on the roads here in PA. I think powder is definitely the way to go, IF it's done right.

RedEyeTRX · Sep 20, 2022

Pull it off, and shoot it with 2 part urethane (aka Raptor Liner). You can find it on Amazon, the stuff is amazing and wears like iron and looks just like Line X (without the Line X cost).

Next summer, I will be coating the front / rear bumper and skid plate!

Informal · Sep 20, 2022

RedEyeTRX said:
Pull it off, and shoot it with 2 part urethane (aka Raptor Liner). You can find it on Amazon, the stuff is amazing and wears like iron and looks just like Line X (without the Line X cost).

Next summer, I will be coating the front / rear bumper and skid plate!

If I was pulling it off, I’d have my powder coat dude do it for $50.

HorsePowerObsessed · Sep 20, 2022

RedEyeTRX said:
Pull it off, and shoot it with 2 part urethane (aka Raptor Liner). You can find it on Amazon, the stuff is amazing and wears like iron and looks just like Line X (without the Line X cost).

Next summer, I will be coating the front / rear bumper and skid plate!

This is my next step if the OEM black one doesn't hold up here in PA.