TRD Pro Owners: Keep Factory Front Plate or Go After Market?
 

Question for TRD Pro owners and apologies if a similar thread is out there (searched and did not find one).

I'm looking at either getting a full set of coordinated Al plates for my 4Runner (basically front/engine, transmission, and transfer case) and was wondering if anyone had opinions on the RCI TRD Pro integration option versus some of the other full systems out there. Going Al since I tend to stay out of really bad rocks and drive 15K+ miles a year with this vehicle, so don't want to turn it into a fat pig if I can avoid it.

I'm figuring I can pull the TRD Pro plate and sell it on Craigslist for a good bit, plus I don't like the fact that the TRD Pro plate typically obstructs after market A-arm skids. It does look sweet though :).

Any opinions on keeping the TRD plate versus swapping it out and why? Trying to make sure I'm not missing something logic wise (as I'm leaning towards pulling it out).

My TRD plate took some hits on Imogene. Faired quite well. Although due to the plate being aluminum I have some souvenirs ;)

Souvenirs just meaning gouges and marks? If you had a powder coated steel plate, you would have definitely banged it up also :). Just less chance of them bending on really hard hits.

The TRD plate coverage seems really good and I already have it; thus my thoughts on maybe trying to keep it (good looking also). Only RCI seems to have an integration system at this point for it though, otherwise likely need to pull it off and swap to a full setup (which I am thinking about doing with Victory 4x4).

I've been going through the same dialog myself. My thoughts so far though stem around replacing it all with something AL and either selling the skid on CL or keeping it for trade in time. Same with the silly roof rack.

I've had my 2020 TRD PRO since the middle of January. I've looked at getting the entirety of the undercarriage "armored". From my perspective, it would have to be done all at one time as doing it piecemeal would leave portions of the front unprotected which are currently protected by the factory plate. At least for me I am keeping it factory until I can get the entire bottom done.

I think the biggest benefit of swapping it out would be easier oil changes since most aftermarket plates have openings for the oil filter. Also, just my opinion but I dont feel the need for A-Arm skids. Its just a piece of metal, would rather get cam tab gussets or skids from Marlin Crawler or TC.

Yeah, check out RCI Metalworks though. They actually have a modified (and significantly cheaper) front plate that ties in the TRD front to their transfer case and transmission skids. Saves you a bunch of money in that you don't need to replace the front plate then (which is generally going to run you $300 to $400, maybe a bit more with Al if you powder coat).

I do plan on getting differential and gas tank skids also and am tempted to just match up from one fabricator (since I'm OCD like that).

I have the RCI skids (not a pro) and like the front and transmission but the T-case skid could be improved. I recommend getting the LFD T-case skid, you'll never have rocks hitting the exhaust pipe issue.

I assume the issue with the RCI is the relatively narrow body width?

That's one thing I like about the Victory 4x4 plates. The transfer case skid appears to definitely be a bit burlier.

I had not look at LFD much before; they look nice also. Doesn't seem like they have Al options however other than the front (unless I was missing something).

More like tiny rocks get stuck between the exhaust pipe and the skid. Wasn't clear on that, my bad! The LFD ones have openings. I know they are making an AL version of the front skid, maybe theyll make the rest.

The Victory ones look nice but alittle worried about the mid part as it doesn't seem to gusseted (not sure thats the right term) like the RCI (which also doesnt show it inon the websites photos). Not really an issue though if you arent going over big rock gardens.

EDIT: RCI skid with the reinforcements https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/i...zIcPV&usqp=CAU

I have a TRD skid with the RCI full aluminum kit. Fit is perfect. I prefer the coverage and angle of the TRD skid.

Though I have an ORP with KDSS so I had to do some trimming. In that process I realized how terrible the factory powder coating is, so I had them all blasted and powder coated. Even the powder coater commented on how bad it was.

My only regret is not having them all bead blasted and then clear powder coated instead of gunmetal gray. Then scratches wouldn’t matter and oxidation wouldn’t be an issue either.

FWIW - the TRD Pro skid is pretty decent for an OEM skid. But it's not really up to the task of rock crawling. For your use - it sounds like it's probably just fine. I like the OEM look. But there are some significant strength advantages of a single engine skid that reaches back to the second cross member behind the front differential.

My TRD Pro skid only lasted one trip in the rocks. Granted it was hammered on pretty hard, but it didn't hold up very well. Actually took more damage than the steel skid that my Trail (TRD OR) came with on the same trail.

https://www.toyota-4runner.org/attac...1-1024x768-jpg

It nearly punched through on the two rear mounting locations. This is the place it needs the most reinforcement if you were going to try to make it work in the rocks, I'd find some thick fender washers (large area) to spread the load out on the rear mounting points. Unfortunately my rear mounting points also got bent up as a result. They're just not very strong. That's why the longer single piece engine and differential skid is a lot more durable.
https://www.toyota-4runner.org/attac...1-1024x768-jpg

Jetboy,

Thanks for sharing that. I probably wouldn't put mine through something like that, but tempting to just swap all around seeing how the OEM held up :).

The 5th gen isn't really built to be a rock crawler, so I'd say that the type of abuse on those trails that I damaged it on are not really typical of what you'd normally experience. Just posted mostly to show that if it gets really rough and you're going to the places where you'll be repeatedly dropping on rocks and winching across boulders and such, the TRD Pro skid might not be enough protection. Short of that - the TRD Pro skid is pretty great in terms of light weight, great coverage, oem fit/finish.

It is also important to recognize that it did work in the sense that nothing was damaged behind the skid plate. No mechanical failures. So the skid did it's job. It just wasn't quite strong enough for repeated use in that type of terrain. And - frankly - that's not where you really should be going in a 5th gen with a small lift and tires. It's more of the kind of place where it's appropriate for something like my FJ40. The 4Runner is remarkably capable. It has far exceeded what I expected when I bought it to the point that I end up going way beyond what it really should be used for. It's just not a rock crawler by nature.

If you pull it an can ship it to Nor Cal, I would be interested in buying it. PM me if that could work for you.