Which Armor to Buy Next?

I dont think so and it is best to ask before you go out on the trail and the obvious happens. I asked TW, the recommendation was for sliders.. and guess what... I ended up using them... so ask ask ask before you go....

and remember there are no stupid questions..... just stupid people....

 

He said he's not doing any serious offroading, which personally I take that as nothing more than fire roads or even "Medium Difficulty" trails. Rock sliders from what I've seen only come into play on "Most difficult" rated trails, again beyond what he claims to want to do. Offroading difficulty is definitely subjective, and if that all he's doing is fire roads he doesn't need any armor.

 

Depending on the trail, sliders could also push away trees/branches. A lot of other members also mention shopping carts. They're not just for rock crawling.

 

Not all sliders are created equal my friends.

Mobtown Offroad FTW!

 

Yeah, I'm not saying there aren't benefits to them, but judging by what he's said in this thread, any armor at all may not be a good investment of his fun money. Unless his definition of fun is armoring his truck, then by all means get the whole sh-bang, though in my experience the chance of him using anything more than a high clearance rear bumper is close to nothing (again assuming he's not doing "serious" offroading)

 

I have used my sliders on medium difficulty trails. The first time on Red Cloud Mine road and the second on Steele Canyon. I have not used my other armor yet but the sliders come in handy for many reasons. So my vote is for Sliders, as they prevent expensive damage.... unless you are Mall Crawling.. in that case, get a nice sound system and wheels.

Remember.... two heads are not alway better than one.... or vice versa....

 

Interesting, where are those trails?

 

i know where you are going with this, the trails are in CALIFORNIAAAAAA!! but guess what.... there are ROOOOOCKS... big and bad rocks every where... and branches... and stuff.... that want to ddddd--ddamage your rockers.. and stuff... but let us not get into a philosophical, political, or religious discussion.

I have only one thing to say.. If I were to do it again.... I would do as my TW recommended when I asked the same question. Get Sliders... they are yummy...

Remember - a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.. double penetration.. baby!!

 

http://www.dirtopia.com/wiki/4WD_Trail_Rating

This is just one source for difficulty ratings, but from the ones I have seen they are basically the same.
It's always been my understanding that anything rated medium difficulty is possible to get through without body damage no problem. Were you taking harder lines than others?
I have had the opposite experience, the only armor I have used on anything other than a most difficult is my rear high clearance bumper.

 

I used my sliders here.. Driver side protected my truck

 

?

I was asking because if I was in their area sometime I was going to try them.

 

Is your truck lifted? His is and it helps a great deal with clearance everywhere except the rear axle.

 

Then you haven't been seeing enough. Wet clay, snow, ice, stumps, rocks, tight trails cut for Jeeps, and off camber roads/trails all conspire to destroy rocker panels in very low to "medium difficulty" conditions. I hunt, fish, and camp year around in moderately difficult to reach locations and only occasionally play very hard. Sliders are hands down the most valuable addition to my truck.

 

Truck is lifted 3 inches..... I am riding 285 KOs, I may go 35s next year.

Remember to doubt the conventional wisdom unless you can verify it with reason and experiment in bed.

 

If you're going out after rain and snow then the difficulty rating no longer applies. Once again I need to repeat he said he doesn't do "serious" wheeling. Wheeling after rain or snow is in my opinion "serious" wheeling.

I think I've seen plenty of non-"serious" screwing around in the back country to provide informed advice on the matter, this list isn't including the vehicle I had before my current one or have any current trips. The OP said he is conservative when driving, so am I, if he truly is then he can see plenty without sliders.

oct2013 sedona, grand canyon south rim
nov2013 owens valley, mono lake, alabama hills, obsidian dome, buttermilks
dec2013 page area (sidestep canyon, paria river overlook, rimrocks, antelope canyon
jan2014 joshua tree national park
mar2014 owens valley
aug2014 factory butte, capitol reef
sep2014 grand canyon north rim
oct2014 chiricauha national monument, saguaro national park, ironwood tree national monument, kofa national wildlife refuge
nov2014 owens valley
jan2015 mojave national preserve
feb2015 monolake, eureka dunes, lees flat
april2015 san rafael swell, happy canyon,
may2015 factory butte, goblin valley, san rafael swell
oct2015 page area, north rim, coyote buttes south, white pocket
nov2015 page area, thousand pockets
dec2015 bryce canyon national park, cosmic ash tray, spencer flats,
dec2015 hidden valley wildernes(NV), colorock quarry, black mountains (AZ)
jan2016 death valley (ibex dunes, sunlight bridge canyon, santa rosa flats owens valley)
feb2016 death valley (buckwheat sand dunes, crescent canyon) cut short
mar2016 cadiz dunes wilderness, turtle mountain wilderness, kofa national wildlife refuge
apr2016 cadiz dunes wilderness, turtle mountain wilderness
apr2016 death pockets, thousand pockets, paria river overlook east, grand canyon north rim

I've got 42000 miles on my truck and it's all back country trips. I'd upload photos of all the trips as evidence but it would literally take a month to upload the 10000s of thousands of files.

And I wish I could credit who said it first though I cannot remember where i read it, but I'll offer you some sagely undeniable advice OP, if you let the internet build your truck for you you're going to hate it, If you build your truck on what YOU need and what YOU want your going to be much happier with it.

 

I don't doubt it and that is a perfectly valid opinion. You might even be right. But your resume is fair game since you took the time to post it in excruciating detail for our perusal. Please get back to us when the experience extends beyond three years plus the vehicle you "had before". Maybe three or four decades of "had before" experience and vehicles. Just sayin.

 

I had the list previously made when I was wondering how many trips I had done in my truck a couple months ago, so no, I didnt go out of my way to make that for this thread, it's just a copy and paste for us computer literate people.

 

No need to get butt hurt about someone who can actually provide reference for their experience other than "hunting, fishing, camping" which last I checked wasn't "overlanding" like OP claimed to want to do.

 

And since you brought it up, it was a JKU, not the same vehicle so it doesn't exactly apply when "overlanding" in a Toyota truck, and no, I never had any body damage on it either while "overlanding"

 

Sure. Okay.