Full Skid Plates???

BAMF 1/4 steel trio. You do need the exhaust reroute, but definitely worth it. They also make a gas tank skid.

https://www.bayareametalfab.com/2005-2023-Toyota-Tacoma-Skid-Trilogy-_p_71.html

 

+1 for RCI. I have the engine and trans steel skids from them along with a bunch of other gear and they are always great to work with and their products are quality.

They are running a sale right now where you can get between 15-20% off depending how much you spend

 

My passenger side catalytic converter has a ton of clearance from the cat guard but the driver side catalytic converter is thicker and has a type of metal cover over it so it rubs against my cat guard.

 

My RCI plate, 4 years old now, but this is it after 2/3 years with OEM lift and on 33s.

I need to take a new photo... but i'll let these ones talk:


this is the transplate as of a month ago when i drilled and bolted the cat guards.


I will be buying another set of RCI if these ever somehow fail on me.

 

Maybe if you park on top of a nuke. But it seems they survived even what you can do.

 

Wow just looked at that. Crazy. And almost 8 bennies for a gas tank skid. I’ll stick to my steel.

 

I would be curious to see photos. You are making me question if I installed mine right. I was a little surprised how far away from the cats they are.

 

Exactly my experience I’m shocked to see the TRD red letters are still attached to yours - mine got torn off within the first couple times.

Also steel is not invulnerable either. I bashed in the oil drain hole plate and had to order a new one from RCI. But overall happy with the full steel set up including gas tank and A arms even though it comes with a heavy weight penalty

 

When when the adamantium and vibranium models be available?

 

I just beat mine out with a sledge hammer an a log. if i break that plate, i'm just going to weld it into place

 

Hulk Smash!

 

Generally speaking, aluminum is 1/2 as strong as steel but 1/3rd the weight, so a 1/4 “ thick Al skid will not be as strong as a 3/16” steel skid. But may be strong enough depending on what type off roading you want to do.

 

What ever you do, don’t do aluminum and fuck powder coating on anything that’s meant to take an impact. Cheers!

 

That'll work as well

 

Thought about a complete skid plate set-still am! Just one limiting factor:
Max payload 450kg
- 100+ kg for camper shell
- 70-100kg for bed drawer build
- 80kg for steel skid plates
- 20kg for the rubber bed and tailgate mats
- weight of full tank
- …
and I hate diets! But with all the mods I have to drop a few kg to be within the weight limits of the Tacoma…

 

Driver mod! Or just dont care? In NA to my understanding no one checks if you're overweight

Besides, its more of a recommendation than a limit. Safety factors included and all

 

"Max" it's more of a suggestion lol.
Daily driving my truck is about 100lbs over the limit, then on top of that I still use the bed for construction work.
My record is 1800lbs over the max payload. It seems like the suspension is what pays the price for over loading, maybe if you live in the mountains I would worry about brakes too.

 

Well, the sticker says "should not exceed 450kg". Should not means in legal terms must not (relevant when it comes to legal proceedings after an accident). However, one can fool oneself and the cops, but not physics. Everything is laid out for the max weight - brakes, bearings, suspension, tire load, mounting dimensions of suspension to frame... Running through a dip may cause say 2G (understatement). With your 1800lbs over you would add 3600lbs to the components of the car. Let alone that the brakes are not dimensioned to digest the braking energy developed by the extra load resulting in longer brake way-not only in the mountains. Can be the difference between stopping in distance or colliding because one could not!
Safety factor typically is 1.3-1.4. 450kg is 630kg at 1.4.
Just sayin'... Personally, I don't care what others are doing, just raised MY concerns why I am thinking about not installing skid plates and not going off-road where I would really need them. Let's leave it at that!

 

Hooray for blanket statements with no nuance!

Anyways.
Steel = Frequent off-roading where you plan to be dragging it on things a lot.
Aluminum = Insurance policy for overlanding and very infrequent hard off-roading, and when weight is a concern.

Buy the material that matches your use case. Or just buy StEeL bEcAusE StRoNk.

 

for me is a situation of buy once, cry once or in my personal experience build once, cry once. Yes, steel is heavier but will outlast any Al skid in the market. Yes, the main benefit of using Al is weight reduction, no corrosion and looks. At the end of the day we are still free to go either way we want. Just pitching my two cents at something that I wouldn’t want to revisit. Cheers!