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

Ok, all the aluminum is home, i sent out a lot of ready for pick up notifications this afternoon and I will resume shipping Monday

 

Which size you got?
I got the 1/2" to 9/16" Bolt Head Protector and it fits

 

Did end of July order make the cut?

 

I haven’t checked against my orders yet, but I think it is very safe to say yes

 

Just a quick review… I live local and drove my “Tree” over to Tyler’s place midday to pickup my front and back plates. Went ahead and had Tyler install them with the penta bolts and he does a primo job! Tyler, Enjoyed meeting you and hearing the inspirational story of how you got started with this business! Highly recommend this product and this guy Tyler!

 

Just got these from the powder coater, had them done in white for this customer

 

Hey Tyler,
I got a delivery today!

unfortunately it was only the rear cat plate, and not also the front plate, and no hardware, mounting brackets.

Was this a mixup?

order number R050445112 July 1
1/8” steel front and rear, black powder coat.

 

I've been lazy...just now got around to painting and prepping the 1/4" aluminum plates received last July. (I am jealous of the next gen plates - bends and cuts look great.) Some random commentary so far:

1. Wet sanded the plates and took a mill file to all edges to knock any rough ones down.
2. Used self-etching primer to prep the surface for paint.
3. Used Majic farm implement paint (matte black) to paint surface, brackets, etc. I'm really beginning to like this paint...it has more solids and is for tractors, so it holds up really well (Rural King and Tractor Supply has it).
4. Bought the bolt head protectors - good buy, expensive (about $20 for two shipped).
5. Upgraded the 3/8" fasteners to 1/2" Grade 8 (the holes in my plates were large enough without drilling them out - interesting the truck's frame bottom hole is large enough to accept the 1/2" bolt but the top side, where the washer and nut reside is not. I threw a caliper on it and it was 2-3/1000" smaller than the bolt, so a quick zip with a 1/2" drill bit fixed that problem. Literally, it was so slight of an enlargement, I thought I'd snapped the bit when it didn't result in any resistance. I did use low speed on my drill).
6. Got a little more painting to do and will get them installed next weekend.
7. I expect the rear plate to require a bit of finessing because I have Cali-Raised rock sliders on but have seen some other's solutions and will do something very similar.
   
8. Overall, a great product and look forward to finally getting them on.

 

I just texted you the other tracking number, it is on it’s way

 

The new plates are so much cleaner. I could have upgraded to 1/2” bolts, but it would make it where I can’t say no drilling required. I know the pro comp lifts use 1/2” bolts which is why I opened the holes up.

 

Yes, these are the ones that required the washers. In the future these will have about the same length seen here but won’t need extra washers. It is how I am eliminating the square spacers

 

@Classy63 are you saying on the old z-brackets for the rear plate, if I install a "spacer" (washer or whatever), the plate doesn't bow and I would not need to remove the transfer case guard?

 

The transfer case plate needs to be removed still, honestly I haven’t checked yet to see if everything clears with it still there

 

Finally installed my plates today. Some of the bolts are a bit of a pain but I got it done. Looks great. Thanks so much @Classy63 for a great product.

Used some remnants of horse mats I use for lifting and a weight ball to help hold the plates as I was going.

 

Looks like you are missing the washers for the bolts that tie the plastic bumper tabs to the engine skid plate. I was missing them as well and had to make a quick Home Depot run.

 

There is a washer there, but maybe I need another washer. I have it bolt, plastic bumper, washer, plate. I was having a hard time putting the washer below the plastic and the bolt not being long enough.

 

I must admit, I think I went with a longer bolt as well.

 

That would make sense. I will have to look at a little longer bolt.

 

Tyler, what is the current lead time on a set of front engine skid plates? These would be going on I guess your first gen cat skid. Does this accomodate diff drop as is or is there additional hardware needed?

 

Lead time is 3-4 weeks. It is designed around the diff drop, if you don’t have a diff drop or you are 2wd, there is just some extra room in there.

 

I am adding white as an option, this turned out amazing!

 

I updated the website with the white and added new pictures instead of whatever I had on my phone

 

Thanks Tyler

 

These new plates look amazing! Also, thank you for the heads up, the Z bracket for aluminum is fixed for this batch! There is about 1/8” total gap instead of 1/2-3/4”

 

I hope to see mine in a couple of days. Yeah that aluminum looks awesome!!

 

I didn't have any gap with my Z brackets! Great work Tyler!

 

Any heat related issues to be aware of with covering the cats?
I see the ventilation holes and cutouts. Issue was brought up by muffler guy who may see a drop in business if these things are as effective as I believe they can be.

 

There was a previous post of someone measuring the transmission temp before and after cat shields. He determined no temp increase.

I bought the aluminum ones. Still have my cats.

 

@Classy63 I would appreciate an update to Order# R677367182 (Date: 2021-06-29). This is for 3/16" bare steel front and back skid plates. Thanks!

 

@Classy63 sorry if it was mentioned somewhere obviously a ton of pages to filter threw, but in the 1st post it says “standard plate” will fit with the trd skid, by standard do you mean the 3/16 aluminum, or will the 1/4 fit, this would be for a 2021 stock pro.