Can Metal Skid Shield/Air Dam be Made to Fit with Front Hitch on a 2018 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon

Updated 06/01/2020 | Published 05/28/2020

Question:

2018 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon Front Hitch I see through the QandAs that for both the Curt and the Draw-Tite front hitches that the front air dam or skid plate is removed permanently. Is this because of the steel bumper package and the skid is made of metal instead of plastic? If someone had the capability to cut out the square on the metal skid like the plastic versions, would the skid plate be able to be reinstalled or does it not fit back for other reasons?

asked by: Eric M

Expert Reply:

I reached out both to Curt and Draw-Tite about the installation of their front mount hitches, parts # C31086 and # 65079 respectively, on your 2018 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon and I pretty much got the same answer from both of them. The plastic pieces are pretty easy to modify but the metal is a little more tricky. Since there would be a much more involved process getting it to fit right neither of them offer a way to do this.

So what you're left with is either leaving the skid shield/air dam off completely like their instructions call for or you'll have to do some modifications on your own and make sure that it's still safely installed as well.

No matter which way you're leaning I recommend going with the Curt # C31086 because we have found their welds to be more clean and their hitches to have thicker powder coats so their more prone to resist the elements better. Attached is a sample installation video that you can check out.

expert reply by: Jon G