RCI Aluminum Skid Plate Pics

Can I get some pics of your tacos with the aluminum skids installed (preferably unpainted). Trying to see how they look before I buy.

 

Sorry, I got black powedercoated. Better than nothing though.



They're well constructed plates. Everything fit together tightly. I'd recommend them.

 

Keep in mind that if you off-road over rocks, aluminum plates won’t look pretty for long. Steel is heavy, but the advantages are it costs a lot less (builders are looking at some really expensive price increases if they import it), and more importantly, rocks won’t put deep gouges and dents in them and they make it a lot easier to “slide” over boulders and ledges.

 

Here are my raw aluminum skids, which are really dirty because I never clean them, they are covered in iron ore dust from the iron range here in Minnesota and some oil mess from oil changes. But if I did clean them they would look almost as good as new.
I have engine, trans, and fuel tank skids from RCI. They are fantastic for my use which is light duty off roading and not worrying about them rusting in the harsh Minnesota winters.
I had the old model engine skid plate (which was at around 10 years old) before getting the new model one last year, and the old one besides from a few gouges still looked great when I sold it.

 

I have all the RCI raw aluminum skids with the exception of the TRD engine skid that my truck came with. Here are some random pics that I could dig up per your request:




I’m happy to answer any questions you might have.

 

Not rci but after watching buddies experience with his tundra sliders hard pass on buying anything from them myself.

These are aluminum okx skids.

 

I have RCI and my after the fact complaint is their engine skid (and other manufacturers) factor in a dif drop. You lose an inch of front ground clearance for no reason.

 

I got the full set in aluminum for the exhaust reroute, their cat guards and gas tank skid too.

I didn’t like the way the transfer case r bracket fit, it hangs a little low at the rear of it. Iirc it has one bolt into the frame.

Oddly, lately I’ve been getting some creaking when going over a sizeable bump like a driveway apron.
I loosened them then retightened and the creaking stopped for a little bit.

 

I appreciate all the photos. Helps me visualize everything better before making a decision.

Noted. I don't intend to do any severe offroading over rocks (never say never). I don't think the material prices have hit RCI yet. Last I checked, their aluminum skids were only a little bit more expensive than the steel.

What happened with your buddy's tundra sliders? I currently have the RCI sliders installed on mine.

 

They didn't fit without removing a gas tank support. Everything looked like the cut out was in the wrong spot. All the feed back that was given remove the bracket and leave it off. And getting that feedback alone was difficult. The shop that brought them in stated it was the second set that had fitment issues. RCI offered no resolution so the local shop ended up taking care of him.

No where in the instructions did it mention this step so the co vlusion was either they shipped the wrong part or had an issue with manufacturing and didn't want to rectify the situation.

 

Is the TRD engine skid worth replacing with the RCI aluminum engine skid?

 

I give it a hard ish. If your on a fully stock front bumper i say not so much. The trd skid has solid spacers where all the after market have a bent bracket from what I have seen. So technically the trd one should be stronger overall but with an aftermarket bumper it has an unsightly gap and thr profile on most aftermarket are cleaner and tighter to the frame.

 

I'm assuming you mean the engine crossmember mounting location...RCI uses a section of tube for those two mounting points.

 

I would still stand by that design is alot weaker than the solid spacer.

 

This is what I'm talking about with the RCI...the TRD skid spacer is not solid, it's hollow with a small surface area and a much longer bolt that's more apt to shear.

 

Have you had a pro skid? That's my old one and I am positive they are solid and not hollow.

 

Dang, thanks for pointing that out. I wish I realized this going in. I have an RCI engine skid on and was thinking to myself how much more contact it was making since putting it on. I don't plan on ever doing a diff drop. Does anyone know of a 3rd party skid that doesn't accommodate a drop? I wasn't too keen on the TRD skid but is that the only one that preserves front clearance?

 

One thing a lot of people forget on this site is that a lot of us only have skid plates as insurance for the occasional oopsie. I'm not seeking out rocks, but I need occasional bottom out protection. The aluminum works perfectly for that while preserving some amount of payload vs steel.

Forgive the dirt, I just got in from a trip this morning. Haven't had a chance to clean up yet.

 

I believe the TRD Pro skid does not factor in diff drop because it comes on a no dif drop stock rig. At least on Tundra, no dif drop space per Tinkerer's Adventure.