If this all comes down to preference, style, and location, then maybe you can explain how a wide swath of the country somehow benefits from a bunch of bulky protusions that necessetate the rig getting caught on the terrain with greater frequency. That is the argument being made by some.
This has been a fun intro to the forum
The whole point is that they are sacrificial and can take the hit instead of the body sheetmetal (well, unlike the MBs I posted a shot of earlier). You could try to apply the same logic to skid plates, but I'd sure rather beat the shit out of a steel plate than piss trans fluid down the trail, even if it costs a couple inches of clearance.
