Well I have tried to kiss the front end of my 4runner to the front garage wall and I might have 5" of clearance, and that is with me spending a lot of time parking and risking bashing in the front end hah....
I think as far as protecting the bumper and adding some safety, that the bumper shield dealio is nice and I was sold on it, until a kind member here sent pictures and informed me its about 6" or more past the hitch, when the website says only 4.5", but for the 5th gen its a little longer. So it will not work. For the same reason I cannot do the Beavertail as much as that thing looks nice and Mad Max, and is a recovery point too, and I really bet visually a deterrent. In the past I have used the Go Rhino step and it did the job and I do not think they look that bad either, but I am thinking its too long...
So for now I am going to pull the trigger on the Curt trailer hitch skid thing, it only sticks out 3.5" so will clear the garage door without me needing to kiss the front bumper to the wall, and looks like it might be a nice rear end saver if the a$$ end is going to drag while in the rocks or climbing a hill with severe angles. It will not give much lateral protection but if someone kisses the bumper head on most likely protect me from dings.
The D ring was a close second choice because it would be a nice recovery point. I have not crawled around and only quickly skimmed google for recovery points on a 5th Gen which turned up it was lacking anything stout, so it does seem like the D ring in the rear would be nice.
As I've explained more in other threads...I went with the TRD Pro (as much as I understand many think its a poser truck for wanna be's) in hopes the minor minor lift, slightly upgraded suspension, rims, and locker would prevent me from modifying it or upgrading anything for years. Once I start doing stuff to 4x4s it gets addicting, and I do not see the point now in my 40s of dumping all sorts of money into a 4x4 unless I am off roading regularly and on really difficult trails. Normally I do steel bumpers on all my 4x4s, but for now with this TRD I am trying to stay stock for at least a few years before I start screwing around spending money I do not have, when most likely a stock 5th gen of any sort can wheel more capable than I need to have fun and enjoy the outdoors. I did not tally up all my receipts for the Rubicon I just sold, but I was certainly past $15k in upgrades that I did not get my money back out of....and I never wheeled it as much as I daydreamed I would when I was adding all sorts of skids, sliders, winch, lights, upgraded suspension, bumpers, re-gearing, heavy duty custom built tranny, etc. If I got a front bumper, I know i would want to do a winch and lights at the same time, and if I have a front steel bumper of course I would want a rear one, and sliders too!! Well at least its better than a drug addiction or alcoholism hah...
