G'day Cmohr,
I reckon you're right about the CRD stock front skid. It's nowhere near as thick in gauge as the transmission and trans case skids. I'll take it off this week for some reverse bashing.
In fact, the bashplates were pretty much the only thing that got scarred on the trip (so i suppose they are doing their job well!). I did get the hitch receiver plastic trim bit ripped off - must have been one of the steeper drainage humps on the tracks.
The KJ is real good in tight twisty tracks - heaps smaller than the tank Toyos/Nissans, though the track ruts they make, were spaced a little too wide for me and i ended up straddling a lot ot the really rutted sections. That bit was really hard when under half a foot of snow - coz everything looks flat! And then the icyness makes it too easy to slip sideways into the ruts when you try to (guess) where to straddle them.
All in all, i'm pretty impresed by the KJ once the 'teething probs' have been sorted out (no more funny temp guage, provent is now catching oil etc) The other drivers were a bit surprised to see us up there. They were all in lifted GQs/toyos that were like monster trucks compared to the stock KJ. We camped up top of the range, (they all stayed halfway down) and the looks on their faces when we came down the mountain in the snow was gold!
This was our KJ hood ornament: (which was removed before we set off!)
Eric.
