Looking for armor suggestions...

So I recently purchased a
2016 Trd 4x4 OR DCSB
And I'm looking for armor . What do y'all suggest? Steel vs aluminum and which brands out there are reputable but still affordable.....

 

It's all up to you man, aluminum saves weight and will usually be thicker and more expensive. Steel generally offers more protection. You won't notice huge price gaps between the vendors. Ideally you would go sliders, skids, front and rear bumpers. I'll be going with @Pelfreybilt or @RelentlessFab but there's tons of good options

 

Where are you located? Sometimes you can get things like that locally better/custom etc. Would go steel IMO just for ease of repair/cost. Front/rear bumper, sliders, skids at the minimum.

 

Well, not really. My aluminum BudBuilts will take a lot of abuse short of violently high-centering the truck on a pointy boulder, and even if this killed a plate I bet it would still protect what's under it based on how they are mounted. Unless you expect to rock crawl, steel may be overkill and cost performance and fuel. I got the full 5 piece kit and it weighs about 90 pounds. The equivalent steel kit was almost 200 pounds. You also have to paint steel and fix scratches or they rust and look like shit. I just hit my aluminum skids with a 200-grit sanding disk and put them on. Done.

As for bumpers, I like the Pronghorn approach. Aluminum engineered to be as strong as steel, and modular for flexibility and ease of repair. Ugly, but cool. Some of the traditional plate bumpers are also available in aluminum, but I think they are more designed to look like the steel ones than to perform like them. Pronghorn doesn't offer a rear bumper yet, but I can't wait to see what they come up with.

Sliders are a different story. Steel is a must. I'm going with the Mobtown bolt-ons. They have the only no-drill bolt-on that can take the same abuse as weld-ons.

Anyway, my approach is all around performance, and flexibility. Aluminum where is makes sense and steel where no lighter alternative will work. Since I drive my truck every day and don't wheel at the extreme end of things this works for me.

 

Easy is relative.

 

Aluminum can be MIG welded. Not really advised to do on anything under 14 ga. Either way, it still welds very different than mild still and in the end, you still need skills to weld it strong and look good.

 

That part is very true. It is so soft, doesn't take but a rock with one fairly pointed edge.

 

We would love to earn your business. Let me know if you have any questions about our products

 

This - I went with Aluminum for the weight savings because I mostly want protection from an errant deer crossing the road or if my wife runs my truck in the ditch when it's snowing outside.

 

Kinda a dumb question I just bought my first yota last night got the 16 Tacoma sr5 the question is does the gen2 Tacoma bumpers and lifts work on the gen3 Tacoma been on a few of the sites they just say 2005+ but wasn't sure if they have updated there pages

 

Congratulations on your new Tacoma! Not a dumb question at all! We currently offer skid plates for the 2016 Tacoma. We have the rear & front bumpers as well as the skid plates in the prototype phase & will be releasing the rear bumper & sliders first, then the front bumper. If you're willing to wait, we would love to earn your business, but there definitely are other companies who have the bumpers available now-you just have to shop around

 

I will check them out thanks for the help I noticed in your skid plate pic the suspension is total chaos so im guessing the suspension kits are the same

 

Certainly impressed with your Gen 2 products and eagerly waiting to see what you come out with for the Gen 3. Any timeline prediction on when you will be offering Gen 3 products?

 

We plan to begin releasing in January & February

 

Perfect. Thanks for the quick reply!