Anyone do a lightweight build?

I don't have any 3/16" full sets left in inventory and making one set is cost prohibitive. I only sell them in group orders since more parts = less cost per part. Otherwise I would gladly take up an offer like that. I've been trolling around the forum trying to find a deserving truck to trail test a set on.

I have an 1/8" full set on hand, but those would probably turn to scrap pretty quickly for you.

 

There's no such thing as a light build with a winch. If your goal is to go light, you'll have to sacrifice on some of the other conveniences. Needing "several hours" to get unstuck is not a crisis, it's character development.

 

Wheeling for an extra "several hours" is way more beneficial than saving a few hundred pounds of weight on a winch. That weight savings would yield little to no advantage off road. The winches usefulness and "insurance" is a far greater benefit than not having one!!

As for the skids, just get some 1/8" steel plate and be done with it. The skid manufacturers will tell you other wise, but skids are made to get bent up, dented and form around what they are protecting. My set of 1/8" all pro skids are bent up dented and you can see the outline of the ifs cross member through them, but they do the job. Spending money on some special alloy that wont dent is a waste, i doubt anyone wheels hard enough here to necessitate that.

 

Exactly. If i wanted to make my truck bombproof, i'd SAS using Rockwells and makes skids out of AR500 with all of the other necessary upgrades to support and move that weight. The main point of this thread is trade offs. What do you consider as the bare minimum and what can you do to shave weight while still meeting your minimum requirements.

 

A winch, a locker, and an oil pan skid. That's all you really need to go have fun!!

 

The point i was trying to make was that yes they will dent but you probably will not damage anything. If you lay under your taco pretty much everything except for the oil pan and steering rack is tucked up high, and even with a 1/8" skid plate the forces will be distributed enough to not to damage anything. If you drop onto an obstacle enough to bend 1/8" steel enough to damage a part of the truck and render it inoperable, i can guarantee that you frame will be seriously messed up in the process. The only real purpose the skids serve on these trucks is to provide oil pan protection, steering rack protection and allow you to slide over stuff.

I would take 1/8" steel over aluminum skids, i would be worrying about cracking those skids!!

 

If I were to do a light weight build:
1. 1/8" IFS skid
2. bob the bed
3. 265/75r16s

Then I would start a bank account to fund skid fixing and replacements as well as body work. I'd also spend some time learning how to take lines and scouting trails.

When Toyota added the e-locker, the only competition for off-roading straight off the lot was the Rubicon model Heep. The only downside (and this is arguable) is the IFS. Add a solid axle and the flex gets crazy.

The aftermarket armor is more about absorbing damage than adding capability. Winches are nice but a tow strap is a lot lighter and works fine in many cases.

Many moons ago:

 

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