armor question

[kyle_uran]

Here's the story…I have bolt-on Shrockworks sliders headed my way from powder coating in 1-to-2 weeks time. Without them, I went to an off road park in north Texas this past weekend and took the 4Runner on some level 2 and 3 trails and did just fine, minus a hit on the front stock skid plate.

So, i was thinking, on a stock height 4Runner, if you wanted to continue to do trails with potential damage from rocks, insurance with armor may be worth it. If you had to list in order of importance each skid, what would they be?

I've seen Front Skid, Transfer Case, Transmission, Gas Tank, Rear Diff.

Then there is bumpers. From my prospective riding with some built Tacomas, they utilized their front bumpers quite often. Without them, they all would have had issues. I'm assuming bumpers are high on the list.

And a supplementary question, would armor come before lifting? Is there anyone that would lift before adding armor?

 

[kevinpt]

Here's the story…I have bolt-on Shrockworks sliders headed my way from powder coating in 1-to-2 weeks time. Without them, I went to an off road park in north Texas this past weekend and took the 4Runner on some level 2 and 3 trails and did just fine, minus a hit on the front stock skid plate.

So, i was thinking, on a stock height 4Runner, if you wanted to continue to do trails with potential damage from rocks, insurance with armor may be worth it. If you had to list in order of importance each skid, what would they be?

I've seen Front Skid, Transfer Case, Transmission, Gas Tank, Rear Diff.

Then there is bumpers. From my prospective riding with some built Tacomas, they utilized their front bumpers quite often. Without them, they all would have had issues. I'm assuming bumpers are high on the list.

And a supplementary question, would armor come before lifting? Is there anyone that would lift before adding armor?

i have been offroad twice now with stock setup other then larger tires(32's) and all my stock skids have been bent up a bit. if i was to get new skids soon i would make sure to cover front trans and transfer case first. i have a good dent in my gas skid so if i was not lifted i would do that as well. its all about what you want to do to it and if its going to have problems being stock. also adding all that metal onto a stock truck is going to make it ride lower so it might be a good idea to lift as well

 

[ebg18t]

RCI & BudBuilt offer a package price for the set versus buying individually. I would suggest doing all the underbody ones, then the gas tank. All these parts keep adding more weight so you might need to adjust your suspension slightly.

I did suspension first, then skids. But I don't see any reason not to do skids first. Running a stock height 4Runner will make you a smarter driver (theoretically) off-road as you need to make sure you pick the right route versus someone with more clearance might have more route option.

 

[poncharello]

I am a fairly seasoned offroader having driven on very hard medium rated trails, and very easy expert trails. My goal is to build a rig that will be able to easily do a trail like the Rubicon here in CA.

I am pretty much bone stock right now and have been pouring over the details of my own build (I want excellent quality stuff going on my rig in an order that makes sense). I am committed to curbing (as much as possible) my offroad bug before my t4r is finished, but the order I am choosing to follow is this:

1. All under skids, front to back
2. Sliders
3. Front/rear bumpers
4. Lift & tires (goal is 35's)
5. lockers front and rear
6. external roll cage support (maybe)

I'm very big on protection first and foremost.