RCI or TRD Pro skid ?

Lol, the OR's aren't bad in my opinion for stock wheels, they are actually really nice and look good. I just can't leave anything stock. The TRD PRO stock wheels though as lotus said are truly ugly.

 

620$ For all 3 skid plates without tax and shipping seems like a great price!!?? From RCI

 

What's the weight difference between the aluminum and steel?

 

Good question I'm sure a decent amount of savings but what you sacrifice for weight you sacrifice in strength/protection which is the whole point of skids.

 

Mobtown is 580$ No tax or shipping for all 3 they offer now! Just curious what changes to the skids are coming cosmetic or strength maybe both ? What will it do to there pricing i hate having to wait!

 

RCI all 3 skids 3/16 steel 100lbs and 51lbs for aluminum!

 

For any given skid it looks like Aluminum is roughly half the weight.

Seems to me like your use case should dictate the material of your skids. I think of it in Tiers of serious-ness (seriousity?)

The stock ones look like they're basically there to protect from the odd flying road debris. For your average mall crawler, that's probably about all it's ever going to see.

Next up would be aluminum. Aluminum's great advantage is that it is so light. It's disadvantage is that it likes to "tear" and bends more easily. It's still protecting the undercarriage though. For instance this:

is a great example. Yes the skid failed, but you'll notice that it doesn't look like the transmission was harmed. For someone who isn't super serious but likely to see some abuse, it represents a pretty good middle ground. It'll be a "get out of jail free" for one "OH SHIT!" moment, but not to be relied on to take constant bashing.

Steel is the best protecting, but it's also the heaviest. 3/16" is strong. 1/4", you can slide the truck around on rocks all day. On the flip side, you're paying for it in power and MPG.

Given that I'm rolling around in a 2.7 Prerunner, I think Aluminum is probably my best bet. I won't be going the places 4x4s will on average, and so I can save some weight and not pay for it in my commute (which important considering my Taco is my DD)


Also why has no one mentioned pelfreybilt? Or did I just derp and miss it.

 

Couldn't of said it better myself.

 

More strength/integrity for the new mobtown plates is what they told me. If you're planning on really bashing them up you might want to wait and check out their new design and do some more research while you wait

 

Me neither- its about trade offs.

 

Strength mostly and a small cosmetic change to one.

 

I love my RCI skid! Highly recommend! Super strong, shipped in a few days, and install was less than 30 minutes. My full write-up and a ton of photos are here.

 

I cracked my "Pro" aluminum skid one month into ownership of my truck. The truck came with it as a dealer add on I assume.

I was pulled over to the side of the road doing yard work at a large property, moved the truck a bit forward, didn't see a ginormous drain drop off and SNAP. All the body shops I called would not touch aluminum. I straightened it best I could by putting it on the anvil and beating on it, but the material doesn't give too well. My boss eventually fixed the cracked weld but even he commented that it's coated in something that makes the weld process difficult. I took a flap disc to smooth out the weld and repainted the whole thing with Rustoleum titanium paint, color match is close enough.

That said the RCI skid is added to my wish list.