Rubicon Trip Report - AND Minimalist Rear Bumper Protection (Bolt On)

Jetboy

Jetboy

New member
I'm headed to run the Rubicon tomorrow - and I had been planning some extra skid protection. Mostly the rear bumper is the primary spot. I also built a transmission skid and upgraded the OEM gas tank skid (I just cut the same pattern in 10 guage steel plate and welded it to the OEM gas tank skid (about 30 spot welds), then drilled the drain holes. It's not pretty - but it'll be functional. I only had 1 day to build all of these skids.

So... long winded intro, but this is what I came up with in about 4-5 hours. Bolts on to existing anchor locations plus two more locations approx 18 further forward on the lower frame rail. Protects the OEM exhaust location well (I don't like side exit because I've already ripped off both mud flaps and teh bottom of each side bumper have taken abuse already. A side exit would have a very short lifespan on my 4runner. The rear exist already is there, and IMO is easier to protect.

My intention is to add one final plate that will cover the spare tire all the way to the bar in the middle with a cutout for the trailer hitch, but I ran out of time. And I didn't have my CNC Plasma table setup, so this was all done by hand. Just a time problem. When I get some time I'll add the plate. It'll be a bolt on addition that goes on after you install the other portion. IT should take about 15 minutes to install and remove. I probably will not leave it on for daily driving.
 

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Looks great! I've actually been looking for some bolt on rear bumper protection products. Not a lot of options out there for 5th gens.
 
could have used this the other day, tore off my rear valance and messed up tow connector. Looks good!
 
mwray8909 said:
And you will be producing this when????

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Lets see how it holds up this week. I'm not sure there's enough structure to withstand heavy abuse on the corners. It'll lift with a jack okay, but when it drops onto a rock I'm not sure it won't fail.

I don't really have any intention of building parts for sale. I just don't have the facilities to build production parts. One off would by WAY too expensive. You'd laugh me out of the room if I told you these would cost $1,000 each. And I probably wouldn't want to build them one-off for less than that. If I had a shop I could build 20 or 50 at a time, I could probably do it pretty cheaply. I think $300ish uncoated with the middle filler plate could be do-able, but without pricing a full production run, I just don't know. When I get back if someone's really interested I'll see what it would take to design a 4 piece bolt together part rather than a single piece - so I can ship cheaply - and kinda price it out to see.

If it fails - well... there's a reason there are a lot of full replacement bumpers. Without cutting into the OEM bumper for more mounting locations it's just pretty hard to design around the leverage that you get out at the corner of the bumper.
 
mouse007 said:
Looks good..!!! Best of luck on the Rubicon Trail, that's one on my bucket list. Will you be doing a trip report..?
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For sure. I'm bringing a little drone to shoot some video too, but since I'm going alone I'm not sure how much opportunity I'll have to get out and take pics/video while on the trail. My buddy had some work come up and can't go. I'll do what I can without holding up the group.
 
Jetboy said:
For sure. I'm bringing a little drone to shoot some video too, but since I'm going alone I'm not sure how much opportunity I'll have to get out and take pics/video while on the trail. My buddy had some work come up and can't go. I'll do what I can without holding up the group.
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No offense but I hope you are joking about running the Rubicon with a stock 4runner with highway tires and a tack on rear brush guard. I've driven on the trails surrounding the Rubicon and they'e chewed up my armor and tires really good. FYI, those trails are exponentially easier than what you will be hitting.
 
Xtremluck said:
No offense but I hope you are joking about running the Rubicon with a stock 4runner with highway tires and a tack on rear brush guard. I've driven on the trails surrounding the Rubicon and they'e chewed up my armor and tires really good. FYI, those trails are exponentially easier than what you will be hitting.
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We'll find out soon enough. Toyota already did it in a stock 4runner. I don't think it'll be as bad as you think. Many stock tacomas have done it. I've been doing this a long time. And being a competent driver goes a long way. If you want to join - we'll be at the Loon trailhead Wed. morning at 7am.

(It's a far cry from off the shelf brush guards - It's basically pretty close to your metal tech sliders. 1.5" Sch 40 pipe (pipe is my preference for sliders due to it's hardness - IMO it's a better material than mechanical tube for that function) and 1.5 x .120 DOM for the supports, plus 10ga plate in the webs, and 1/4" x 3 angle bolted to the frame - the frame will fail long before the main support beams. The outer corners should deflect around 0.5" inch at 5,000lbs of point load, but it's hard to estimate the max force of a hard drop. Sometimes testing in the wild is the best way to find out!)
 
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Jetboy said:
We'll find out soon enough. Toyota already did it in a stock 4runner. I don't think it'll be as bad as you think. Many stock tacomas have done it. I've been doing this a long time. And being a competent driver goes a long way. If you want to join - we'll be at the Loon trailhead Wed. morning at 7am.
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You must be a much better driver than me :) I like my truck too much but good luck. Please post pics of the aftermath!
 
I like it, ought to help. You going to nix or trim the mud flaps before you go? What about a skid for the exhaust crossover pipe? Kudos to you for taking on the Rubicon in a stockish 4Runner, look forward to seeing a trip report!
 
I like it, I agree with the durability of the side pieces but let us know how it goes. my rear valence had enough and did not survive the last Moab trip.
 
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