Valhalla’s Shield theft deterrent/skid plates info and ordering post

Have you heard anything about people using crowbars to pry the plates off? I was reading an article about thefts - not sure what vehicles/plates they were talking about but I would think it would take a great feat of strength to pop off yours or Desert Eagles plates, especially if they are tucked under a Pro Skid plate.

 

Apparently no damage, they cut on either side of the plate and just pulled the assembly through, essentially they just went around the plate

 

So the plate didn't protect cats...got it...

 

I pity someone who tries to pry my plates off

Desert eagle has good thickness plates, I hate the bolting solution they use, but it is pretty solid. The cheaper thinner plates, I don’t doubt they could.

Also, I discontinued the 1/8 aluminum cat plates because I could bend them by hand, even my 1/8 steel and 3/16 aluminum can’t be bent by hand. So even if they broke the plate away, it wouldn’t help them much

 

If someone wants ANYTHING bad enough and they have the means, they will get it. Any security feature is really just a deterrent. The plates should stop most smash and grab thieves. Same idea with the center console safe, lockers, anything. No security is impenetrable.

 

Not at all. 2wd tundras are exposed in this area because there isn’t all the 4x4 stuff in the way. But even with my front and rear cat plates, this would have been much harder

 

I 100% agree. This is why there is no guarantee that it will prevent a theft on my website. But I would rather have an option that doesn’t just look the part, but does the part too. More metal and coverage makes the job harder, with my full plate package, this would have been damn near impossible, no room to get in there

 

I WILL TAKE TWO AND SELL THE 2ND ONE FOR A SIGNIFICANT MARK UP! HAHAHAHA... LOOKS GREAT!

 

As you know - I have your front & rear cat plates along w/ the TRD OffRoad dinky engine skid- In your opinion how protected am I with my current set-up?

 

Had I known about the benefits of @Classy63 skids before I bought my RCI, I would have went that route. Not looking forward to the install after all these horror stories. Really like the servicing aspects too.

 

At the very least, these plates will motivate a thief to keep on looking... they are opportunists and not hard workers or they would be employed in a career other than a part time job like stealing cats. The longer something takes the longer they will be in jeopardy... How do I know this? Unfortunately I have plenty of asshat relatives who did stupid shit like this while I was growing up.

BTW a deadbolt doesn't mean your front door can't be opened. Sleep well... hahahahaha

 

Received Shipping notice today.

 

See Tylers post 2475
"Without the 4x4 stuff, it leave this area exposed. I suggest getting my front skid plate aswell to protect the front on the 2wd trucks."

 

I feel like I am upselling here, but yes. The driver’s side cats are exposed through the front where the front diff goes

 

You not upwelling just being Honest-

 

I thought the same after reading some of the posts. Mine wasn’t bad at all. I think it depends on your mechanical skill level, though. I’m no mechanic, just a shade-tree wannabe who’s cross-threaded and rounded out my share of bolts. But having pulled transmissions, cracked open diffs and t-cases, replaced suspensions and done half-baked body work, the TRD skid plate was comparatively easy.

 

On the ground it is a bit of a PITA, I have bigger hands. On a lift, I don’t think it would be bad at all.

 

Well that rules me out then. LOL Thanks.

 

The Pro plate just about broke me but I was trying to remove the bolts completely and then put them through the holes I drilled into my plate (I bought a DE plate before @Classy63 popped on the forum). I was also laying in my driveway on pebbles. It was a recipe for disaster.

I ended up cutting the slots in the plate, like Classy's, loosening the bolts on the pro skid and sliding it into place, then tightening them up, which was still a butt, but not as bad. Plus, I was laying on a nice big piece of cardboard this time around. You can do it, but have your game plan in place.

 

Not so fast. Check your orders again.

Also just realized I missed the security bolts on my order, just added them as a standalone order. Feel free to ship together of course when it’s all ready to save on your shipping cost, I went with shipped as I have no idea when I’d have the time for the 5-6hr round trip unfortunately.

 

2nd that

 

Thank you for your order! I will add it to this batch

Also, just noticed this was the 2500th post, holy crap we have been busy!

 

I installed my aluminum plates back in October. Installation was relatively painless other than getting a backing wrench on that left rear Pro skid plate nut. It’s doable with a standard box end. I didn’t take the transmission skid plate off. I painted them myself to an approximate match to the Pro skid plat.

I completed a 2000 mile overlanding trip shortly after installation. No issues. No damage after a few touches from rocks. I even cured the squeaky front end that I hear is caused by improper torquing of the front skid.

I’m happy!

 

Same

 

I did mine on the burning hot surface of my apartment parking lot in the lovely summertime July heat of Texas. I didn’t remove the bolts to the Pro. Just loosened them all up as much as possible so the Pro was left hanging with as much of a gap as feasible to push and slide the cat skid slotted holes into place. Not sure if it was necessary, but I loosened all the Pro skid bolts, including the front ones.

I used a small Igloo cooler underneath to hold the somewhat heavy cat skid in place while wiggling and pushing it forward into place. It got stuck on the frame rails as I pushed it in to the point where it just wouldn’t move any more. When I got to that point, I sat behind the cat skid facing towards the front of the truck and just behind the cat skid. I’m 6’ tall, so I was in a kind of awkward, uncomfortable sitting position. From there, I placed both feet on the back edge of the cat skid and pushed it in all the way using leg strength. (I did the same when stabbing a heavy transmission into place on a fullsize Bronco years ago.) Fortunately, the cat skid, while heavy, is still much lighter than a Ford transmission. I’m not that strong, but it didn’t take much effort to push that cat skid into place using my legs.

Once I got the cat skid slots into place with the Pro, I laid flat on the ground facing up underneath the Pro skid with my head towards the front of the truck and my feet towards the rear. From there I snaked one arm through the control arms to hold the rear-most top Pro nut with a crescent wrench while I used my other hand to hold the socket wrench and tighten that rear Pro bolt. I did the same for the other side.

I will say that it seems like everytime I tackle a wrenching project, some unforeseen problem arises that makes it more difficult and time consuming than anticipated. Maybe I was anticipating such a PITA job with this one that when I finished doing it, it turned out to be not as difficult as I thought it’d be. I suppose it helps, too, that my truck has a 1.9” front lift and I have somewhat long skinny arms. I’m guessing if you have thick arms it might be harder to squeeze them through that small control arm opening, and even more so without the benefit of the added room a suspension lift might provide.

 

My mechanic is installing mine on Monday. I can here him bitching!! Lol. I don’t think he will have a problem. He has done a lot of mods.

 

Good thing I did not know this….. I guess I’m used to working on things that are a PIA. I did buy the aluminum ones so they would be lighter and decided not to paint them and too cheap to get them powder coated. If a 70 year old guy can do it, most others should be able to. I had bought the RCI front skid a couple years ago.

 

3rd, I just squeaked an order in as well, and got confirmation that it is in the batch!

 

This is a quote from the initial post - I understand some of the hardware has changed? Or is this the current list for the latest gen plates? (For a Tundra, I see that Sequoia has a slightly longer bolt in certain places)

I am going to order the bolt head protectors and possibly button head torx hardware (theory is it would be harder to grind/saw by a thief with a button head down in the offroad protector) and want to order the right ones.

I am reviewing the thread to see if this is somewhere in the 2500!!! posts but if someone has it handy I would greatly appreciate it!

 

So, the updated list for the bolts is
1/2x4 (2)
3/8x4 (2)
1/2x2 (2)
5/8x2 (2) 5/8x5 for sequoia

the 5/8 bolt is for the Z bracket to frame. I think when I run out of 5/8’s hardware, I am going to change it to 1/2” aswell. I will also be able to offer pentagon bolts for this area once I do that.