Aftermarket Fuel Tank Skid

[smallfry]

I don't know if I'm just not using the right search criteria so I'm not able to find the answer to my question but who is running an aftermarket fuel tank skid (Shrockworks, RCI, Budbuilt or other) and if there is any compatibility/clearance issues between the different skid plates?

Example - running full RCI skid plates and then a Budbuilt fuel tank skid?

 

[BLACK-FL4RUNNER]

I got the one from C4Fab and love it!
None of the gas tank skids will interfere with engine/trans skids from other manufacturers.

 

[Jhalko]

I don't know if I'm just not using the right search criteria so I'm not able to find the answer to my question but who is running an aftermarket fuel tank skid (Shrockworks, RCI, Budbuilt or other) and if there is any compatibility/clearance issues between the different skid plates?

Example - running full RCI skid plates and then a Budbuilt fuel tank skid?

You don't find much as most folks probably stuck with the same brand. As mentioned above it wouldn't be the engine and trans skids that have issues, possible transfer case skids could. Usually it's certain brands of sliders that may not fit with gas skids. If you search for that you will find a few issues.

 

[BobsTrail]

After you find one that will be compatible, make sure you pay up and get one. I do very mild off-road and my stock TE plate has a few scrapes and gouges.
That C4 posted above looks good.

 

[BLACK-FL4RUNNER]

Yes. The gas tank skid is the first skid anyone should buy.

My stock one was crushed into the gas tank, and I had only done mild offroading. The tank is just in the worst spot, and hangs down too low IMHO.

The C4Fab looked the beefiest, with gusseted sides all the way around, and just looks the coolest too! lol

 

[wild_turkey]

Plus 1 for C4Fab

Yes. The gas tank skid is the first skid anyone should buy.

My stock one was crushed into the gas tank, and I had only done mild offroading. The tank is just in the worst spot, and hangs down too low IMHO.

The C4Fab looked the beefiest, with gusseted sides all the way around, and just looks the coolest too! lol

Plus 1 for the @c4fabrication fuel tank skid. After doing my research, I found it to be the best standalone fuel tank skid design.

The sliders are badass as well.

 

[wfo9]

The C4 looks good and strong... But also consider the weight. This will probably be the heaviest skid on your truck next to sliders.

Mine is aluminum and is pretty beat up, but I work my truck much harder than most offroad. Its doing its job just fine so far, although it does have some good gashes and a few mild bends in it.

Sprung weight is the number one enemy of these portly pigs. It adds up quickly and destroys your offroad capability.

Only reason I bring it up is that most don't give weight much thought and then they wonder why their 4r performs so poorly compared to jeeps in extreme conditions. I have a friend who had a really nice 5th gen 4r and recently moved over to a JKU. He loves the JKU compared to his 4r. But I think some of that is because he had the 4r built up with so much armor (bumpers, tire carriers, RTT.....) and absolutely nothing to offset all that weight (tires). Now he pulls most of that stuff on a trailer with his JKU. So he's wheeling a a much lighter weight rig on 35s (totally different ball game). Plus the JKs just have fantastic offroad potential from the start...

Anyway, I think it is good to keep the weaknesses of your rig in mind when choosing parts. There is no perfect choice.

 

[BobsTrail]

these portly pigs.

That's a terrible way to describe our fat 4Runners, but it is accurate. I also like/didslike "the aerodynamics of a brick". Again accurate but ----

 

[smallfry]

I'm trying to stick to aluminum if possible to keep weight down on my 4runner. My 3rd gen had all steel plates and they were heavy and akward to move for a smallfry, hahaha.

I've got a call in Budbuilt to see if they can do anything.

 

[STX4Runner]

Just got the C4 skid and haven't wheeled it yet but it should be good. I'm one of the few that has multiple brands of skids. Front, transmission, t-case and rear lower link bracket skids by RIC, C4 fuel tank and BudBuilt diff skid. The C4 had to be notched to clear the RCI lower link bracket skid, but other than that, it's fine. No interference with my RockyRoad sliders either.

I originally had an RCI fuel tank skid, but beat it up pretty good off roading here in Texas last summer and then pretty much destroyed it in Moab in October on Golden Spike. I'm not here to bad mouth RCI at all, their other skids have been fine, but the fuel tank skid does not have fully folded or reinforced edges and that was its downfall, as it crumpled on the leading edge and tore in the front driver's side corner.

 

[Vulgarian]

I'm trying to stick to aluminum if possible to keep weight down on my 4runner. My 3rd gen had all steel plates and they were heavy and akward to move for a smallfry, hahaha.

I've got a call in Budbuilt to see if they can do anything.

I hear ya, I'm going all aluminum too. And if I ever do a front or rear bumper, those will be aluminum as well. I certainly don't want to pay the weight penalty of close to 500 pounds or more for all that steel.

 

[4Rager]

Just got the C4 skid and haven't wheeled it yet but it should be good. I'm one of the few that has multiple brands of skids. Front, transmission, t-case and rear lower link bracket skids by RIC, C4 fuel tank and BudBuilt diff skid. The C4 had to be notched to clear the RCI lower link bracket skid, but other than that, its fine. No interference with my RockyRoad sliders either.

I originally had an RCI fuel tank skid, but beat it up pretty good off roading here in Texas last summer and then pretty much destroyed it in Moab in October on Golden Spike. I'm not here to bad mouth RCI at all, their other skids have been fine, but the fuel tank skid does not have fully folded or reinforced edges and that was its downfall, as it crumpled on the leading edge and tore in the front driver's side corner.

There aren't many designated or rated (for difficulty) OHV trails around here, and scraping your skids is pretty rare. Do the trails in Moab and the ones you mentioned in Texas have sections where even when taking the ideal line you're pretty much guaranteed to slide on the skids a bit? The only times I've ever hit mine are when I should have known better I went over a rock that I should have tried to avoid, but there's very rarely a squeeze or something that would force you to take a specific line and potentially scrape.

 

[wfo9]

There aren't many designated or rated (for difficulty) OHV trails around here, and scraping your skids is pretty rare. Do the trails in Moab and the ones you mentioned in Texas have sections where even when taking the ideal line you're pretty much guaranteed to slide on the skids a bit? The only times I've ever hit mine are when I should have known better I went over a rock that I should have tried to avoid, but there's very rarely a squeeze or something that would force you to take a specific line and potentially scrape.

It all depends on what trails you do... It's almost impossible to do difficult trails and not bang on the skids some, but a super skilled driver familiar with the trail can often find that magical line and not touch anything. Difficult trails usually require that you go looking for trouble.... There is almost always an alternative trail or simply and easier place to go. There is also a big difference between sliding and dropping full weight. Any full weight type drop will make you jump as you feel the force travel through the frame. It's a very unnerving feeling no matter how much protection you have.

If you have all 4 tires on the ground, the hit will be more of a slide. Travel is key here. If you are high centered... with no tires on the ground.. all the weight is on the skids and they will probably deform if it is a sharp rock. I see them as something that may need to be replaced over time, and it really depends on the individuals style of wheeling.... Every single situation is different.....

 

[STX4Runner]

There aren't many designated or rated (for difficulty) OHV trails around here, and scraping your skids is pretty rare. Do the trails in Moab and the ones you mentioned in Texas have sections where even when taking the ideal line you're pretty much guaranteed to slide on the skids a bit? The only times I've ever hit mine are when I should have known better I went over a rock that I should have tried to avoid, but there's very rarely a squeeze or something that would force you to take a specific line and potentially scrape.

Yeah, the trails I've done here and in Utah are pretty rocky and rough. I don't go blasting through without a care because I think the skids will protect me, it's just hard to avoid hitting them. Plus I have smaller tires and a smaller lift than a lot of people on here. The gas tank hangs down pretty low and the wheelbase of the 4runner is kinda long.

 

[smallfry]

I think I'm leaning towards the Shrockworks fuel tank skid after some discussions and searching (what I could find on this board).

 

[4Running303]

Hey [MENTION=10182]smallfry[/MENTION] , I see you're in the Springs...have you looked at Hefty Fab? They are in the springs and build full skids in aluminum (as well as front and rear bumpers in aluminum. I came from jeeps and steel everything, and like other posters here have said, the T4R's get very heavy fairly quickly with mods. Because of that and the fairly mild wheeling i do, mainly just trails to get to fishing spots and car camping spots, I'm keeping everything aluminum.

I have full Hefty skids and have their front and rear bumpers in aluminum on order. Check them out...or just swing by their shop and they can probably answer your questions. Chris and his family run a great shop!

I think I'm leaning towards the Shrockworks fuel tank skid after some discussions and searching (what I could find on this board).

 

[Boyds4Runner]

I used the RCI 1/4" Aluminum Gas Tank Skid

When looking at skid plates I wanted to go with lower weight so I went with aluminum. RCI was having discounts and group-buys last year so the pricing, even for aluminum was reasonable.

The only legal place nearby (2 hour drive) for me to go wheeling is very rocky so skids are best friends out here. The aluminum does get deep gauges and bends but still holds up and does its job of protecting vital systems from taking the hit or slide.

The RCI gas tank skid still has a vulnerable spot between the transfer case and the front of the gas tank. A well lined up log or giant branch could technically puncture the gas tank in that area. Although that scenario would be very difficult to "accidentally" happen unless one is really, really clueless to what they are driving on or over.

I think the main "clearance" issue will be the mounting bolt and the rear differential. Keep in mind that the rear diff. will move or rotate from where it is during flexing etc. Most fab shops seem to have taken that into consideration.

In my drive-line picture below I changed the direction of the nut and carriage bolt to the inside so the flat side of the bolt faced outside in order to further ensure clearance near the rear diff.

 

[smallfry]

Took the skidplate to Armorolgy to see if the location for the rear support could be changed to use the factory skid plate mounting hole instead of gas tank support strap.

 

[MAST4R]

Shrockworks gas tank skid

I have RCI 3/16 steel engine, transmission, and transfer case skids, but Shrock gas tank skid and Total Chaos LCA bracket skids to go with Rockmen rLCAs.

I am quite happy with my RCI skids which have taken punishment already but I did not trust the design of their gas tank skid due to the largely unsupported front lip of their plate. So I went with SW.

I like the SW design. It has served me well since the install. I have not hit that skid nearly as much as front and transfer case but the hits have been, as expected, in the front section. The skid has always felt very stout and I hope it will last a long time.

The bad news? Installing this skid was a pain. Probably took me as long as all other skids plus the Shrock sliders combined. Yes, I did fuel the day before install. I know. Wise decision... But the other problem I ran into was the recommended sequence of install. I feel that had I started from the inner gas tank support strap bolt, I would have made it with less pain. But I followed the instructions, which complicated things. Third, I never understood why Shrock supplies stick bolts instead of reusing the factory holes. I drilled holes in the skid plate sidewall that allowed me to reuse the factory holes. Stick bolts? Please.

In comparison, the subsequent Shrock slider installation was a breeze even though one stick bolt took maybe half of the install time.

In sum: I really like the Shrock gas tank skid but watch out for that install process...definitely have the gas tank near empty....

 

[Industrialwrench]

I just installed 4x4labs sliders and will be looking a tank skid that will be compatible. I’m thinking bud Bilt and notching if need be. Anyway while installing the sliders I dropped the tank skid for ease of installing. Lay under the skid on your back remove the support straps by the drive shaft then the frame. It will lower very nicely on your stomach. Not heavy at all. I only removed the skid. I did not lower the tank so I don’t see where fuel quantity in the tank makes any difference.