Any7Offroad Skidplates

[Singtoe]

It looks like a heavy duty skid. How much does it weigh? It might be a bit over engineered. Brackets over original brackets and how thick everything is.


With all this calculating, I imagine that the could have figure a way to keep the sway bar. Like making the bracket with semi-circle cut outs so it could be bolted over the sway bar clamps or even incorporated a sway bar clamp into the skid plate bracket.


Overall it looks like a really well made product but I imagine that it weighs a few pounds and it will strain the suspension and drivetrain. It would be really cool if it was made out of aluminum...

 

[crazydubman]

The skid plate is 3/16 which is no different than any other skid on the market. I don't feel that it is over engineered at all. All the gussets and additional supports were placed where they needed to be.

When you look at the thin sheetmetal factory crossmembers, and how all the other skid companys just bolt through those, yes the skids are sturdy, but to some extent, they are only as good as what they are mounted too. If there was the option to get a thicker, more solid mount, why would that not be something to add into the design. Plus with wanting no exposed hardware, there was no other way really to attach the skids without another bracket to mount them too.

I didn't actually weigh the pieces when I pulled them off to paint, but I can't imagine them weighing much different than Bud or Savage skids. The crossmembers maybe weight in at another 5-7 lbs total. They are heavy, but I have never weighed a set of bud's or savage plates to compare.

As was stated on the first page, Darren felt that if you were needing full skids, and wheeled enough to fully use them, chances are that the swaybar is no longer installed. Plus, mine was not installed since the first day I got it and so there was no way to build around the factory mounts. At that point, why not add an extra support to the existing mounts to add additional support right behind the steering rack.

Keep in mind that Any7Offroad has been a rock crawling, solid axle, comp buggie company since the beginning. There mind set has always been to build products in a way that ensures that they hold up to any abuse that they may intentionally or un-intentionally be put through.

Darren may be able to alter the mount for a swaybar, if he had a vehicle in hand to build one off of. I am not assuming he will, but you could certainly ask if you really felt that the swaybar needed to stay installed.

Aluminum would no doubt double the price and I can't see most 3rd gen owners shelling out 1300-1500 dollars for a set of skids. I understand that weight is a concern, but at this point, that is not an avenue that I believe they are going to pursue. All skids weight a lot. There is no way around that without getting super expensive.

 

[crazydubman]

Stopped by Any7 yesterday and figured I would bump this up as the skids seem to be gaining traction and orders are coming in. I know a few of us are running them now. Maybe we can get others to post there impressions so far.

 

[TCMach]

Thought I would post up here as I have an Any7 Gas Tank Skid. I had a couple fitment issues but I relayed them to Darren and I dont imagine they will be a problem again. Even with those little changes it took me less than an hour to mount it up.

 

[Hepar]

Is it possible to make the skid without the logo?

 

[NateMob]

[MENTION=82211]TCMach[/MENTION] do you mind sharing with us the small fitment issues you ran into? That is such a stout piece of hardware, i need to make a gas skid purchase soon.

 

[TCMach]

[MENTION=82211]TCMach[/MENTION] do you mind sharing with us the small fitment issues you ran into? That is such a stout piece of hardware, i need to make a gas skid purchase soon.

Sure. Since this skid has all its mounting locations welded on (which I like) as opposed to the Lil' Skips skid which has bolt on mounts (the rear two I believe) the size and location of the mounts has to be exact. Dealing with the tolerances of different 10+ year old trucks probably makes this difficult and its where I believe the issues stem from. On the rear passenger side mount (where the gas tank mount strap is) the skid was a little to tight and actually cut into the strap when we tried to shove it on. The skid does fit very tightly here in order to have maximum driveshaft clearance so its a small issue.

The problem, shown on the gas tank strap


The fix, two cuts with a hacksaw and a crescent wrench bent it enough to clear without issues (yes I repainted it )


The other problem I had was the drivers side front mount. I don't really have an explanation for this one. Maybe they can just incorporate more material into the mount next time because I didnt have enough to enlarge the hole to where it would fit. I don't have a picture but my solution was to chop on the red lines and run the bolt through with a big fender washer. I could probably make a piece of metal and cover more of the mount but I'm happy with it and its definitely not going anywhere.

Chop lines shown in red, approx. size of fender washer shown in yellow. I had not cranked the skid on at this point so the hole was a little closer by the time I tightened everything up but not enough for that bolt to fit in the original hole.


I sent all these pictures to Darren and told him about my fixes so hopefully these problems will be eliminated in future skids!

 

[crazydubman]

Thanks for the detailed explanation TC. I spoke with darren about the problems as well and him and Phil are working to see how to make those little adjustments to the design so it shouldn't be an issue in the future. I will say that mine has been wheeled and flexed pretty substancially so there is a possibility that the original mock up vehicle may not still be in perfect factory spec.

 

[crazydubman]

Is it possible to make the skid without the logo?

Are you talking about the front? I'm sure that darren would be able to accommodate that request. He would be the one to make the call. Shoot him and email or phone call and see.

 

[TCMach]

Thanks for the detailed explanation TC. I spoke with darren about the problems as well and him and Phil are working to see how to make those little adjustments to the design so it shouldn't be an issue in the future. I will say that mine has been wheeled and flexed pretty substancially so there is a possibility that the original mock up vehicle may not still be in perfect factory spec.

No problem. Its a great product and I'm glad I could help out. That is kinda what I was getting at when I said tolerances. I've hit mine, I'm sure you've hit yours. Also maybe back in the day our gas tanks were identical but they have both settled differently over the years. When your making something that fits this tight your bound to run into problems.

 

[crazydubman]

Ill have to check with them because mine is cut down quite a bit lower in that section on the back. I'll check on why the design change there.

 

[TNRunner99]

How tightly do these skids fit up to the tank? Did you notice a better fit with more clearance over stock skid? I like how all the mounts are fixed and no brackets are needed. A side shot of your rig with the skid installed would be nice to see.

 

[crazydubman]

I think when any7 was taking measurements, it sat about 1/2" higher than the stock skid. Without the need for rib supports, it could be tighter to the tank. I don't have a stock skid to compare to anymore but a side shot should help with the relationship to the lower control arm mounts and the crossmember right in front of it. Ill see if I can measure out the drop below the frame as well.

I thought I had a picture form the side in the first post.

I'll see if I can grab a shot from the side later today and post it up.

 

[crazydubman]

I was able to grab a quick picture from the side.



As you can see, it is level with the cross member up front and in line with the lower control arm mount. It creates a flat ramp from the belly skids to the cross member to the skid then on to the control arms. No steps of any kind to hold you up.

Hope that's the shot you were looking for.

 

[TCMach]

I measured mine before and after and I gained a half inch of clearance front and rear.

 

[TNRunner99]

Thanks for the measurement and pic. That was exactly what I was wanting to see. I'm really liking this skip plate.

 

[smkd13]

Love the skid bud. Have they thought about doing just the front? And I love the front end. Awesome

 

[crazydubman]

You can buy the front skid alone. It would extend to past the steering rack. You would need the sway bar crossmember mount as well as the front skid. You could have a stand alone front skid without the belly's if you wanted.

Get a hold of darren and he can break out the pricing for those pieces.

 

[Kraze]

Just wondering if anyone else has tried out the gas tank skid yet and if they got all the fitment issues worked out? I threw some 8 wraps on my 4runner this weekend and my driveshaft was getting very intimate with my stock gas tank skid, even on the street, so it had to go! And now I am in the market for a replacement.

 

[TCMach]

Just wondering if anyone else has tried out the gas tank skid yet and if they got all the fitment issues worked out? I threw some 8 wraps on my 4runner this weekend and my driveshaft was getting very intimate with my stock gas tank skid, even on the street, so it had to go! And now I am in the market for a replacement.

I would be surprised if they hadn't fixed everything yet but don't quote me. Don't let it deter you! Somebody has to be the lab rat

In other news my skid has taken a beating.......... Not. I'm counting the days till I can go wheel and beat this thing up!