The simplest way to describe the difference between these two ideas is to think of it this way, if a website is a house, a platform is the house, the foundation, and even the land that the house is built on. Not every house-type structure has a foundation (think of tents, mobile homes, RV’s) but every foundation has a house.
But for those of you that like your answer a little more technical, a website is a series of simple code that moves between static pages. A platform is a framework that encompasses a website but includes many additional services and features. Our platform, for example, includes five cloud platforms that allow us to evolve in massive ways over time.
Not only does this give up the power to include exciting and innovative features on our pages, in ways that just haven’t been done before in the off road market, but our platform allows us to keep a very unique amount of transparency in all aspects of our business.
How often do you place an order on a website only to wonder how much your shipping will end up being before you get to the last step of checking out? Then after that, you have to wait to find out exactly how long your product will take to get to you? But lo and behold, now that you have placed your order, you find out this product is back-ordered and coming from the other end of the world!
Our product pages are full of information about how and when you will be able to get your product with different shipping options clearing labeled. You will know, before you add a product to your cart, if you should expect a discounted shipping rate, flat rate or free shipping. Not only that but once you have purchased your product our platform interfaces with our vendors to decide if our warehouse is the best option to get your order quickly, or if one of our vendors can make it happen faster. Once that is established and a shipping label is made, that is sent right to your email.
One of the best things about having a platform of this kind is that we aren’t limited by media size and usage. On our product pages, you will notice several tabs to get you information, and some products even have videos from the vendor (or us, we like making product videos!). We have the ability to house that kind of media and we are including more and more videos every day.
After all of that, we still have the room on product pages to host product documents, installation guides, Q&A’s, and reviews!
Combining the ordering platform with IBM Watson also known to you as Buck allows us to expand the capabilities of customer service, search and platform navigation. Over time you will see the platform expand its ability to deliver information to you in a fast and efficient way.
Thanks to the way our platform works we have the flexibility and scalability to do anything we want to as time goes on.
So, you’ve just bought a RZR, Maverick, Talon or another UTV and you are trying to get a solid answer on what accessories you should be purchasing first. There are endless amounts of accessories out there for side by sides (SxS), and they do dozens of important things. It’s reasonable to feel confused and overwhelmed, so we are more than happy to advise you what you should do first.
If you are going to do one thing with your new UTV today, make it purchasing a new skid plate. Convinced yet? That’s okay, we are here to give the reason why we find this part is the most important to upgrade early in the life of your vehicle.
Your stock side by side UTV skid plate does a few simple things— but it doesn’t necessarily do them well. It protects your fuel tank, your battery, sometimes your transmission, and then small amounts of your front and rear differential. That’s a lot of really expensive parts I just listed. Not only are they expensive, but they are also not optional. You need those parts to work for your vehicle to keep going. The issue with your stock UTV skid plate is that very, very thin and only covers small amounts of your chassis.
If you were to look under your vehicle right now you would see that it is pretty flimsy looking, and in coverage, it can be lacking.
That’s why we want you to make sure that it’s the first thing you upgrade. Your UTV is going over crazy things in every terrain from sand, rocks, mud and more. Once it breaks you could be looking at all of those important, expensive mechanical parts being damaged with it.
When you are looking for your new UTV skid plate, one of the first questions you are going to have to decide on is what material you are looking for. There are three major materials used in this field so I’m going to talk a little about each one.
This was originally the most commonly used material for ATV’s and UTV’s, but it’s losing its favor as we find more alternatives. Steel is heavy, but the problem is that heaviness doesn’t lend itself to better protection. Steel lack general integrity. It is easily damaged, dented, and when it’s gouged it rusts. It’s also very loud, even if you have secured it properly.
These are rapidly becoming a widely used choice. Aluminum is cheap and much lighter than steel. It doesn’t rust, but it needs to be made much thicker than a steel skid plate. Just like steel, it’s an incredibly loud material even when it’s installed perfectly. Aluminum dents similarly to steel, and once it is dented it can be difficult to repair.
Since these are lighter and thinner then steel they have issues from rocks, trees, mud and more denting them and pushing the metal around to cause disformed products.
With heavy rock or tree hits you can actually cut these open, like peeling a banna down the mid section.
ATV accessoriesNot just any plastic, but ultra-high molecular weight UHMW plastic! Plastic UTV skid plates aren’t as cheap as their metal counterparts but with good reason. They are light and flexible, so they can handle terrain better. They don’t lose their shape when with their flexibility. These UTV skid plates are also incredibly hard to dent or break. They are much easier to fix than the metal skid plates.
Traditionally UHMW UTV Skid Plates are 3/8 Inch Thick or 1/2 Inch Thick, Trail Armor Skid Plates Are all 1/2 inch thick for the best protection
So, now you know what the different kinds of skid plate materials are. When you look at the pros and cons of each one we feel that it’s easy to say our stamp of approval goes to plastic.
We also want to recommend that you take a look at Trail Armor when you are purchasing your UTV skid plate. Their skid plates wrap around the entire bottom of your UTV, they don’t leave anything unprotected, which will keep you and your vehicle running for far longer than you would be able to with your stock plate.
The side by side skid plate is the cover underneath your UTV, traditionally bolts to your bottom frame rails and protects your engine, transfer case, battery, fuel tank and front differential.
Stock side by side skid plates do not cover from edge to edge front to back. They focus on the most vital areas to cover, where aftermarket skid plates traditionally cover the complete undercarriage.
The main function is protection so the thickness of the skid plates along with there durability are the main focuses. Some skid plates include rock sliders that wrap up and around your rocker panels to product the sides.
The three primary materials used for UTV skid plates are: 1. Steel, traditionally heavy and not used often. 2. Aluminum, lighter weight but soft metal bends. 3. UHMW Plastic, light weight and flexible to take impact from objects on the trail.
We are the first e-commerce platform on the web that specializes in off-road parts and accessories made right here in America. This platform is made to fill a need inside of a market that has been woefully left empty for far too long. There has been no one, true e-commerce platform, all situated in-house, that delivered American made parts and accessories for off-roading vehicles to the consumer. This is why we are so excited to bring this brand new platform right into the hands of the consumer. Stacked with features, bolstered the integrity of product, and powered with IBM Watson (or as we like to call him Buck, more to come on that soon!).
On our page what you are going to find is a singular focus on American work and craftsmanship. Anything you find on our main page are going to, solely, be made in America parts. In addition to our mission to bring you the best in American-made parts, we will have a secondary area that continues to support American assemblers even when there are parts that simply aren’t, or can’t be found in America yet. This way we can continue our mission and serve you, the consumer, best!
Our brand is being built around delivering information to you, the consumer. In the world of Off-Roading and the addition of accessories or needed maintenance of any alternative surface vehicle that is a lot of noise and confusion out there. Our goal is to clear that up with one simple to use platform for information and parts When you come to that familiar place of confusion; our platform clears it up. We have everything set up using simple models, filtering out the stress of additional information. Whether you are out there driving an ATV, UTV, Side by Side(SxS) or a dirt bike we’re going to make it easy to find the parts you need!
Even more useful to you is our Q&A feature on our products that is monitored and moderated. This is a benefit both to you and to other consumers. This way when you have that pesky question about if a certain part will work on your specific model of vehicle you can get a clear cut answer from a trained team and never have to waste money on uncertainties again.
In an effort for non-stop transparency our reviews are complete. This means you can rate and comment on other reviews, and reviewers are encouraged to add photos— be as thorough and honest as possible. Transparency for us also means keeping you in the know, in regards to our shipping locations and times, and those can be found on every product.
Find out more about the vendor that you are purchasing from, From Trail Armor, CT Race Worx, Madigan Motorsports, Sandcraft RCR and more; we highlight that for you! Housed on our page you can find what is happening within that company, who they are, and what they are about. This allows you to connect on a level that you simply couldn’t on a traditional online store, and allows you the ability to make personal choices with your money. Our vendor’s warranty and shipping times can also be found on our platform, keeping you in the know at the click of a mouse.
This is what we like to call a win-win, a place for our vendors to be showcased and have a spotlight directed on them, and a greater sense of consumer insight for our customers.
This is just the beginning of our platform, only the outline of where we hope to grow. What we need from you is the very same thing we aim to give you, transparency. If there is something missing from this page, a feature that would enhance your experience… We want that information! Drop us a comment, ask us your questions, and send us some emails.