data

Do you have anymore of these skid plates for sale?

Bighead

I don't think there are any left from the original batch of plates. You may want to PM Azrain. I beleive he is still taking orders for the next bunch.

azrain

Data,
PM'd you in response.

Jeremy,
I suppose I could make some of the brackets for the bump stop if future buyers want them, but I would need permission from Steve to get the dimensions and you would have to buy your own Daystar polyU. I'd have to throw in an additional charge for material, but it would be negligible at most. Labor is where a bulk of the cost is.

Food for thought... I was reviewing the books last night (I have a spreadsheet just for the skids) and I am negative $86 on the project, lol! Oh well, it's a pleasure just knowing that a good solid product is out there for you guys!

Mike

azrain

USER REPORT!!!!:

One of the folks that bought a skid just sent me an email. He is a Tacoma owner who took his Taco to Moab with the AZ TTORA group and he was very pleased indeed. He stated that he rode it hard and the end result was some scars, scratched paint but other than that, all is well!

Yay!

Mike

Illiana

I can't wait to see if i can give the new skid a good bashing myself!

Thanks for the update, Steve, I need to stop procrastinating now and install the skid in the next few weeks

Happy Wheeling,
Lee

Albuquerque Jim

Steve,

I got my supports today! Thanks!

I guess I'll have to get everything powder coated now

smr4runner

Recieved the supports Tuesday.

Thanks again Steve.

JadeRunner

I finally installed my skid. It's awesome! I did have to fight it a little bit to get the last rear bolt threaded. It's going to very difficult to do again, if I'm by myself. Especially after it gets beat up on a few runs. I also cut the front corner off to accommodate my tow hook. The Schaefer supports look like there are going to work well.

I also helped Mike Brown install his rockstomper skid. We had to drill additional holes in the rear to get his bolts to line up and thread. Basically we drilled another hole right next to the existing one and filled it down so it's a slotted hole now. I will probably do this to mine. I makes it's so much easier to install. Hopefully this won't create any unforeseen issues down the road.

Thanks again for all the work put into this. I will be testing it on Chinaman's Gulch in two weeks.

sschaefer3

The slots are not as strong as the single hole, a few of the prototype skids actually pulled through the slots and one side of the rear was just hanging.

You guys did indeed bend your frames. The skids lines up perfect on Nevitts & Ziads 4Runners so you guys did move some stuff around a bit.

which does not really surprise me.

Founding Members of the "Colorado Frame Benders"

Aurora Sandman

Naw, may frame isn't bent. What's bent is the strip of metal that's welded to the frame (I think it's welded... I might be wrong) that has the threaded bolt hole in it. I'm sure I've come down hard on the bolts on several occasions, so the bolt now has to go in at a slight angle.

Basically, we were able to thread the bolt a little sideways through the skid plate hole. Hoever, the protective guard you have around the bolt head is close enough to the hole that it was preventing us from getting a socket on the bolt. We ended up enlarging the hole forward to allow the bolt to seat a little further away from the guard.

By the way, I got the bump stops, and the skid plate fits perfectly. Thanks Steve! It's a great addition to my rig.

sschaefer3

Some day you'll have to come and run some real trails.

BajaTaco

Hola amigos - I put the new skid on and it looks fabulous. I had the same problem with the back bolts and getting them in. Definitely not something I want to wrestle every oil change. I think I am going to cut a drain hole in mine.

Steve, the supports did not work for me. The skid won't fit with them in place. It might be some difference on the Tacoma, I don't know. But they basically protrude down just a little too far, so that the skid comes into contact with them before it is high enough to meet up with the mounting surfaces. In other words, there is a gap between the skid and the crossmember So, I will probably just sell this set to someone else who wants them for their 4runner?

sschaefer3

I don't thnk you're installing the skid/supports correctly.

1. Bolt on supports. Make sure the front faces forward.

2. Losely bolt the 5 front bolts.

3. Wrap the skid around the supports and put the rear bolts in. Tolerances are tight and must be done in this order.

Did you do it this way ???

If you put the rear in first, you'll have problems.

BajaTaco

OK, I'll try again.

Nope - I didn't put the rear in first, but with the supports there, the front flange wouldn't even come close to the cross member. I don't think it would be possible to get the front bolts in with the supports there, but I'll check it out further. I did make sure to face the supports to the front as indicated on the factory labeling

sschaefer3

I can adjust those to be a bit shorter or we can make you some shorter ones next time your in Phoenix. Stop by and we can knock it out pretty quick. If the 3" tube is too big we can use 2.5" and shim it to the right height.

BajaTaco

Cool - no biggie. I'll mess around with it a little more and see if I just didn't try hard enough. I'll let you know how it goes.

azrain

Really hammered mounting points seem to be the bain of this skid.

I would suggest that possibly some folks might have a bit better go of it to drill out the rear mount that attaches to the frame directly in-line with the holes in the rear of the skid, then use a nut and bolt combination in the back to secure the back mounts in place.

It's tight, but if I can get my fat fingers in there to put a nut on that bolt, anyone can.

Mike

BTW, the "other" Tacoma user emailed me again and told me that he really hammered his skid in Moab and only removed some of the Rustoleum from the surface. No dents or bent surfaces. Cool.

JadeRunner

Drill out the mount bracket on the frame or drill out the skid? Which would be better? Your right either way is doable. But dealing with a nut on top is more of a pain.

Either way the miss-alignment is small enough that the newly drilled holes would need to be next to each other. Which essentially would make a slotted hole like we did on Mike's Rockstomper skid. I know Steve said he saw someone do this and have the bolt rip through. But, with a proper bolt and washer holding it together, I just can't see this being a problem.

Aurora Sandman

Yeah, I wonder if the washer might not bend apart. I guess we'll see how it goes. I probably should carry a spare washer or two, as well as a bolt, just in case.

Aurora Sandman

I must admit, that IS a genuine photo of a frame being bent. It's just not the part of the frame the skid mounts to. This is a case of trying the wrong line (or being a sucky driver). That is a rock I don't want to hump again.