RCI Armor: Round 3!

Ran an RCI front skid plate on my 2016 Tacoma, ran an RCI front skid to transfer case/crossmember armor on my 2019 T4R. Now I've done it again.

Honestly, I love aluminum armor so much, its light, I don't have to worry about it rusting, I like the look, and I've bashed the hell out of it and am pleasantly surprised with its durability. I'm surprised other vendors don't embrace it.

 

Couldn't agree more. I run their skids and lower link armor on both of our FJ's, they rock.

 

RCI great skids. Steel for me

 

Full skid package also gas tank skid. Diff skid is on the way. Great lead times period.

 

I’ve been thinking about going this route too because these I’m not doing anything beyond overlanding.....if that.

1-so you have the front mid and rear skids? .....do they all overlap?

2-are you going to get the gas tank skid?

3-is it a hassle to change the oil filter?

Thanks!

 

I'll answer these as I have the full steel package.

Yes they all line up together without any gaps.

I did get the gas & diff skid as well. However the gas tank is tucked up much higher than everything else, so probably a low chance of something impacting it, but makes me feel better as there are a ton of rocks where I live.

Removable plate makes it fairly easy to change oil. Also that plate is replaceable as I found out since I bashed it in within a week of owning it. They keep extra ones in stock and quick shipping.

I went steel as I destroyed the stock one right away. Next I got the TRD pro one with the fancy red lettering. You can tell the people that still have the red letters attached don't do any real offroading, because that shit gets ripped off pretty damn quick. Ended up destroying the TRD one as well, hence why I went to all steel.

 

1- Just have front at the moment. It covers the front diff and the oil pan. Much better than the stock sheet metal. I will consider getting the transfer case skid and crossmember as I had that on the T4r and the design is extremely similar. Yes, they do overlap slightly. They share mounting bolts.

2- Definitely considering getting the gas tank skid or possibly fabricating my own. There's a guy on YouTube who did a great video on how to rig one up.

3- Not really. There is an access hatch. Although, I'll admit I never had to do it myself, but the dealer never complained.

 

Thanks for that detail, very helpful!!

I forgot to ask about the exhaust reroute...does it help to cut the pipe?

Also I’m guessing that the trd aluminum is more of a nice looking splash plate as opposed to a 1/4” skid...?

 

My off-road has a gas tank skid....but I’m guessing it’s more of a splash plate like the front oem one.

It looks like the gas skid will fit my OR.

 

Yes I had the exhaust reroute done, definitely gives you more clearance and I'd highly recommend it. After looking at it, seems pretty retarded the way they routed it on an 'off road' vehicle.

Definitely the TRD skid is the nicest looking one out there. It did its job, but I mangled it to the point where I couldn't get the oil access plate off, and had a hard time removing it from the vehicle. I would suggest going steel on at least the front skid

 

What’d the reroute cost?
....just any local shop do it?


I’m wondering what the difference is between the rci gas tank skid vs the trd off-road oem skid.

 

Yea any exhaust shop can do it. Just search the threads on here and show them a picture of one that's already done. I ended up paying $150 because I had them weld a heat shield to it, but otherwise it would have cost $100.

The RCI gas tank skid is much more substantial vs the oem (which is basically a very thin sheet) Again though its tucked up pretty high so up to you whether its worth the cost/weight to go there. Was for me as I deal with lots of rocks out here in the desert that love to rip apart the underbelly.

 

Cool. I’ll do that.

Was your heat shield for the spare tire?
I have 255s and it’s pretty close now.

 

No its for the transfer case actuator that is in a plastic housing (see pic below)

Exhaust guy said it wasn't necessary, but I did it for peace of mind

 

Got it, thanks so much for that...appreciate it.