What skid plates/trail armor do I need.

I have been looking and cannot seem to find solid information on what trail armor is really needed. I know the ifs skid is usually good if you go offroad but past that what do you need to be doing before you need more armor?

 

I splurged on a full set of skids. The best piece of mind is being over-prepared. (Eagle scout here )

Buy once, cry once.

EDIT: here's my list:

Avid Off-Road Sliders w/Kickout
B.A.M.F LCA skids
Pelfreybilt IFS skid
Pelfreybilt Mid skid
Pelfreybilt Transfer Case skid
Pelfreybilt Gas Tank skid
Custom NWiFAB Diff Armor plate
All-Pro E-Locker "Skid"

 

I would say an IFS and rock sliders are a must. In addition a transmission and transfercase would be nice.

I also have a gas tank, rear diff, and LCAs

 

A full set is the cheapest way to go. Relentless and budbuilt make a nice set. I broke a set of allpro skids.

Im over prepared too. (Must be an eagle scout thing)

 

Rocksliders are an absolute must if you do any sort of rock crawling.

 

Shop around, there are plenty of good ones to choose from.

As far as skid plates are concerned: It's better to have them and not need them, than to need them and not have them.

 

Usually my rationale when dropping some coin on my rig

 

It can get expensive fast without them.

 

This.


I just got my pair of Avid sliders w/kickout welded on and they are perfect. I hope I never have to use them, but I have full confidence in them.

 

You don't tell us how you use your rig or where you go.

The best armor is good judgement and a well developed sense of caution and restraint.

"I won't go there now. I'll turn around. I'll come back when I'm better prepared."

Without that - you can find a way to break something no matter how much protection you've added to your rig.

Nobody needs bumpers, sliders, and skids for a fire road.

The first thing to add is usually sliders, for two reasons:

1. Rocker panels are both vulnerable and expensive. As you start learning to "put a wheel on it" for large obstacles you can't simply roll over, the first thing you'll expose is your rocker panels.

2. For both changing flats and to get un stuck, you need a place to apply a high lift jack. A high lift jack won't work on a stock Tacoma body without bending/breaking something. (You can use a wheel adapter, but then you can't change the wheel because it's your lift point.) Sliders work very well as high lift jack points.

After that, if you're still wheeling and you've found places where you turned around rather than risk undercarriage damage - IFS/Transmission/transfer case skids.

After that, high clearance rear bumper. (By then, you've probably slammed your exhaust pipe into the bottom of your passenger rear fender, denting it.)

After that, armored front bumper.

Two cents, adjusted for inflation. Your mileage may vary and objects in mirror are smaller than they appear.

 

Damn I did that in reverse order. First rear high clearance bumper, than IFS/MID skid, next will be sliders, if I decide to get them.

 

First thing I bought was a front bumper with a winch. I did this because I wanted to be able to get myself unstuck easier since I typically travel alone. This last weekend I did my first real trail with obstacles. It still was a relatively easy trail compared to what most people do and thanks to some good spotting there was no damage to our vehicle. That being said, I would have died to have skids for the piece of mind they offer. Sliders wouldn't have helped anything on this trail but a high clearance rear bumper would have helped in few spots. My front bumper helped in a few areas due to approach angles.