Are skidplates necessary for off-roading?

Get one of them fancy oil drain valves with a hose long enough to drain the oil past the skidplate

And no you'd have to hit many things very hard before the stock skid would be cause for concern... Even than it would still protect the underside very well

With a mild lift and 32" tires I have miles of clearance under my truck

 

Skid plate > snorkel

 

Every time I slam hard into that obsticle, I give praise to the BudBuilt god...

 

Lights before lockers

 

Better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it!

To answer your question bluntly, no it is not required. To offroad and enjoy yourself you don't need anything other than a stock vehicle, a full tank of gas and the desire to adventure

Some driver mod and caution would be a good addition to the above recommendations

 

Driving skill ---> suspension (along with tires and gears) ---> armor.

I've had several well built jeeps in the past. There were a few times I inadvertently used the armor, but not many. Unless I was specifically using the armor to get up and around rocks or obstacles. There were lots of those times as well.

 

Armor has it's purpose off the trail as well. Helps with careless door openers and other poor driving ass-hats. Mainly though if you've ever hit an animal crossing a highway then you know a heavy bumper and skid deflect some of the damage if not all.

 

Everyone is going to have an opinion about it one way or the other. Depends on what you're doing.

 

Define "need".

Also, define "trails" because there are all levels of difficulty for trails.

But in the end, no you don't "need" 1/4" thick steel skids do go driving down that fire road.

That said, they are added protection that prevent you from poking holes in your oil/trans pan.

Absolutely not. If you design a suspension around the goal of never hitting a skid plate or sliders on obstacles, that is going to be a stupid tall lift and not likely perform very well in just about any condition. Your center of gravity will be super high, making it more likely you'll roll over.

Look at the comp rock-crawler buggies or trophy trucks. Arguably the best designed suspension for their particular use, and yet they still have skids everywhere and constantly bash into stuff.

 

Skid plates aren't designed to make oil changes easy.

They're designed to prevent you from poking holes in your oil pan.