The Complete Handbook of Off-Road & All-Terrain Vehicle Protective Gear

Chapter 1: Understanding Off-Road & All-Terrain Vehicle Protective Gear

The first thing to understand is what the phrase actually covers. Off-road and all-terrain vehicle protective gear is the complete set of components and materials designed to shield two distinct subjects: the machine you are operating and the operator inside or on top of it. Vehicle protective gear includes skid plates, rock sliders, control arm guards, differential covers, and radiator guards. Operator protective equipment includes helmets, goggles, gloves, chest protectors, knee braces, and neck braces. Both halves of the category exist for the same fundamental reason: to absorb or deflect the energy of an impact or abrasion that would otherwise damage the vehicle's critical systems or the rider's body. This is a functional engineering category, not an aesthetic one.

Take the most common piece of vehicle armor, the skid plate. The name comes from the primary function: to take the slide when the chassis would otherwise hit a rock, a stump, or the crest of a hill. A skid plate bolts to the underside frame rails or subframe and sits between the front suspension and the steering rack, the oil pan, or the transfer case, depending on the vehicle. When your front tire drops into a hole and the chassis comes down on an embedded rock, the skid plate makes first contact. It is designed to deform slightly, to absorb the energy of the impact, and to slide over the obstacle without transferring the full force to the engine block or