Thread: Bash Plates

The other thing I forgot to mention was the cost, in British pounds.

Tank Guard 273.60
Sump Guard 187.20
Air Freight 97.10

Paid, sent and arrived, 7 days.

How is the clearance with the fuel tank guard? Does it take much off?

I installed the Sump Guard and Fuel Guard last week. Very impressed with how easy it was to install and the quality of the parts.

My only criticism is the fuel guard and the clearance. While it only drops the overall clearance slightly, instead of only having one low point, the entire guard is the same height, so now there is a large surface area at the new 'low point'. I can see this being fine for out in the bush - especially if there are rocks that could easily damage the fuel tank, however 99% of the offroading I do is on the beach, and for that I want the highest clearance I can get. With the guard in place it looked like it would just belly out, especially with the tyres let down. So I'm keeping the sump guard but the fuel guard is now for sale.

what price tag will you be putting on the fuel tank. I am in the same boat as you with mainly beach driving but I am interested in seeing how it looks

I'll pm you.

DPF, sorry for not replying, been away and not near a computer.

I have not tried the performance on sand with the plates attached yet, maybe this weekend if things work out.

For me, the insurance that the fuel tank is protected is worth it, especially after my first off road run that included a few rocky creek crossings, one of which resulted in a bracket in front of the fuel tank being bent and some scratches on the fuel tank. Lucky that day, but with more off road planned, I did not want to risk it again.

I've sold the Freelander 2 for a bigger 4x4, so the bash plates that did less than 200km are for sale! Both the Mantec front guard and the fuel tank guard. $500 for both if anyone is interested.

Originally Posted by maddia

Hi Jimb090. I looked at these. My concern, as an absolute 4WD novice, was that if I had to reverse out of a situation that I had got into, the straight plates at the rear of the Green Oval version could act like a scoop or even get lodged under rocks. The Mantec one has the beveled finish on the front and back.

That was the basis for my choice, I could be wrong though.

For anyone else: I have the Green Oval one and the rear flats sit hard up against the tank cushioned by a foam rubber strip- there's no way they could act as a scoop. While there's no rear support, the plate would protect the tank from being punctured by a rock, and logically the mount points are at the front as this is where contact would most likely occur before anything else such as backing out happens.

The vulnerable points of the plate are the two outrigger front mounting brackets, although they would simply fold up if hit hard enough - the plate itself cant move as the two inboard mounting holes are straight into existing threaded holes that form part of the stock tank mount and "guard" assembly.

The whole plate is very light and creates minimal decrease in ground clearance, basically just the thickness of the aluminium of the plate itself. The strongest part is the front, and you'd certainly know if you hit something immovable with it. The tank would likely survive intact, though, which is the aim after all.

I don't know if all of this is by design or not, but that's the way it works on my vehicle, and while those outside mounting brackets do hang down and look awfully flimsy, I have yet to have them actually connect with anything in two years. Maybe later designs have improved on them, though (unless of course they are designed to "give" rather than "hit", which in itself is a sound enough approach in protecting the vehicle rather than transferring the impact into it).

Of course my obvious viewpoint is that if bouncing off rocks is to be a regular pastime, perhaps the Freelander 2 is not the vehicle that one should be driving - a shorty Land Cruiser or Defender 90 might be a better choice.