I live in northwest Arizona desert. Very rocky.
I haven't scraped front of fuel tank skid plate yet. But I'm getting closer as I learn the capability of my 4runner.
My noob thinking is that the fuel tank is more vulnerable than the front, about as vulnerable to damage as the rear bumper. But the fuel tank is more vital.
Which did you impact first? Which have you impacted more often? Which impacted the hardest?
My intended use is daily driver and weekend "overlanding". Not looking to break it every weekend. But learning the limits for now.
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Great question!
Here are my hits in terms of frequency and damage to plates:
1/ Front 3/16 RCI completely caved in. BUT the reason is speed. Frequent contact with no damage to the thick steel skid otherwise. VERY frequent contact on stock suspension. Lift alone is not the solution, I have 1" all around and stiffer springs, which is the solution.
2/ Rear LCA skids. Maybe not more frequent than #3, but are those hits hard when they happen. It is virtually exclusive to the pax side.
3/ AT and TC skids when sliding, dragging over stuff due to lack of brakeover angle. No damage at all, but relatively frequent use.
4/ Front edge of gas tank skid. I have had two very heavy hits there, everything else the stock skid could have held up to. As [MENTION=362200]SpeedyKevin[/MENTION] says, sliding, mild dragging is much more common than serious hits underneath the gas tank skid. Maybe if you do the Rubicon. Because I realized in time that the edge takes the beating, I went with Shrock despite having RCI front skids. The RCI gas tank skid cannot handle big hits; there is a pic of someone who destroyed theirs near Moab.
5/ Rock sliders. I am still very unimpressed by having rock sliders on any trail short of the Rubicon. My only uses so far have been a function of having them (2.5+ inches of lost rocker clearance). The one time they "saved" me was the one time I did not bother looking because I knew I had them. I would have looked and chosen a better line without them. So for me, this is still an expense that has not proven itself. In fact, sliders can DAMAGE the rocker panel under the correct circumstances (body and frame flexing against each other during certain maneuvers).
6/ Rear differential skid. I bought one after mildly damaging the protector of the drain plug while backing up to let a Jeep pass. I am not terribly concerned about the rear diff but since I have everything else...
Other:
7/ rear lower control arms: I only had small marks on my stock ones but decided to take no chances. Not really an issue except when dealing with big steps.
I do not use A-arm skids. They have no functional purpose that I can fathom. Sure mine are all scraped but spray paint costs less and traps no mud or whatever.
Be very careful with the Transfer Case skid when driving over dry grass. It traps grass underneath the exhaust cross-member. I keep an eye and clean it as needed.
Hope this helps!
