Trail Armor Review 8-19
Trail Armor Review
Shortly after purchasing our 2018 RZR 4 XP 1000 I knew I had to have a good skid plate because of the extra length of the 4 seat machine. I came out of a 2 seat Wildcat X and the added length was going to need extra belly protection for riding the trail in AZ and UT. I tend to like more technical trails or rock crawling and all of AZ and UT is extremely rocky and mountainous. I had my sights on what I believe to be the best skid plate in the market Trail Armor.
After ordering the full skid plate I was very excited to get it and start the installation. To my surprise it arrived in a couple of days in a very well packaged box. After opening it I found the instructions to be laid out in an easy to read format along with color photos that were very helpful. After all I’m a guy that generally just chucks the instructions and figures out how to put things together. With as many parts as there were, I figured I better read through the instructions and get the side plate installed correctly.
I laid out the first large pieced after putting my RZR up on ramps on one end and jack stands on the other so I would have more room to work. All the screws were well packaged as well. After installing the first self-tapping screw, which went in OK I though instead of self- tapping the screws it would be more secure if I drilled and tapped all the spots first before using the screws. This is just me, there was nothing wrong with the screws and I still used them but I wanted to be extra sure to do the best job possible since I knew I would be using the bottom of the skid against the tough rocks primarily in AZ. It took me a little longer to do it this way especially since I was doing the installation by myself laying under my machine in the heat of the summer in AZ but it was well worth it. With the help of the instructions the skids went on fairly easily.
I couldn’t have been happier with the finished product.
With the skid plate installed I asked one of my Jeep friends if he would go with me to run a Jeep trail not far from home called Terminator. I have ridden it for years on quads, Jeeps and side by sides. It has some food challenges and will put the skid plate to the test on big rocks.
I told them to meet me at 6 AM but I arrived at 4:30 to get out for some sunrise photos at the top of one of the mountains. It was a beautiful morning as I sat at the top listening to several heard of Donkeys off in the distance braying back and forth.
The sunrise was cool but not as impressive as normal. Oh well time to meet my friend. At the staging spot he brought another Jeep and a RZR to join us. We took off to the trailhead to get done before the heat was too bad as it was supposed to be 110 this day.
https://photos.smugmug.com/ATVUTV-Adventures/Terminator-Trail-AZ-6-30-19-Method-Tensor/i-7ZtjVLN/0/ddd764ba/O/1S2A6941.jpg
https://photos.smugmug.com/ATVUTV-Adventures/Terminator-Trail-AZ-6-30-19-Method-Tensor/i-DLVQqM2/0/7c94e9c4/O/1S2A6972.jpg
https://photos.smugmug.com/ATVUTV-Adventures/Terminator-Trail-AZ-6-30-19-Method-Tensor/i-JFwPXfS/0/563f08a2/O/1S2A7008.jpg
https://photos.smugmug.com/ATVUTV-Adventures/Terminator-Trail-AZ-6-30-19-Method-Tensor/i-zhSH2Zm/0/feb15ea5/O/1S2A7038.jpg
The rocks in this section of trail have a unique blue hue to them. When it is raining they are super blue. As I approached the first rock I slammed the belly of the RZR against the large rock trying to get some traction. This time I was too long but the skid plate protected the full belly just as I knew it would.
https://photos.smugmug.com/ATVUTV-Adventures/Terminator-Trail-AZ-6-30-19-Method-Tensor/i-KsWMm59/0/7a58bf19/O/1S2A7065.jpg
Along this trail there are many places where you can’t help but scrape over large boulders or ledges. The added slickness of the Trail Armor system was very impressive as it seemed to make my machine glide over the rocks with ease.
There were many times the side rock guards protected my side and doors from certain damage as they pushed back against the rocks.
https://photos.smugmug.com/ATVUTV-Adventures/Terminator-Trail-AZ-6-30-19-Method-Tensor/i-QKhdPDG/0/e6dea32a/O/1S2A7194.jpg
Towards the end of the trail I tried to go up a small ledge and for some reason didn’t make it. I backed up and tried again but again was just spinning with the belly scraping the ledge. After backing up again I noticed I didn’t have it in 4 wheel drive, no wonder. So After putting it in 4 wheel drive, I tried again, sliding my way along the ledge throwing dirt now with the front tires as well and powered through the obstacle. There is no way I would have been comfortable without the Trail Armor full skid plate.
https://photos.smugmug.com/ATVUTV-Adventures/Terminator-Trail-AZ-6-30-19-Method-Tensor/i-Fq6RjrB/0/dc066b7b/O/1S2A7321.jpg
https://photos.smugmug.com/ATVUTV-Adventures/Terminator-Trail-AZ-6-30-19-Method-Tensor/i-tc9HRx7/0/52136eac/O/1S2A7325.jpg
https://photos.smugmug.com/ATVUTV-Adventures/Terminator-Trail-AZ-6-30-19-Method-Tensor/i-mmQ6xgT/0/d525b464/O/1S2A7336.jpg
After one more section of big rocks we were out to the main road. With it now officially hot it was time to high tail it back to the trailers and get in some air conditioning.
https://photos.smugmug.com/ATVUTV-Adventures/Terminator-Trail-AZ-6-30-19-Method-Tensor/i-8cVvVhQ/0/f6b04cf1/O/1S2A7434.jpg
https://photos.smugmug.com/ATVUTV-Adventures/Terminator-Trail-AZ-6-30-19-Method-Tensor/i-sh5SjVm/0/013fbc32/O/1S2A7437.jpg
https://photos.smugmug.com/ATVUTV-Adventures/Terminator-Trail-AZ-6-30-19-Method-Tensor/i-tbfnzLS/0/efff2a6e/O/1S2A7390.jpg
https://photos.smugmug.com/ATVUTV-Adventures/Terminator-Trail-AZ-6-30-19-Method-Tensor/i-JVbd4mP/0/e2f2062a/O/1S2A7403.jpg
https://photos.smugmug.com/ATVUTV-Adventures/Terminator-Trail-AZ-6-30-19-Method-Tensor/i-3TSDkN9/0/c5572962/O/1S2A7445.jpg
I cannot express how impressed I am with the full trail armor skid plate. It is even better than I imagined it would be. I inspected it afterward and the rocks left their mark but it was rock solid and held up perfect.
If you want the best protection you can get to protect your machine when out riding I would encourage you to take a hard look at Trail Armor protection. It is the best thing you can do to protect your valuable side by side.
Special Thank you to Andre and Allison Turner for making such an awesome product that is truly Trail Armor.
Don McNeilly
Read MoreShortly after purchasing our 2018 RZR 4 XP 1000 I knew I had to have a good skid plate because of the extra length of the 4 seat machine. I came out of a 2 seat Wildcat X and the added length was going to need extra belly protection for riding the trail in AZ and UT. I tend to like more technical trails or rock crawling and all of AZ and UT is extremely rocky and mountainous. I had my sights on what I believe to be the best skid plate in the market Trail Armor.
After ordering the full skid plate I was very excited to get it and start the installation. To my surprise it arrived in a couple of days in a very well packaged box. After opening it I found the instructions to be laid out in an easy to read format along with color photos that were very helpful. After all I’m a guy that generally just chucks the instructions and figures out how to put things together. With as many parts as there were, I figured I better read through the instructions and get the side plate installed correctly.
I laid out the first large pieced after putting my RZR up on ramps on one end and jack stands on the other so I would have more room to work. All the screws were well packaged as well. After installing the first self-tapping screw, which went in OK I though instead of self- tapping the screws it would be more secure if I drilled and tapped all the spots first before using the screws. This is just me, there was nothing wrong with the screws and I still used them but I wanted to be extra sure to do the best job possible since I knew I would be using the bottom of the skid against the tough rocks primarily in AZ. It took me a little longer to do it this way especially since I was doing the installation by myself laying under my machine in the heat of the summer in AZ but it was well worth it. With the help of the instructions the skids went on fairly easily.
I couldn’t have been happier with the finished product.
With the skid plate installed I asked one of my Jeep friends if he would go with me to run a Jeep trail not far from home called Terminator. I have ridden it for years on quads, Jeeps and side by sides. It has some food challenges and will put the skid plate to the test on big rocks.
I told them to meet me at 6 AM but I arrived at 4:30 to get out for some sunrise photos at the top of one of the mountains. It was a beautiful morning as I sat at the top listening to several heard of Donkeys off in the distance braying back and forth.
The sunrise was cool but not as impressive as normal. Oh well time to meet my friend. At the staging spot he brought another Jeep and a RZR to join us. We took off to the trailhead to get done before the heat was too bad as it was supposed to be 110 this day.
https://photos.smugmug.com/ATVUTV-Adventures/Terminator-Trail-AZ-6-30-19-Method-Tensor/i-7ZtjVLN/0/ddd764ba/O/1S2A6941.jpg
https://photos.smugmug.com/ATVUTV-Adventures/Terminator-Trail-AZ-6-30-19-Method-Tensor/i-DLVQqM2/0/7c94e9c4/O/1S2A6972.jpg
https://photos.smugmug.com/ATVUTV-Adventures/Terminator-Trail-AZ-6-30-19-Method-Tensor/i-JFwPXfS/0/563f08a2/O/1S2A7008.jpg
https://photos.smugmug.com/ATVUTV-Adventures/Terminator-Trail-AZ-6-30-19-Method-Tensor/i-zhSH2Zm/0/feb15ea5/O/1S2A7038.jpg
The rocks in this section of trail have a unique blue hue to them. When it is raining they are super blue. As I approached the first rock I slammed the belly of the RZR against the large rock trying to get some traction. This time I was too long but the skid plate protected the full belly just as I knew it would.
https://photos.smugmug.com/ATVUTV-Adventures/Terminator-Trail-AZ-6-30-19-Method-Tensor/i-KsWMm59/0/7a58bf19/O/1S2A7065.jpg
Along this trail there are many places where you can’t help but scrape over large boulders or ledges. The added slickness of the Trail Armor system was very impressive as it seemed to make my machine glide over the rocks with ease.
There were many times the side rock guards protected my side and doors from certain damage as they pushed back against the rocks.
https://photos.smugmug.com/ATVUTV-Adventures/Terminator-Trail-AZ-6-30-19-Method-Tensor/i-QKhdPDG/0/e6dea32a/O/1S2A7194.jpg
Towards the end of the trail I tried to go up a small ledge and for some reason didn’t make it. I backed up and tried again but again was just spinning with the belly scraping the ledge. After backing up again I noticed I didn’t have it in 4 wheel drive, no wonder. So After putting it in 4 wheel drive, I tried again, sliding my way along the ledge throwing dirt now with the front tires as well and powered through the obstacle. There is no way I would have been comfortable without the Trail Armor full skid plate.
https://photos.smugmug.com/ATVUTV-Adventures/Terminator-Trail-AZ-6-30-19-Method-Tensor/i-Fq6RjrB/0/dc066b7b/O/1S2A7321.jpg
https://photos.smugmug.com/ATVUTV-Adventures/Terminator-Trail-AZ-6-30-19-Method-Tensor/i-tc9HRx7/0/52136eac/O/1S2A7325.jpg
https://photos.smugmug.com/ATVUTV-Adventures/Terminator-Trail-AZ-6-30-19-Method-Tensor/i-mmQ6xgT/0/d525b464/O/1S2A7336.jpg
After one more section of big rocks we were out to the main road. With it now officially hot it was time to high tail it back to the trailers and get in some air conditioning.
https://photos.smugmug.com/ATVUTV-Adventures/Terminator-Trail-AZ-6-30-19-Method-Tensor/i-8cVvVhQ/0/f6b04cf1/O/1S2A7434.jpg
https://photos.smugmug.com/ATVUTV-Adventures/Terminator-Trail-AZ-6-30-19-Method-Tensor/i-sh5SjVm/0/013fbc32/O/1S2A7437.jpg
https://photos.smugmug.com/ATVUTV-Adventures/Terminator-Trail-AZ-6-30-19-Method-Tensor/i-tbfnzLS/0/efff2a6e/O/1S2A7390.jpg
https://photos.smugmug.com/ATVUTV-Adventures/Terminator-Trail-AZ-6-30-19-Method-Tensor/i-JVbd4mP/0/e2f2062a/O/1S2A7403.jpg
https://photos.smugmug.com/ATVUTV-Adventures/Terminator-Trail-AZ-6-30-19-Method-Tensor/i-3TSDkN9/0/c5572962/O/1S2A7445.jpg
I cannot express how impressed I am with the full trail armor skid plate. It is even better than I imagined it would be. I inspected it afterward and the rocks left their mark but it was rock solid and held up perfect.
If you want the best protection you can get to protect your machine when out riding I would encourage you to take a hard look at Trail Armor protection. It is the best thing you can do to protect your valuable side by side.
Special Thank you to Andre and Allison Turner for making such an awesome product that is truly Trail Armor.
Don McNeilly
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