By Brad Lark

While planning the modifications for Project TJ Experimental, I was reminded that the stock fuel tank on a TJ is, at best, quite vulnerable. You see, the plastic fuel tank is very leak resistant, but the steel protection plate provided by the factory is really only to protect the tank from road debris, not the rock intrusions that frequently accompany extreme four wheeling.

I began my quest for the ultimate fuel tank skid plate. That's when I learned that Tomken Machine produced a bolt on after-market skid plate that would protect the fuel tank from dubious rock formations in my future. I made a call to Phil over at Tomken. He assured me his skid plate was just what the TJ needed. An order was placed and my skid plate was in the mail.

   Installation was very straightforward. In the box you will find the skid plate, three brackets and some bolts. After loosely loosely securing the rear brackets to the skid plate I proceeded to install the front bracket on the TJ. I used a two-foot extension to reach the nuts for the front bracket. That made it very easy to ratchet them loose and install the bracket. With the bracket in place, I laid on my back and positioned the skid plate on my chest. Remember that this thing is heavy dutyÉ with emphasis on heavy! I bench pressed the plate up and threaded the front bolts through the front bracket holes. After hand tightening the front bracket nuts, I (still on my back) pushed up with both hands very hard on the rear corner so my wife could start one of the rear bracket bolts. This is the bolt that also keeps the underside of the rear bumper in place.


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