Most vulnerable areas on undercarriage that upgrades are recommended?

I recently bought a 2019 4Runner TRD Off-Road Premium, and plan on taking it all over Colorado in 3 weeks.

I am use to driving a total beater Jeep that I drove hard and fast through thousands of miles of offroad trips.

I would like to keep the 4Runner in excellent condition, so I plan on driving her a little bit slower, and being a little nicer to her than I was my old Jeep. BUT - I bought the 4Runner to replace the Jeep and will still be taking her on plenty of offroad adventures.

Some of the stock 4runner skid plates look *decent* and others look like they may be a little flimsy and weak. I know with the Jeep a lot of people recommended upgrading oil and gas skids, because they were cheap upgrades to start. I personally never upgraded any of it, beat the hell out of it, and it kept on trucking!

With all that said what areas on the undercarriage of the 4Runner are the *MOST* vulnerable when offroading?

 

I would recommend as much undercarriage protection as you can afford. Most of the protection underneath will stop a branch or soft object from getting all up in there, but none of it will even remotely support the vehicles weight should you high center or drop it onto a rock on an obstacle. My OEM gas skid is destroyed from coming off a crest of a mound onto a rock, yes it stopped from hitting the gas tank, but it won't withstand a second hit.

 

I used RCI skids from the front lower control arm skid to rear diff skid.

I use RSG sliders as well.


This suspension video shows a little bit of those skids and sliders-
https://youtu.be/WCyzwYRZqwc

 

Thank you for the reply and the input. I didnt care to much about banging up the Jeep like I mentioned, but definitely wanna invest in keeping the 4Runner running reliable and smooth for years to come.

 

I know with jeeps they have what they call belly-up skids, which basically levels the main skid almost with the frame. Unfortunately this changes the driveline angle, and typically requires a shorter/longer driveshaft to correct the angle.

After owning only Jeeps for the last 18yrs, I am wondering if this is special to Jeeps, or if 4Runners can also encounter this problem with certain skid plates?

Nice looking 4Runner BTW, where abouts in Colorado are you located if you dont mind my asking?

 

Another option is choosing good conservative lines if at all possible.

 

The skids I used didn't have any impact on driveline angles since mine does not have the optional KDSS system. TRD ORP with KDSS needs special engine skids & sliders. Not sure about rear diff skid, if it has any problems.


I'm about 10min from DIA (E470 & Quincy).

 

I’d do engine, mid, and transfer case skid; and would also consider swapping out the gas tank skid as well.

You might actually find yourself driving the 4Runner faster than the jeep; IFS soaks up rough terrain way better than solid axle. Unless you were talking about rocks/obstacles, and were just skinny pedal down bashing your way through in the jeep… in which case, yes, I’d intend on going a bit slower and being more careful about your lines, lol.

Edit: oh, and of course sliders too.

 

I did purchase RSG Sliders & went with shrockworks skids (5-piece set). I've beat the heck out of mine & no complaints here! Shrockworks & RSGs products are solid and definitely don't disappoint in any way!

 

Engine, transmission, transfer case, gas tank, rocker panels are all vulnerable and would be a good investment in protecting. Maybe rear diff if you think it might be at risk with the type of terrain you plan on traversing.

 

Lots of good suggestions. I would also consider rear lower link skids. I went with Total Chaos. They were a pain to get on.

Maybe some rear shock guards too.

 

None of the skids available would affect the driveline angle. The only thing that could affect that would be suspension changes, or changing the position of the transfer case. I'm really curious how a skid plate could cause this on any vehicle, unless other changes were involved.

EDIT: I was curious, so I looked up belly up skids. These require actually raising the engine and transfer case, which is why they affect driveline angles.

As far as the original question, I would do full skids and sliders for playing in the rocks. With that done, the driveshaft and suspension components become the most vulnerable.

 

The belly up for Jeeps actually raises the transfer case up along with the skid, gaining quite a bit of underbody clearance and a much improved breakover angle. IIRC, these were for YJ's and TJ's, if you look under them the t-case and skid hangs pretty low, and during serious offroading they'd get hung up on things. With the t-case moved up so much, that caused the change in driveline angles. Part of that may also be from changing the clocking of the t-case, but I'm not 100% sure that was part of the process.

On the other hand, pretty sure I LOST clearance under my 4R with RCI skids. I'm on stock tires and suspension, and recently measured 7.5" from the bottom of the front RCI skid to the ground. For kicks and giggles, I measured my stock 07 Volvo Cross Country wagon, and it was EXACTLY THE SAME. A 16oz Poland spring bottle will not fit under my front skid standing up.

 

See my edit.

But I believe you're correct about losing clearance. The protection is worth it, though.

 

I think I was typing while you were editing, haha. And yes, those RCI's are quite beefy!

I don't see how I lost a full 2" of ground clearance though. Toyota rates these at 9.6", which I think must have some wishful thinking involved.

 

I would be interested to know how they actually measure this. I believe my front skid is somewhere between 8-9", and that's with 2.3" lift. At least these skids can handle the abuse.

 

Yes on TJ's with no belly-up skids they call the stock skid a "SHOVEL". It is the lowest point on a stock TJ and it will literally scoop things up like a shovel!

 

You are definitely wheeling this thing, like the dont tread on me as well. Is that just a sticker or an emblem?

 

I drove King of the Hammers style in my Jeep without it being King of the Hammers offroad setup! Its for sale if you want it? Good lines always help!

 

Anyone familiar with this company or brand of skids? Looks like they are local to Arizona, so I could potentially armor up before my Colorado trip in two weeks if they have these in stock!

https://sdhqoffroad.com/

 

RCI is one of the most popular brands here. I haven't heard any complaints about them.

 

Looks like RCI is based out of Loveland Colorado, and not Arizona, just some local shop selling their brand... Would be great if I was heading to Loveland, but I am headed to Montrose...

 

RCI makes great skids. I currently run Victory4x4, mainly as they're local for me; and because it's the same company as JCR Offroad (same building even), and I've ran a lot of JCR stuff on my jeeps in the past, and it's always been high quality, well thought out stuff.

 

Thank you! I love going off-road and camping! Have to wheel in style & there's no better way than sporting "Don't Tread on Me" flags.
Please check out Tactillian! They are actually magnets but they also have adhesive flags! The top is a black American flags are adhesive & Gadsden flags are magnets & they aren't going anywhere. I've driven through car washes & through rough trails, etc. Excellent quality & Tactillian is a company that i support 100% because of where the money goes. Take a minute to check them out.
If you have Instagram, they are on the gram also you can go directly to their website. Instagram is nice because that's where they announce early releases and such.

 

This thread just sold me on getting the full RCI armor kit, thank you!

 

I've on a few trials where all lines suck.

 

I went full skids. Hefty fabworks. They are light cuz they are aluminum and I had the optional hdpe covers add on so they skid well. All of them are strong enough to support full body weight.

 

I really like the sound of this option! (well, probably not the cost, haha)

 

I have the RCI' on mine, in the same setup as in the pic you posted. I haven't had to use them yet, but they're super beefy, and quite heavy. The install was also a snap, I did that whole setup myself, lying on my back in the street, haha.

Another one I would strongly look into is LFD Offroad. They're out of NC, I think, nd come in at a very good price point. I also think I like the design of their TCase one better than RCI, they have an integrated crossmember which looks like it might be a bit lighter/easier to install.