What have you done to your Tacoma today? 1st Gen Edition

RAT just dropped off a set of his 1/8" skids. They're already sanded, cleaned and hung up for paint. Will post pics when complete.

I kept debating between these and 3/16" but after seeing just how beefy they are, I'm glad I saving the weight by going with these skids.

 

With as bent up as my 3/16s is. I'd never even consider 1/8'

 

x2.

My belly protection now is 1/4" 4130 plate.

 

X2 yup 1/8 is on the thin side for skids. Good luck with that. Mine are also 3/16.

 

Good to know, I'm gonna be in the market soon!

 

He's attempting a lightweight build. Which is workable but going to need work on trail skills and tempering expectations and possibly a separate bank account for fixing/replacing skids and whatever body work when mistakes are made.

 

Doubt it'll be much better than stock skids though. Best bet is to reinforce it with some angle iron or something before painting/mounting them. If it was my truck and saving weight was a primary concern, I'd beef up the belly and sliders, and skip any steel bumpers.

This was my 3/16"s armor

 

This may be the case but can you really call your truck a Tacoma? It really a custom build using some Tacoma parts.

I understand that thicker means more protection. However, I'm trying very hard to stay as light as possible. 1/8" is still far superior to OEM and the dents add character. Plus, a dent in a steel skid is better than a cracked aluminum transmission or t-case.

 

That photo of Jon's skid is pre cut apart. When it was still an actual tacoma

 

Fair enough. If it's all about weight without trail use he should consider aluminum skids. And have beefer ones for trail runs. But hey it's his dollar. As long as he's happy how it looks.

 

My belly protection is 0.00" and no issues to date. Just have to watch my lines. Thinking maybe in August of getting the belly skid to complement my BudBuilt IFS skid but there's another 50lbs of added weight.

When I do, I'm definitely adding some angle iron to give it better rigidity.

I'm also looking into clocking the T-case but trying to find more information on how it changes the lubrication flow.

 

or, better yet, skids take 5 min to take on/off.

whenever you're just dicking around town take your skids off. when you plan on going wheeling, put your skids on.

that way you aren't carrying around extra weight in town, but you actually have something that will protect your shit.


Like 45acp I bent the shit out of my belly skid, +1 on reinforcing them now when they're straight.

 

Get luck getting them to line up after a few good uses....

 

My truck isn't a mall crawler, but isn'a rock buggy either. Its a DD that I'm building to take me where I want to go on the trails. So far, the only thing that has stopped me is ground clearance. Some of that was taken care of with the lift, the rest will be done with tires.

As I'm currently sitting on 30's, I know I won't be able to follow someone running 35's. IMO, skids aren't there to be used as a pivot point but there to protect the undercarriage if a tire slips or if you miss your line.

Now, sliders are slightly different. I've used them to bump steer around rocks and trees but their primary purpose is to protect the rockers if you come down too close to a rock.

Bottom line is that this project is to make it every bit as capable as other trail rigs but do it as light as possible. I have to make trade-offs but I don't see these skids as a negative trade-off.

 

This is true. It does get progressively more dificult to get everything to line up the more you abuse the skids.

Just imagine how much more this will be so with 1/8" metal. I guess the good news is, it'll be that much easier to hammer back flat when it does get crumpled.

 

Never had problems with my bud's but they have built in wiggle room...but I never used the tiny bolt right by the LCAs. But thats why you reinforce them now.

 

I knew you'd show up

 

To each, their own. I'm just glad there are such choices to be made.

 

Ahhh I got 34 mpg on my last tank in the corolla

 

Oh no you di'in't!