Intro
In an attempt to make this write-up short, I will get to the point. The stock TJ gas tank skid plate sucks. Mine did provide some protection for the small rocks but anything bigger than a pebble was too much for the thin sheet of steel.

A little info on the replacement
The best available gas tank skid comes from Warn in my opinion, but that one is fairly expencive. While doing a little research on locating a cheaper model, I found that there are several, what I would call, Warn rip-offs around. The one I chose was from ExtremeMetalProducts on eBay and cost me $195 shipped. It is made from 3/16 steel and powder coated black.

The install
I will not go through a step by step install, as there are a few of those online. I will point out a few high and low points, and say that the install was long and more difficult than I expected.

• The skid plate is very high quality and has a great finish. It is probably 4 times as heavy as the stock skid and looks like it can take anything I could throw at it. But it does add 50-60 lbs to the Jeep behind the rear axle. The good news is that I will not need my hitch to protect the gas tank any more and that will not only save some weight but also greatly increase my departure angle.
• Removing the gas tank is not too difficult and the only problem I had was in removing the high presure fuel line. The connector was packed with mud but after picking at it for a bit, it finally came apart. A note to folks with newer TJs or those that have never been in the mud: get some electrical take and wrap the high pressure fuel line connector to keep it clean.
• The skid plate did not line up perfectly with the front mounting bolts. This was caused by one of two possible problems. Maybe the skid plate was not made to perfectly line up with the stock studs or maybe my Jeep is a little tweaked.

The result
The result is simple, I now have a bullet proof gas tank skid and that makes me feel much more secure about banging around in the rocks. The only negitive thing for me is that since my exaust pipe is a little tweaked, it rattles against the new skid when the engine struggles.