TRD Pro Skid plate with 6” Zone lift

Hi All!

I’m a new owner of a 2020 Toyota Tacoma TRD Off Road! I’ve been a lifelong (34 years) Chevy truck owner, however, I decided to get into something that was a little better for the trails and off-road.

That being said, I have a package from AV4 (custom shop owned by Adam Vinatieri) straight from Toyota. The package has the 6” zone lift. I see the skid plate for the front diff, but I was curious if I can still install the TRD pro skid plate as well? Should I look for something else?

I want to get the truck completely ready for off-road, would hate to tear something up. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thank you in advance, ready to see what these trucks can do!

 

TRD skid plate will not work with 6" drop bracket lift.

 

Do I need another skid plate or is the one provided with the lift sufficient? I’ve never been into off roading (had lifted trucks, but it was all show and no go).

 

Thank you for the heads up. Everything I’ve read has been pretty positive about zone lifts, but I’m a novice at best with lifts. I do want to get into off roading as a hobby but obviously don’t want to tear my truck up too much

 

The biggest thing with drop bracket lifts is don't offroad quickly. They are pretty tough but if you slam into a stationary rock the front end is "weaker" overall.

I've seen trucks written off due to the inherent weakness of the trailing arms and the cut in the frame. One tundra one tacoma.

Most people don't offroad Tacomas like trophy trucks anyway.

I would encourage using the size of the tire, and lo range with the locker to do the work.

Definitely deflate when offroading and you'll kick the snot out of many trucks.

 

Don't believe what you read on zone lifts being good. Cheap lift's in my book. I have had them in past on other trucks. (young and foolish, then) If you want a decent/good 6" lift look at BDS. I wouldn't do a 6" lift. As whatstcp said everything gets dropped down (front axle) You cut factory cross member out and new lowered one goes in. You sure you want to cut you frame out? on your new truck......

 

Thanks for the insight! I definitely don’t plan on going crazy, want to start with easier trails that are dirt, mud, and maybe some moderate climbing. Don’t want to get into real rock crawling until I know I’m not going to flip the truck lol. The one thing I don’t want to do it damage things when it can be avoided obviously. Off roading has its risks but I would rather not pay the price for being stupid and ask the questions up front. Humility goes a long way and can save a lot of money!

 

Should have gotten something without that life then...

 

The lift was installed by a shop that partnered with Toyota and if fully warrantied through Toyota as well. I had a 6” BDM lift on my Sierra and it was solid. They are owned by the same company, correct? From my research the quality is very similar. The cutting of the frame is something I didn’t know about and I’ll have to do some more research on, thank you for the feedback, I have some digging to do!

 

Florida muddin' videos terrify me, you guys get monster trucks stuck in your own back yards!

I love mud, but I don't want it coming up past my gum boots.

 

I don’t know what would be worse, breaking the front end on a truck or filling it with mud lol. I’m starting small, see how it goes from there. I’m definitely not going in first either, I’ll let the Jeeps and guys in bigger trucks test the waters

 

I guess, I didn't read very close, didn't realize you already had lift on truck. It's Friday a few Shiner Bocks already downed.

 

My very first time out, the lead truck promised to take it easy.

He hooked a left 2 minutes in, directly into a river, broke an axle and lost 4WD, had to recover him in a moving river.

I just wanted to get my tires dirty haha.

 

That sounds about right for some of these guys down in Florida. I’m originally from Indiana and didn’t think Florida would have as many lifted trucks. Man, I’ve never been more wrong in my life.

 

I have a 4.5 drop bracket lift with 35s it’s more than sufficient. I can go 40+ over sand and dirt no problem and it’s smooth. Most people that talk sh*t about drop Bracket lifts never have had one or their experience is from their dads 1990 pick up.

 

Good to hear that, it’s my fun vehicle at this point, but still doesn’t mean I want to beat the hell out of it lol. Where at in Florida are you located at (edit: nevermind, I see orlando). I’ve been looking into some trails to hit, any suggestions on the west side of the state?

 

Yeah, you can no longer run the TRD Skid plate unfortunately. Is that a problem? No, not in my book. Usually the supplied skid plate with these DB lifts is pretty good and stout. Although, I cannot speak to Zone's supplied skid specifically because I have never ran Zone.

The company seems great and I actually am considering running the exact kit you have on my 2018 TRD Sport 4x4 double cab short bed (DCSB).

I can't decide if I want a 3" lift for fast off-road performance or if I want a 6" lift for asthetics and light to moderate offroading. I have ran both types of kits in the past.

You like Zone?

Also, don't let anyone tell you DB lifts can't off-road... Spend a couple hours on an FJ forum and check out what those guys do with a 6" Rough Country lift. LOL They beat the crap out of them.

You'll most likely be fine on the skid plate that came with your kit, I wouldn't even think about it until you start to see it getting seriously warn (which most people will never see in their ownership of these trucks). I've lived by the "Don't fix it if it isn't broken." Thing for a long time.

Happy holidays! If you have any questions I am here, and I've been doing this for years.

 

Thank you for the encouragement! I’m excited to see what my truck can do. I’ll look into other things before another skid plate then. Maybe a bumper that doesn’t require a lot of modification and that can house a winch?

 

I agree 100% with this. Don’t fix it if it ain’t broken. Get some offroad miles on it and you will know if you need more or better skids or anything else for that matter.

The diff, trans, and transfer case is tucked up higher than the frame. The trans cross member is also in the perfect spot. Before I had skids there were several times I dropped off a ledge the was too high and landed on that cross member instead of anything important

I would suggest rock sliders before any other armor

 

They probably partnered with the dealership, not Toyota itself. And I'd be willing to bet another dealer wouldn't warranty it. You may want to read the fine print.