Skids - Steel or Aluminum?

Hey guys, just curious what you're running for skids underneath your Taco's. I'm in the early stages of planning an overland build with priority 1 being strength + durability and priority 2 being keeping the overall weight within what the Taco can handle.

Cheers!

 

Aluminum if they are to protect accidental bumps. Steel if you will frequently slide on obstacles with them. The weight difference is significant as is the cost. Both will protect accidental smacks, but aluminum will gouge if you drag it over stuff and steel won't.

 

I think you answered your own question by stating your priorities.

 

aluminum

 

Would it be worthwhile do do a mix of steel and aluminum? Steel for the things that are of absolute importance (ex: gas tank) and aluminum everywhere else (lca's, exhaust, etc)?

 

I don't think so. They offer equal protection and strength really unless you bomb rocky roads at 70 mph. Not like you are going to physically shatter the Al skid. But like I said steel will slide over rocks while aluminum will pick up gouges. The gouged aluminum will still protect the truck though.

Most useful thing you can do regardless is the exhaust cross over reroute to you can have a flat skid there. If you don't do the reroute you can almost guarantee taking a nasty hit there some day.

 

That's fair enough, thanks!

Doing the reroute of the exhaust is high on my list of things to do first off. I'm not planning on it being a desert runner or rock crawler by any means, more so an overlanding/camping rig that will hold up to shuttling and a lot of trails.

 

I had aluminum skids on an off road expeditionary truck that weighed over 8,000 pounds. They never let me down. Good driving and good sense means you will rarely ever need them for anything but a light touch. The difference in weight between aluminum and steel is 2 to 2-1/2 times. That is significant. Weight on any vehicle is a killer when it comes to suspension and drivetrain damage and failure. On an expo vehicle you will need the load carrying capacity of your truck for more important things.

The only time steel is an advantage is if your sole purpose is to bash your truck out rock crawling, or if your approach to every trail is to mash the gas and hope for the best.

Elegant driving is what gets you through unscathed, and the shielding is there for those times when your best judgement and skill falls a bit short.

 

@Subway4X4

 

The nice thing about aluminum skids is how you gain ground clearance when you hit them...

Right @Subway4X4 ?

 

I personally would not waste my money on aluminum skid plates. Where we wheel, they get destroyed. If you don't really need skids, go with aluminum.

 

Last year, I initially headed toward a mid-level "overland" build, so I went with a mild 2" lift (OME 884's/rear AAL's) and lighter weight full aluminum skids: RCI IFS/Trans/T-Case/LCA, Pelfreybilt Gas Tank.

Well, this summer I was introduced to hardcore rock-crawling at the Toyota Takeover at Rausch Creek Off Road Park, PA. It is VERY different from my many years of west coast off-road wheeling experience. I am relatively good at finessing through and around obstacles, knowing where my various undercarriage protrusions are, in relation to rocks/stumps/holes. Well, rockcrawling is indeed very different. You WILL hit rocks, boulders and stumps. You WILL fall into pits and holes. You WILL hit your undercarriage.

Aluminum does NOT suit this kind of off-roading. I left bits and pieces of gouged out aluminum along the trails. LOL. The only thing that was relatively unscathed was my Pelfreybilt Gas Tank Skid. All others pretty much bashed in.

This skid used to be flat.


I've since added an RCI steel Rear Diff and have fully reinforced steel IFS/Tranny/T-Case skids on order from @Mobtown Offroad

And yes, I got my exhaust rerouted to gain a little more clearance.

Good luck with your build!

 

Yes, this. The choice depends on the kind of off-roading you do! Typical "overlanding" aluminum will hold up fine. Racing or rock crawling go steel. I think the OP fits into the aluminum category.

 

As others have stated, if you plan on rock crawling with any frequency you will smash the shit out of aluminium skids. Even my steel skids have some gouges and bends in them. I'd hate to see what they would look like if they were aluminium. lol Wait... just look up at @Subway4X4 's post.

 

For Sale:

Full set of Aluminum Skids.
Lightly used.
Few scratches.
Less than 1 year old.
One owner.

LOL!!!

 

You can build extremely strong and light skids by using a steel frame covered by aluminum plate. The problem with some aluminum skids is that they are just copies of steel skids built from aluminum. The engineering changes when the material changes. The material is not at fault, it is the engineering.

 

This is a fact. I concede that RCI aluminum skids are just copies of the steel versions. Even their steel trans skid is poorly made and not reinforced at all.

I also have fully reinforced Mobtown skids on order. My RCI rear diff and LCA skids are holding up really well though.

Either way, good luck with the build OP!

 

If you plan on buying some in the near future:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/mobtown-skid-plate-2-0-group-buy.467481/

 

Go with steel. You might be able to get away with aluminum, but steel will hold up when you miscalculate and slam it. Besides, adding weight down low will lower your center of gravity, making the truck more stable when driving off camber. I have a lot of weight up high and was happy to offset it a little with steel skids and sliders.

 

I understand saving weight but nothing beats the comfort of having steel. This photo is from a trip that was on mapped roads and we didn't even plan to use 4wd. Photo was taken from where the road was still intact, note the flat dirt on top of the 8 foot diameter pipe. Turning around wasn't an option because we were past the point of no return on gas.