Skeerdy Cat Skid 2nd Gen Tundra: Catalytic Converters Theft Prevention

Protect Your Catalytic Converters With The Skeerdy Cat Skid Plate For The Toyota Tundra

It seems almost impossible to visit any Tundra forum on social media without seeing at least one owner having their catalytic converters cut off while working, shopping, or even just parked at home.

I live in a pretty good area of West Des Moines, Iowa and even people in my neighborhood watch group have posted their trucks getting the catalytic converters cut off right on the other side of my street. Tundras are especially desirable vehicles to hit because they have 4 of them and plenty of ground clearance for greasy thieves to slide under the truck with ease; especially if your Tundra is lifted.

Replacing your catalytic converter(s) can cost upwards of $4,000 if you go OEM, ouch! Que the Skeerdy Cat skid plate for catalytic converters.

Find It Online:

• Skeerdy Cat Direct: Check Price

Why Skeerdy-cat

I was tired of worrying about this happening to me and then I met Kent, the owner of Skeerdy-Cats. Kent is based out of Texas and manufactures all of his plates himself in-house. He’s even worked with the Houston police department to come up with solutions to combat their high counts of catalytic converter theft.

What makes the Skeerdy Cat skid plate design superior in nearly every aspect compared to the competition is its unique 2 piece plate system. Due to its shape and mounting design, it covers more of your undercarriage than a lot of the other plates currently on the market. This is the best cat skid there is in terms of coverage and security, bar none!

Kent also offers a few different thickness options and mounting hardware. You can either order thick Grade 8 bolts or tamperproof hardware. I ordered tamper-proof hardware and then mixed in some grade 8 bolts that I had laying around, more on that later on.

Now, I know someone will say “can’t the thieves just cut the bolts off” or “if they can cut your cats they can cut a plate”. Those are both true, however, with the number of bolts required to mount this behemoth of a skid, the noise and time doing so would definitely alert someone. This plate is meant to discourage thieves and if nothing else, make their job harder.

Tools Needed For Installation

The installation is pretty simple and straightforward, with very few tools required!

• Jack
• Magnet
• Tamperproof bit (included)
• Drill
• 14mm Socket
• Sawhorses

Step 1. Organize Hardware

Layout all of your bolts and plate pieces before getting started. If you’re using tamper-proof bolts, make sure to have your tamper-proof bit! Once everything is in order and accounted for, we can get started with assembling the plate!

Step 2. Assemble Plate

Lay the pieces on saw horses and install the joining plate. Let the conical side of the joining plate face up in order for the pieces to be secured firmly. Use small bolts and lock washers, and tighten with the tamper-proof bolt key.

Step 3. Install Frame Brackets

Identify the frame holes you’ll be using and drop your brackets into those frame holes in the orientation pictured.

Once the brackets are installed in the frame they should be slightly protruding outside of the frame as pictured below.

Step 4. Align Skid Plate With Floor Jack

With all 4 of your frame holes ready to go, grab your floor jack and carefully place the skid plate on it. Slide the plate under the truck and align the bolt holes and mounts.

The skid plate is large, and kind of awkward. If you have a couple of buddies, having them lift it and hold it upright might be easier. None of my buddies were available so I had to finagle the massive skid plate around on the floor jack. It’s totally doable, just not preferable.

Step 5. Begin Loosely Bolting Skid Plate To Frame

Once you have your skid plate properly aligned, loosely screw in your tamper-proof bolts with your hand in an ‘X’ formation. Do not forget to drop in your rubber frame isolating bushings before getting your plate installed. Those bushings get sandwiched in between the frame and the skid plate with the idea of eliminating rattle

Step 6. Install The L Brackets

Once you’ve got the plate loosely installed, you can install your ‘L’ brackets. These brackets go on top of the skid and slide up into the frame hole. A magnet at this point helps to keep the bolt on the backside in an easy-to-access position.

I chose to ditch my tamperproof bolts for this part and went with some 14mm grade 8 bolts because using the tamperproof bolts on the vertical mount would take all day to secure tightly.

Step 7. Tighten Bolts And You’re Done!

Once the skid plate is on and everything is loosely installed, you can now begin tightening down all of your bolts and after that, you’re done!

Final Thoughts

Overall, this mod is simple and extremely satisfying. Knowing every night that a thief trying to steal my catalytic converters is either severely inconvenienced or hopefully, completely prevented, is very comforting. Kent, the owner of Skeerdy Cats, has been a pleasure to work with and his customer support is next level.

The design of this skid is light years ahead of some other catalytic converter skid plates with just how much coverage you can get. Great guy, great product, and a great investment, you can’t go wrong with this mod. Order yours today!