Tips: Post Off-Road Trip Damage

Hey Guys,

I just got back from my first off-road trip with some friends and have some minor damage to the truck, and I was hoping TW off-roaders might have some tips.

First, I have a small dent on the bottom of the body from coming down on a rock (no sliders). It is under the front passenger side door and doesn't affect it opening at all, it's just cosmetic. It looks like the paint might be chipped there too.

I'm wondering if I need to do anything with that area to make sure it doesn't rust and also, does anyone have any tips/ suggestions for some rock sliders that might be able to hide the damage? I don't know how much it would cost to repair and am not planning to get it fixed at this point.

Also, we were going through some heavy brush and the truck is pretty scratched up. Luckily I drive a white truck, so it's not as noticeable, but does anyone have any tips for buffing out small scratches?

If anyone has any suggestions for budget upgrades for offroading, feel free to send them over. So far, I've only installed Bilstein 5100s with OME 885s and a single AAL. Running 265/75R16 Goodyear Duratracs. Next purchase will probably be sliders, since I need to find a way to prevent more damage haha.

Thanks everyone!

 

If the paint is chipped, paint it. FAST.
Rock sliders won't hide any damage. They might help reduce future damage. Or they might not. Depends on what you land on and how hard.

Your best bet for reducing/eliminating future offroad damage, is to get a 4-wheeler for offroading, and keep the road vehicle on the road.

 

I would paint over the dent as said above. Don’t want it to rust. Use a buffer with compound and polish after. I did it by hand and got rid of a lot of pin striping (I need to buy one). Definitely invest in some sliders

 

I did the exact same thing to my truck before I bought the sliders. I waited way too long to deal with my damage, but luckily it really hadn't rusted much. I scraped off some of the flaking paint around the dent, sanded the metal a bit, then primed and painted with some touch-up paint. It's almost impossible to notice now.

I'll second what the others said, get some sliders if you plan to go offroad again! They are absolutely worth the cost.

 

Thanks for the tips guys, I'll try and find some time to paint it this weekend. Sliders are definitely next on the list...will have to save up to get them before next summer but that is definitely the next purchase.

And yea, another car would be ideal but we just paid for a wedding and are kinda strapped for cash at the moment...maybe one day down the road I'll just pick up a small commuter car for everyday driving and have my truck be the weekend toy!

 

Also, as a prep prior to venturing off road is to load on a thicker coat of car wax prior to getting into the brush. Helps the underbrush slide over your body panels.

-J

 

Thanks for all the advice! I've been looking at rock sliders online and see that standard mounting is 20 degrees. However, I found a company that has some at 25 degrees.

What would be the advantage of 20 vs 25?

 

Nothing but aesthetics really, especially at 5 degrees. The real difference would come from a rear kickout for your tires. That way, in the event that you are grinding around a tree stump or rock, it helps push your rear end away from the potential obstical. I run a full set of steel armor, my reasoning behind this is that aluminum is a more maliable metal and could act more as an anchor if it were to gouge from a hangup on a rock for instance. My skids are steel as well, but if you dont forsee yourself driving over some of the more agressive lines then you could save weight by going with aluminum at the expense of the higher cost. Looking back, I would have gone with thicker aluminum for my skids but I would still keep the steel frame slider. Hopefully this was a bit helpful.

-J

 

Super helpful, thank you! I think I'm leaning towards a 20 degree with rear kickouts. Thank You!

 

For the scratches, see if you can bring things to cut the branches away, i.e hedge trimmers, snippers, saws, etc. You can also invest in a ceramic coating or a vinyl wrap, with the wrap being better. Ceramic coating will help protect your factory paint underneath, but you'll still need to buff the scratch away IF it's not too deep.

I've always thought of getting some magnetic sheets and slapping them on to protect the truck, but maybe that's too ghetto. Haha.