New Heavy Duty Aluminum Rival Skid Plates Installed! - EV Sportline

[EV Sportline]

Check these out gang - installed on our 2025 R1S and looking solid as a rock!

Check our video here

The fit and finish is perfect - really the perfect 1-2 punch to go with our RMaxx Rock Sliders.
https://evsportline.com/products/rivian-r1t-r1s-heavy-duty-aluminum-front-skid-plate
(skid plates are in-stock at EV Sportline)

Install is quick and easy. We did it on the lift, but there is no magic to it. The stock plastic cover unbolts, and our new skid plate bolts right up. New hardware is included. No permanent mods either.

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[connoisseurr]

Another great EV Sportline product. Can’t beat that made in the USA quality!

 

[eskudo12791]

Another great EV Sportline product. Can’t beat that made in the USA quality!

the skid plates are made by RIVAL 4x4

 

[inconceivable]

This is great @EV Sportline ! Any chance you’re working on an improved front bash plate? I know I’m going to ram a rock one day and crush that plastic front plate . Would be great to replace it with a metal one.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

Another great EV Sportline product. Can’t beat that made in the USA quality!

Retailer, not originator or manufacturer. And those who have factory reinforced under body shield (part of off-road package) don't need it. What is really needed in both configs is projection for the fake skip plate that is part of the bumper (or a whole new aftermarket off-road ready bumper). Unless bumpers skin become cheap and readily available for purchase—essentially a low cost throw-away—which is not the current-date situation.

Downside of a whole new bumper is: If you look at the factory part, it's also almost the entire front facia. An aftermarket one won't be easy nor affordable.

 

[WattTruckMatt]

Retailer, not originator or manufacturer. And those who have factory reinforced under body shield (part of off-road package) don't need it. What is really needed in both configs is projection for the fake skip plate that is part of the bumper. Unless the bumper becomes cheap and readily available for purchase—essentially a low cost throw-away—which is not the current-date situation.

I received my Rival 4x4 skidplate last week. Got it directly from them. I have the reinforced underbody shield but this replaces the front piece which is a thinner piece of fiberglass (?) under the front subframe. A worthy upgrade IMO.

I also agree with a need to replace the fake skid plate that's part of bumper, but that would require cutting or a full bumper replacement... which would indeed be a whole thing and $$$.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

I received my Rival 4x4 skidplate last week. Got it directly from them. I have the reinforced underbody shield but this replaces the front piece which is a thinner piece of fiberglass (?) under the front subframe. A worthy upgrade IMO.

I also agree with a need to replace the fake skid plate that's part of bumper, but that would require cutting or a full bumper replacement... which would be a while thing.

I stand corrected. It's then more durable than the sacrificial fiberglass. Bumper and tie rods... the aftermarket still has yet to provide solutions for. The two biggest "weak spots" for those who do more than casual off-roading. Yes, aware there are tie-rod sleeves available. But, I'd rather see full aftermarket replacements. Plus, there are past posts implying Rivian made changes and might make those sleeves incompatible.

 

[EV Sportline]

Retailer, not originator or manufacturer. And those who have factory reinforced under body shield (part of off-road package) don't need it. What is really needed in both configs is projection for the fake skip plate that is part of the bumper (or a whole new aftermarket off-road ready bumper). Unless bumpers skin become cheap and readily available for purchase—essentially a low cost throw-away—which is not the current-date situation.

Downside of a whole new bumper is: If you look at the factory part, it's also almost the entire front facia. An aftermarket one won't be easy nor affordable.

This skid plate has nothing to do with RUS - different parts of the truck, so the skid plate remains highly recommended even if you have RUS.

 

[EV Sportline]

This is great @EV Sportline ! Any chance you’re working on an improved front bash plate? I know I’m going to ram a rock one day and crush that plastic front plate . Would be great to replace it with a metal one.

We are working on a few things that will be interesting to you. In other news, we just released our Cybertruck front bumper and it's killer. I am trying to decide if there is enough of a market on the Rivian side for us to make one for Rivian.....take a look here, it's super high quality, OEM-grade - and we integrated winch. Rivian owners want.....?.....let me know

https://tsportline.com/collections/...ront-bumper-with-integrated-high-output-power

 

[EV Sportline]

the skid plates are made by RIVAL 4x4

Correct. We were working on making one and honestly when we got our hands on the Rival, it was exactly what we wanted and at the premo quality we wanted...so we worked a deal with them, rather than re-inventing the same thing. We are the exclusive retailer and have them in-stock now.

 

[eskudo12791]

Correct. We were working on making one and honestly when we got our hands on the Rival, it was exactly what we wanted and at the premo quality we wanted...so we worked a deal with them, rather than re-inventing the same thing. We are the exclusive retailer and have them in-stock now.

Good to see yall got them in stock, not sure there site has shown in stock since the initial batch.

 

[WattTruckMatt]

I stand corrected. It's then more durable than the sacrificial fiberglass. Bumper and tie rods... the aftermarket still has yet to provide solutions for. The two biggest "weak spots" for those who do more than casual off-roading.

I carry a spare tie-rod just in case. Someone out there makes a sleeve to reinforce the OEM units but as the popular argument dictates, I'd rather break a tie rod than the steering rack.

I've heard later production R1s had thicker tie-rods, not sure if true.

An aftermarket bumper seems like a crazy complicated endeavor. I really liked that OEM one Rivian was testing out a while back. If made of metal, it could have been a winner but probably $5k.

Also peep the low profile sliders, which is what I've been wanting all along but no one has done a production run on these.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

I carry a spare tie-rod just in case. Someone out there makes a sleeve to reinforce the OEM units but as the popular argument dictates, I'd rather break a tie rod than the steering rack.

I've heard later production R1s had thicker tie-rods, not sure if true.

An aftermarket bumper seems like a crazy complicated endeavor. I really liked that OEM one Rivian was testing out a while back. If made of metal, it could have been a winner but probably $5k.

Also peep the low profile sliders, which is what I've been wanting all along but no one has done a production run on these.

Right, but at the same time no one knows exactly when Rivian changed the tie-rod size... or if they did. And no one knows how much stronger one can go without breaking the rack instead—10% more? 12% more? Plus, Rivian SC shouldn't be the only place to get replacement ones.

 

[WattTruckMatt]

Right, but at the same time no one knows exactly when Rivian changed the tie-rod size... or if they did. And no one knows how much stronger one can go without breaking the rack instead.

I'll let someone else find out!

 

[zefram47]

We are working on a few things that will be interesting to you. In other news, we just released our Cybertruck front bumper and it's killer. I am trying to decide if there is enough of a market on the Rivian side for us to make one for Rivian.....take a look here, it's super high quality, OEM-grade - and we integrated winch. Rivian owners want.....?.....let me know

https://tsportline.com/collectioNordshleifens/tesla-cybertruck-bumpers-and-accessories/products/tesla-cybertruck-ctx-extreme-duty-front-bumper-with-integrated-high-output-power

Interesting. One outstanding question for a Rivian winch-bumper is where to get power from. Supposedly the early trucks actually have power lugs on the distribution block that were designed for high-current loads. Rivian themselves were supposedly working on one and it appeared on a test mule in early 2022, IIRC, but never came to market along with some rock sliders. Given how Rivian Service has behaved with some non-traditional mods, it's entirely possible they wouldn't be willing to road-test or work on a vehicle with a steel bumper if someone needed service.

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