Budbuilt Skidplates

[I AM SAM]

Wish I could but we were there at 10am and on the scenic Blue Ridge Parkway by 4pm that day .Drove the whole parkway up to Skyline Drive where it ends and stayed at Shenendoah Nat. park a couple of days. Perfect cool weather up in the mountains and what a beautiful country we live in!No real cell or internet service til we got up to my sisters lakehouse in upstate Pa. late tonight. Just call Bud and order them and I can help you put them on if you need help. They are pretty heavy to ship but I believe he has a volume discount with FEDEX. I have to get my rear Diff skid shipped too.

No worries, I didn't really expect you to bring them back but as always, I appreciate the thoughtfulness. Baby is in the shop this morning getting the Stage 3 done and I put the BajaRack on last night. The BP with the black rack looks really sharp. I'm anxious to see how it rides when I pick it up, I could definetely tell driving in this morning that I had thrown an extra 60lbs up there. Sounds like the trip is going good, travel safe and have a great 4th! :hello:

 

[BFLAN]

Harper,

Great shots, I am jealous!

I had a set of his skids on my FJ, they rock, bulletproof and quality craftmanship.

Thanks for stopping by and helping him out, now we can all order!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[M1911]

How heavy are they? Is it something that one person (aka, me) in his driveway, with the front of the truck up on ramps?

 

[BudBuilt]

Hey Guys and Gals!

Thanks for the kind words and a HUGE thank you to Harper7 for coming to the shop for a fitment. For those who know geography, you will realize what a huge detour he took to get from TX to PA via NC! He has the most polite and patient little girls too.

We ARE looking for someone kinda local that we could borrow a truck from, esp a Trail Edition. We send them out of the shop with lots of really cool new parts for free... :trophy:

We have been very busy at the shop but are very excited about designing parts for the new runner. I really want one myself. 3rd row seating for a guy with 9 kids is a huge plus... Even Mama likes them, which is huge!

Will get the front skid worked out for the KDSS as well as a filler plate to connect the front bumper to the front skid and cover that hole up in there.

Then a couple of bumper/winch mount options, sliders ( straight and bumped out style) with or without treadplate on top, cargo barrier, all kinds of fun stuff.

OH, weight for full set is 172#. Heaviest piece is the gas skid, at 66#. We just got a lift about a year ago so YES, you can do them in your driveway with a floor jack and/or a friend. We have installed tons of them in parking lots or campgrounds over the years. Really pretty simple since these trucks come with such great threaded holes in the frame from the factory.

Thanks again!
Bud :zoom:

 

[jca21]

sweet!

thanks for the info bud!

can't wait till you release a set for the TE and welcome to the board

 

[Titanpat57]

Welcome aboard Mr. BB!!

Seen your handy work on a few FJ's over on Mud...very impressive!!

The common denominator seems to be excellent product and even better customer service!:bravo:

Nice to still see quality and caring...wished I lived closer

Good luck, continued success!!

Pat

 

[Egstyle]

Nice work, Bud! I'll be getting a set for my TE as soon as they are designed! The stock skid leaves much to be desired.

 

[SeattleMike]

We ARE looking for someone kinda local that we could borrow a truck from, esp a Trail Edition. We send them out of the shop with lots of really cool new parts for free... :trophy:

I've never wanted to live in North Carolina so bad in my life. :moping:

What good is it to be retired with too much time on your hands and a new truck in need of goodies when everyone needing one for measurements is so far way? I'd totally drive there, too, but the cost of accommodations at the other end prevents me from offering my TE up for use.

:redbrick:

 

[sandcrawler]

i hear that. the BudBuilts have me thinking about a road trip myself though i'm afraid that's just not in the cards right now.

but if no one's stepped up with a Trail in the next couple of months...

 

[RedKnuckles]

Hey Guys and Gals!

We ARE looking for someone kinda local that we could borrow a truck from, esp a Trail Edition. We send them out of the shop with lots of really cool new parts for free... :trophy:

Then a couple of bumper/winch mount options, sliders ( straight and bumped out style) with or without treadplate on top, cargo barrier, all kinds of fun stuff.

Thanks again!
Bud :zoom:

Bud,

Very nice to see you checking in on the forum to communicate with your fans. I am located less than an hour from Morganton, and would be pleased to donate my 4R to the cause. It is also a Limited, so it would be no help for the KDSS evaluation. Currently, I am specifically in the market for a pair of bumped out sliders. If I can be of assistance, please feel free to contact me at your convenience.

Joe

 

[harper7]

I finally got around to installing my BudBuilt Differential guard this past weekend.
Very easy install and fits up very tight so I only lose about 3/16 clearance,which is the thickness of the armor. I did get a few gouges in the the differential wheeling in Moab and a bunch on the skid plates. They probably paid for them selves already!!
Here are some pics.

 

[harper7]

I also made a front filler piece to tie the front bumper into the front skid plate. I made it out of .050 7075 t6 Aluminum and bent it to fit. Bud is supposed to be coming up with this piece also if he didn't already.Painted the "BudBuilt" black where it was laser etched also when I had it off to change the oil.

 

[westwind77]

Very nice! I have to ask.....what did you own prior to this 4R, and did you 'play' with it as much as this one?

 

[harper7]

Very nice! I have to ask.....what did you own prior to this 4R, and did you 'play' with it as much as this one?

LoL!!
German sports cars.... and a 06 4runner Sport 2WD as a DD
A highly Modified 2002 BMW M3 pushing 400+ HP and before that Porsches. A 87 911 Turbo and a 89 944 Turbo.
Barely avoiding the cops going 155+mph street racing a Mustang changed my outlook on sports cars.He got caught as he was behind me!The M3 went up for sale the next week!!

4Runners are so easy to work on compared to German sports cars and they don't go very fast either. Brought me back around to my 4 wheelin roots where I started too.

 

[Titanpat57]

That's some damn nice hardware right there Brother..:zoom:

 

[dbjasper]

Hi Bud.

I live in High Point NC an would love to donate my Limited if you need it for a test fit for anything.

Please let me know. I'm pretty available. Just send me a message on here and I'll def get back with you.

 

[Egstyle]

Harper, that looks excellent.

Anybody know if the TE skids are ready yet?

 

[M1911]

I was trying to install BudBuilt skid plates on my '03 4th gen this weekend. Taking off the middle skid plate was easy, because the dealer had already done that (without telling me. Sigh). Taking off the front skid pate was easy as well.

Then you have to take out two bolts from the angled tubular braces to the frame cross member. The first bolt was very hard to get out. The second bolt snapped off. Drat.

I tried to find a mechanic to help me out at 1 PM on a Sa****ay. Nothing doing. So I drove 45 minutes to my buddy who has done a fair bit of wrenching. Thanks, Tom. His suggestion was to take off the tubular bracket entirely, so we could get better purchase on the shaft of the bolt. To do that, we had to remove the other 3 bolts. So, I broke the second one off. He broke the third. Then he got the fourth off. So now we had three broken bolts to deal with.

My buddy then got out his propane torch and heated the @#$! out of the bolts. That's what I should have done from the start. Using vise-grips, he was then able to turn them out. Then I tried to get the bolt off from the bracket that holds the brake lines to the driver's side frame rails. Nothing doing, even with lots of penetrating oil. My buddy told me he wasn't going to heat that one up -- I agreed. So then I went looking for 3 bolts to replace the ones I broke. None to be had. I've ordered three from the stealership -- they should arrive tomorrow. I got three at Lowes that fit, but I don't know their strength, so I'll replace them once I get the bolts from Toyota.

I tried to turn the bolt on the driver's side on Sunday. Still nothing doing. Sigh. Tomorrow morning I drop it off at my mechanic. I'll let him deal with it.

The BudBuilt plates look great. Seriously heavy duty stuff. But I was defeated by the rust.

So, word to the wise: the day before you plan to install the plates, get under the truck, locate the bolts you need to remove, and soak the !@!$ out of them with penetrating oil. When you go to remove them, heat them up with a propane torch -- except for the one with the brake lines. I've got no suggestion about how to get that one off.

For those of you who live in the snow belt (or drive on a saltwater beach) who are ordering plates, 1) I suggest that you spring the extra $ for the stainless hardware, and 2) use some anti-seize on the bolts.

 

[NTUR4]

I like the paintwork, Gary! I wish my 4 was as awesome as yours.

 

[iDRiVaT4R]

Hi Bud.

I live in High Point NC an would love to donate my Limited if you need it for a test fit for anything.

Please let me know. I'm pretty available. Just send me a message on here and I'll def get back with you.

I'm guessing Bud doesn't need another Limited since Harper already took his in.

Harper, Nice diff skid, been thinking about getting that when Bud finally has the Trail skid kit available. Hopefully I'll have some money to spend on everything when he finishes it all up.