Are factory skids inadequate?

[Rdfish1]

Ive only had my limited for 2 weeks, one of which i was out of town so still getting familar with it. I decided to slide under it while it was still clean amd new to check the under carriage. I was surprised to see what looked like big gaps in protection. The exhaust system is completely exposed as are areas near the front end. Not sure if the limited is different than other 4wd models but i may need to do something to improve the coverage.

I did a quick search to see if this topic has been covered, found a very long thread revitalized but it seemed to be about selling skids

 

[st8rocks]

Adequate? Probably.

It depends what you plan to do in your truck. The Limiteds do have the least amount of protection of all the models. If you are worried about it one cheap and easy upgrade would be using stock Trail skids. That would cover the trans and gas tank. PM me I might know some Trail skids laying around.....

 

[470SNC]

Depends on what kind of offroading you're doing really, the stock skids will take a few good hits but after that, theyre usually bent to hell. If you're just on fire roads all day, then its good enough.

 

[Rdfish1]

Im not rock crawling but traveling rutted, muddy trails that cause me to hit the underside. The mud doesnt hurt as much but sometimes the rutted areas cause the underside to hit hard ground, especially when at speeds of 10 mph or so. Can always slow down but in mud, sometimes speed and wheel spin is your friend. I guess it will be ok for what i do but i was expecting more complete coverage

 

[adam2562]

mine are bent to hell.. but i've put it through some rough stuff too.. i plan on upgrading one day

 

[Jhalko]

I had the same concern when I bought my limited, specifically the gas tank skid since it is only a partial. I am good at avoiding impact up front but always seem to hit things in the rear. I picked up a steel RCI gas skid, it's a beast, might be worthwhile for you to look at either a trail skid or just get an aluminum RCI. On the fronts maybe you should drive for a bit and see how they hold up for you, can always replace them later.

I think the 14' and up SR5 has the full gas skid as well, guess Toyota assumes those of us with LE are just mall crawlers. Haha

 

[415T4R]

I don't do heavy off roading, but I am on fire roads and unpaved areas. When I backed up my rear end dropped almost high centering me on this dirt and rock pile. Luckily, I came off of it as soon as I heard scraping, and it was just small rock and loose dirt. Though now I see the value in true skids, that exhaust pipe is totally exposed.

<a href="http://s1113.photobucket.com/user/Frank_Rebelo/media/2015-01-25140742HDR_zpsba93c296_1.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1113.photobucket.com/albums/k507/Frank_Rebelo/2015-01-25140742HDR_zpsba93c296_1.jpg" border="0" alt="Close Call Skid photo 2015-01-25140742HDR_zpsba93c296_1.jpg"/></a>

 

[dwm2112]

I don't believe the OEM skids are adequate if you off-road. For on road they are fine which is why we are still running the OEM skids on the wife's 4Runner. My FJ on the other hand is sporting a set of steel RCI's. Not sure about 4Runners but I am assuming the rear lower link mounts are also vulnerable as they are the FJ. I ended up with skids there as well as they were just crying out to take a hit when you step back and look at them.

 

[Jeremy556]

I don't believe the OEM skids are adequate if you off-road. For on road they are fine which is why we are still running the OEM skids on the wife's 4Runner. My FJ on the other hand is sporting a set of steel RCI's. Not sure about 4Runners but I am assuming the rear lower link mounts are also vulnerable as they are the FJ. I ended up with skids there as well as they were just crying out to take a hit when you step back and look at them.

Yes, they are just as vulnerable, exact same as the FJC.

 

[BlackWorksInc]

The factory skids are only adequate if you can never get in situations where you could high center, scrape, and/or rest a partial amount of the vehicle weight on an object such as a rock and/or tree. They hold up well for minor off-roading and some slight abuse (they're thicker than Nissan's skid plates that's for sure! I did a few Armada and Titan oil changes and those things bend under their own weight!), but they are not meant for being too aggressive with.

Before I had the money saved up for a set of RCI skids, I was running factory skids on my 4th gen. I went through about 3 sets of factory units that I got from other members; usually after about one or two good hits the things were so mangled and bent that if I took them off I couldn't put them back on.

The 5th gen units aren't too much different in construction than the 4th gen ones in terms of rough rigidity and thickness of material. They hold up okay, but I would avoid any fun off-road trails because they won't last long.

 

[1engineer]

Depends on your line.

 

[3wbdriver]

Depends on your line.

^^^ This! I've had 4 long off road weekends in the last year. Up to class 3 trails. Mostly dirt but one rocky park. If I don't like what I see I back off or go around. My fuel tank skid has had one or 2 dingers but nothing major and is holding up fine. Of course I am of the understanding the Limited doesn't have a full length tank skid. I'm not even sure if I've hit anything harder than mud with the engine skid. If you're only bottoming them out on hard dirt they should hold up fine. It's coming down from on high onto a BIG HARD ROCK that seems to do the most damage. I do intend to upgrade eventually, but they are not at the top of my to do list. And I think from your description I am trying harder than you. :biggrin1:



Line fail. Oh well.....

 

[wfo9]

The simple answer, Yes they are very inadequate and don't provide much protection at all.

If you tip toe around and have spotters at all times, you can get by with them. I guess they would also be adequate if you were always on soft dirt trail. I tend to always be on rocks, so I feel they are very much inadequate.

 

[Antman]

They are adequate if you accept the fact that they will get beat up and destroyed to keep the important bits under your truck from getting beat up and destroyed.
Self sacrificial skids, lol.
Aftermarket skids will accept much much more abuse without deformation or compromise. They also cost $$$ and weigh 3 times as much...

I have been on some trails over the last 2 years, some of which were challenging and mine have held up well. I have a few dents and scrapes that sounded horrible but didn't affect the skids too much.

I don't go bashing around like a nut either- FWIW.

 

[Jetboy]

I guess we'd have to ask: Is there anyone anywhere that has actually damaged a component that is protected by a factory skid?

The most obvious vulnerable part to me is the exhaust crossover pipe. The transfercase skid that also covers that pipe is IMO a must have for many. The rest - probably not for 99% of us. The only other place that you're really likely to have impacts is the front of the engine skid as it's the first point of contact.

 

[st8rocks]

I guess we'd have to ask: Is there anyone anywhere that has actually damaged a component that is protected by a factory skid?

Finally someone talks some sense...

 

[Canon_Bob]

Ive only had my limited for 2 weeks, one of which i was out of town so still getting familar with it. I decided to slide under it while it was still clean amd new to check the under carriage. I was surprised to see what looked like big gaps in protection. The exhaust system is completely exposed as are areas near the front end. Not sure if the limited is different than other 4wd models but i may need to do something to improve the coverage.

I did a quick search to see if this topic has been covered, found a very long thread revitalized but it seemed to be about selling skids

Only way I can really help answer your question is with a counter-question: Inadequate for what?

Since we're both in Florida I know that MOST of your potential off road issues are going to involve sand or mud. Rocks aren't really prevalent here. You occasionally encounter debris across the trail, but most of it is inconsequential. The only time I've encountered "issues" that could be related to skids is when I took a bad line on a berm and tore up the factory skid on my FJ. HOWEVER, the skid did it's job and protected the front end (radiator, etc.) from damage. Only other thing was when I ran over a bunch of fallen branches (being too lazy to get out an move them) and yanked off a vacuum line. In almost 10 years of off-roading here....that's it! You'll note that in both cases, it was "driver error" and not skid failure.

I also know that the skids on my Trail edition are quite a bit more robust than the factory ones that came on my FJ, so I'm not changing them out. If, on the other hand, you were to say "I'm going to Moab next week"....I'd definitely say they are inadequate for that. For Florida? You'll probably be fine unless you're going to get serious and push the envelope.

 

[Landy]

My recommendations would be to get a better front skid if you're dealing with rocks. And as others have stated the front lower link mounts are fairly vulnerable. I would protect them and build up the rest of your protection as needed. I have seen dented oil pans and cracked transfer cases on the trails before, but those were fairly isolated incidents.

Very little skinny pedal and good spotting will go a long way in protecting your undercarriage.

 

[txbonds]

Only way I can really help answer your question is with a counter-question: Inadequate for what?

Since we're both in Florida I know that MOST of your potential off road issues are going to involve sand or mud. Rocks aren't really prevalent here. You occasionally encounter debris across the trail, but most of it is inconsequential. The only time I've encountered "issues" that could be related to skids is when I took a bad line on a berm and tore up the factory skid on my FJ. HOWEVER, the skid did it's job and protected the front end (radiator, etc.) from damage. Only other thing was when I ran over a bunch of fallen branches (being too lazy to get out an move them) and yanked off a vacuum line. In almost 10 years of off-roading here....that's it! You'll note that in both cases, it was "driver error" and not skid failure.

I also know that the skids on my Trail edition are quite a bit more robust than the factory ones that came on my FJ, so I'm not changing them out. If, on the other hand, you were to say "I'm going to Moab next week"....I'd definitely say they are inadequate for that. For Florida? You'll probably be fine unless you're going to get serious and push the envelope.

I'm in Florida too but my concern with mud is that you can't see what's in it. Many times when your forced to cross a large muddy area on a trail or road, you are also forced to consider inertia and momentum to get through it due to lack of tire size and ground clearance. A hidden piece of limestone or other solid object could ruin your day real quick. Just my point of view of course.

 

[Plano26]

Depends on your line.

I clearly took the wrong line...learning has occurred though! :banana: