Talon's cat cover play ok with RCI front skid?

Already have an RCI front skid plate on my 2019 Platinum, just ordered the Talon's garage cat cover set and wonder if the two marry up ok during installation??

Anyone know? Thanks in advance.

 

Do you mean the RCI trans skid? Unless that cat cover is pretty long I don't think it would reach the back of the RCI engine skid

 

Have the RCI front engine skid plate.

Ordered the Talon transmission and transfer case/catalytic converter covers.

Just wondering if they go together ok?

 

Did you get your Talon plates installed?

 

Yes, I did get them on but had to take it to a shop and the guy there wasn't pleased with me. Said to me good luck when it comes time for the next guy to figure it out!

 

Looks like I’ve got some work ahead of me when my plates arrive.

 

They work just fine together. I have the RCI engine skid and talon plates.

 

The hardest part is just getting to the bolts.

we also have our own engine plate that works good with our plates.

 

Correct! It's honestly quite a reach and difficult to wrench on. That said it can be done and looks great once it's completed.

 

Looks good!

1/4" aluminum looks like it would be pretty tough.

 

Yep I just installed the RCI skid with the talon cat plates the other day and it was a pain for sure to get to the two bolts that overlap on the RCI and talon shield, but it'll work.

 

Exactly - I have long arms and tools with extensions, and it was still tricky to do. Do feel protected under there though!

 

What's to keep a thief with a saw saw from cutting right through that aluminum bracket holding the plate to the frame? There is a gap between the frame and the actual rear shield that would be an ideal place to cut right through that bracket and then pry it down enough to get a small saw saw in there to cut the converter off.

 

If the brackets are cut (which would be quite noisy and take time), prying and bending the 1/4" aluminum will not be an easy task. It's not a terribly long from where it is bolted at the front of the rear piece.

 

No offence to all the companies who have built these shields, but I think I could design one a lot better. I see serious problems with all of them. I would not use aluminum either (too easy to cut). I would use the same gauge steel as the normal front factory steel skid plate on my SR5 4x4 and design it a lot like it, where it goes frame rail to frame rail and then back at least 6 inches past the rear cats and turned up some to close any gap. I may end up making my own (or have someone make it after I buy the piece of steel).

 

@Talon2006 maybe you can speak to this?

 

I have had customers contact me, and post on our Facebook page that they had someone try to cut their shield. They give up after short notice and moved on. That is a big reason why I don't offer aluminum in anything thinner then 1/4".

Trying to cut both those brackets, hold that shield down, and get up to the cuts to cut it off is not going to be easy. Thief's want easy.

Even on the 2wd trucks, that have a ton of space from the transfer case missing we have not had a thief try to climb up in there and cut off the cats. If you look at my transfer case plates there are three holes in the back of it. A long time ago I made a vertical plate that would bolt onto there and limit access. I never brought it to market because I truly felt it was not needed.

 

I agree with 'thiefs want easy'.

My scenario is occasionally parking overnight in a large (target-rich) parking lot. I just wanted to be one of the least attractive targets in the lot and when someone rolls up under my truck and they see quarter-inch plating covering everything I suspect they'll move along and leave my truck unscathed.
So far so good.

 

Wouldn't you think the thin gauge steel would be just as easy for a thief to cut?