Armor Priority

My truck was recently in the body shop for a new driver's side door which was buckled beyond repair. Luckily there was no frame damage and no one was hurt. (Let's my truck went for a drive without me)

That got me thinking. This is my daily driver and the family RV. I need to do what I can to protect the investment. The body shop guy told me to call my insurance company and get a quote for a stated policy. I'd do that, but I've also been thinking about limiting trail damage.
I bought my truck for short duration over landing. It is not a rock crawler, but I do spend alot of time on easy to moderate trails. My armor is currently stock TRD OR.

Here is my idea for armor priority to save the investment:

1. Sliders, not to expensive and could save a very expensive repair bill. I'll get the kick outs mainly to stand on for access to my RTT.
   
2. If you live in big deer country like the midwest and drive at dawn or dusk, a steel front bumper with bull bars. One hit from those deer and your truck is totaled.
3. Fuel tank protection. $200, and worth not dumping your fuel on the ground, but how likley is that really?
   
4. High clearance back bumper. I see lots of corner caps getting ripped out online.

I think I get sliders first, and maybe fuel tank armor this year and wait a year for a front bumper.

You can pick up to 4 items on the poll, or better yet, give us your priority list and even more useful, give your reasoning.

-Chris.

 

Sliders and skids is what I would say.

 

I prefer a custom AR-15.

G.

 

Sliders I would argue are the most effective armor and best value.

I don't live in deer country. I would get a high clearance rear bumper before front bumper. The amount of clearance you gain by getting that hitch up and departure angle is massive. Front bumper approach is good with aftermarket stuff but I find less so.

 

I always have a thought that someone will rear end me one day......

 

Also, from my understanding, ARB bumpers can handle a hit from a kangaroo. Read that on here a while back. Freaking Australia man. May want to look into one of those in regards to deer.

 

Garage the truck. Lease a daily driver.

 

My vote is sliders don’t wanna ding that pretty new door plus you’ve already got a paper plate thin skid setup.
Save up and get skids all at once makes things much easier.

 

IFS skid is a good upgrade too. Probably that and sliders are top 2.

 

If I did that, I'd just end up driving two Tacomas. Then I'd start wishing I bought the daily driver so I could do a few upgrades on that too. Then my wife would take my credit cards away from me...

edit:
...I am spoiled. I want onboard air plumbed to each side on my daily driver from now on.

 

That might be me. Another reason for me to get a good front bumper...

 

Yup, I've seen plenty of videos reporting that. The ARB adds too much length to my truck. I have a silly garage stall, it is a tall door with a high clearance opener set up to be able to have a lift inside, but the stall is really short. I have only about 6" in length to spare. (I know, kind of asking for a joke there) There are plenty of US made bumpers in Al or steel that barely add any length.

 

sliders are winning the vote but I think it really matters where you live. I say that the IFS skid is the lowest thing and you are more likely to hit something there. Not saying you wont impact the sliders or use them as much, I just feel like the IFS would take the first hit, so it should be a priority

 

This



Or sliders.

 

Nice bar work! Can't say I like that tire mount. I've driven in cities where traffic was close enough to knock it off. Clearly that builder was a fan of a strong offense over a good defense. I'd go for more of a mixed offense and defense, but that is just me.

I drove this Hilux for one summer. Who needs sliders when you have the full body roll cage! This was the part of an initiative to reduce roll over fatalities after they realized they were losing 50 employees a year in car crashes, more than any other on the job category of death. We also had to take a multi-day driver training course. We tried to get armed guards on this site for wolf protection, but to no avail. No matter, the wolves didn't kill anyone. We had armed guards when the local security situation dictated it, but that wasn't really that common.


My other Hilux was sadly unmodified due to a lack of local resources. You can't install that which you can't buy.

 

Ready for the boogaloo. Very nice. Now this is a solid upgrade.

 

I hear that. Just know, those most likely won’t do anything against a full grown deer. Although, I could be wrong.

 

I just realized that raw aluminum skid plates are cheaper than powder coated steel (CBI Gen 3). I didn't expect that. For light duty over landing, that would be a good way to increase protection without too much of a weight penalty. I just wish they published the weights so you could see what you are saving. Clearly steel will hold up to scrapes and grinding on rocks better, but Aluminum would be better for a light duty off roader and a daily driver.

 

This. My skids are already bashed up after 9 months of taco ownership. Payed for themselves

 

I think I misinterpreted your statement. When I saw IFS, I was thinking lower control arms. Those don't need protection as they are solid steel and could take a scrape on a rock. Though skids on the control arms would provide protection to the CV's, I don't see much risk as the CV is usually pretty protected by the control arms.

I looked at the world's foremost expert on overlanding (ASPW), also at Ronny Dahl's builds. They would never run IFS and only run live axles, but on their rigs they run a skid plate just below the radiator and that is all since the front axle protects most of the engine soft bits. I've been following ASPW since he was writing offroading books back in 2001 or so. (One of my cherished possessions since my Africa days)

That is when I finally realized what I think you are getting at, since we are running IFS, we need to protect the soft engine bits at the front and skid plates are good for that application. Is that what you meant?

Off topic: I definitely thought long and hard about how to manage an IFS without grenading the CV joints. I'm not an expert, but certainly you have far more trouble with CV's when you install excessive suspension mods that allow longer travel and a shorter turning radius, especially if you don't drop the center diff to compensate for the greater extension. Go full lock at full extension under load and ping. I went with a tame OME lift to avoid going too high or increasing travel in the front. I'm also careful not to crank the wheels to the lock when I am all twisted up. A bit of finger crossing, and I should be good. For me, there are few vehicles I'd want and that is what I have, a Hilux if they still had a live axle up front, a Prado if I had less kids, or the Ineos Grenadier if it ever comes out, and in a 5 door variant (maybe, just maybe). I kind of think that if you want aftermarket upper and lower control arms on your truck, it is time to sell it and buy something with a live front axle. Then write to Toyota R&D and tell them why you sold it.