ARB skid plate

Hi community,

I want to mount the ARB skid plates to our 2018 4Runner TRD Offroad w/KDSS. It looks like a two piece skid plate setup. The rig has a 1 3/4” coil over level kit and white knuckle rock sliders affixed to the frame. Anyone know if there will be any issues with mounting? I can’t find a lot online about compatibility.

 

If the skid is KDSS compatible it should work fine, if it’s not you’ll need to cut it.

That said there’s about a 100 reputable companies that make a better skid plate and specifically KDSS compatible.

 

ARB states they make a KDSS and non KDSS version. Other than brand loyalty is there a quality issue with the ARB plates that make others better?

 

ARB skid plate is as good as any other to the transfer case. It's one of the few that are impact tested.

 

You pay an ton of money for the ski plate in general but it’s 1/8” thick steel. Pretty much everyone is 50% thicker metal and still cheaper. The ARB skid is known to be weak.

 

I haven't met anyone that's said it doesn't hold up and for a while it was one of the few that had a spine. While the guys at the Truck Shop may not beat on them to 'known' standards they haven't had any come back. Now if someone were to do some serious crawling, I'd probably say, "Yeah, look at the other options as well as a different vehicle than a 4runner."

 

It’s $500 for 3 plates vs RCI at $1000. Caliraised and CBI go up from there.

 

when I googled it this was the first result, it doesn’t say it’s for all the skid plates. If that’s actually the price for all of them that’s not bad at all.

https://www.morris4x4center.com/arb...lQf4LTGrvqadypGCEflE3lgOaxeVtZvoaAn_OEALw_wcB

 

Just curious what you decided on? … I’m currently shopping for a Skids to replace the OEM’s on my 2016 4RTP w/KDSS?
Lots of aftermarket choices …

 

They should use AR steel on the skid plates. We use AR steel in the dump truck beds, you can drop 24" rip rap rock on them, they don't tear, they might dent, but that's it. 1/8" is about 10 ga. floor material.

 

I’ve got the ARB skid plates. Under $500 for 4 skids including the transfer case skid. I went with the KDSS type. Easy Install no problems, one person job. Steel thinner than some, but weights less too. Dented it hitting a boulder hard, but took it off banged it out with a hammer and good as new. Instructions are a little strange because it is designed to go on several different Toyota trucks and mounts slightly differently on each, but not hard to figure out. Half the price as some of the others with multiple plates. ARB could sell a lot more of these if they put a little more into their graphics and write-up so you know what you are getting. When I first looked at it I thought it was just for the front skid. I’d say it is a good value.

Edit: one more positive is that you can keep the OEM plastic piece that protects the radiator and connects between the bumper and front skid. With some other systems you need to buy an infill piece to fill this gap.

 

I asked on the other forum about these Arb skid plates. The consensus was that they are too light weight w/ really not much improvement over the stock skids.

I went with Shrockworks steel skid plates. They are heavy and I'm pretty sure they knocked .5mpg's off the vehicle along with all my other armor.

 

Where did you get your ARB skids? Also, can you tell us what each section is for?

 

I bought my skids a year ago on Amazon- I looked and they don’t seem to have them there at this point, but lots of places have them. I think I paid $479 but it looks like you can get them cheaper.

There are three large skids: the front, one protecting the oil pan and front of transmission and the third under the rear part of the transmission. There is also a smaller skid that protects the transfer case.

These are quite a bit heavier than stock and do the job for my needs. I was concerned about MPG impact, so being on the lighter side was a positive for me. Wish they sold one for the gas tank- I’d be the first to buy one if they did.

The pictures On-line are deceiving- some photos from sellers show a dark skid that looks a lot like the stock. Also, the KDSS skid looks fairly different than the non KDSS. I’d take the photos with a grain of salt, but make sure the part number is correct for KDSS or non-KDSS.

 

Ordered the RCI earlier today. I have RCI sliders and am very happy with them. Quality and strong. They have Black Friday deals right now, use code ‘BLACKFRIDAY2020”. The total package for 3/16 steel black powder coat is only $650. I just ordered the engine and transmission for $442. Shipping was $49.07 to Ohio. Total under $500. When I looked at the total package, shipping was under $100. Many other places charge a flat $150 for shipping. I am very happy with $491 total and confident the skids will match the quality of the sliders.

 

I’d say that is a great deal! I’ve got the RCI rock sliders and the quality is excellent.

 

Thank you. I saw these on multiple sites after I posted...for what I do with my 4R, and in the event I would want a set of full skids without sacrificing a bunch of weight, these would work for me. A lot of sites are having Black Friday deals, so maybe...

Still an improvement, though, considering stock has no skids after the front engine skid...and for the price, well worth it if I needed some.

 

C4 Fabrication just dropped a pre-order sale on their full skids. Available for KDSS and non KDSS.



https://c4fabrication.com/products/4runner-full-skid-plates-5th-gen-2010?_pos=3&_sid=0f9c4fec8&_ss=r

 

Writeup & review on the ARB skid set, gives more information on what you get, plus installation info:

https://trail4runner.com/2019/11/11/arb-skid-plate-4runner-install/

 

I went with an ARB skid plate set and we are really happy with it. I just replied to you in my thread on the PRO skid being a no go for KDSS. Attached a pic of some abuse the ARB plate has endured since we put it on, well realistically you can just see mud but we have bonked it on some rocks and rutted out tracks a number if times now and it has no problems at all. From the pic you can see we actually use our 4Runner off road not just park it for IG pics.

 

@Redned, since you have these skids, here's a question for you. In your opinion, would it be any more difficult to remove the front skid plate for an oil change than the oem skid? As in, any more bolts to loosen, and is it difficult to remove where it meets the next skid, or does it mount on top of that skid?

I'd like your take on all of this if you don't mind, plus your overall honest assessment of these skids in general. Thanks.

 

I like that you stuck to your plan in spite of all the negative input. These might just work for me...would you mind taking a look at my questions in post #22, and comment on those?

Also, it was mentioned above you could reuse the front plastic piece that mounts to the bumper - did you reuse that? I don't see it in your photo...

 

Only the front skid should need removed to do an oil change.

Also we did not retain the guard under the radiator because it was deleted when we tried to run a trd pro skid. Toyota sells the guard as a package which is ridiculously priced.

 

Gary, i used the piece from RCI, it is powdercoat steel and fit very good, here is a pic.

 

That looks good, thank you.

I have to say, I really like that Victory 4x4 skid...some questions on that:

Do you have just the front?
Do you have the steel or aluminum skid?
Powder coated from Victory, or did you finish it yourself?

 

Yes, it is just the front, i was pretty disappointed when i got it. It is the aluminum, and i told them i was going to install it raw, i ended up doing quite a bit of work to make it look decent, this is how it came. It had very deep grinder swirls in it, they did finally offer me a $100.00 off coupon for another item, but i just couldn’t order the other skids after that. This is after i got done with it. It is still raw with mothers aluminum polish.

 

That's right, I remember reading about your adventures with this skid plate. I can't blame you for not getting anything else from them, that looked terrible. Thanks for the information.

You did a great job of finishing it...I wouldn't want to go through all that.

 

I’d say it is a little more difficult to take off the front skid because of the added weight, but still easily manageable. I can’t tell for certain about the number of bolts, but I think there may be a couple more bolts at the rear of the skid.

You don’t have to do anything to the next skid to take the front one off- the skids are designed so that the second skid will hold the rear of the front skid while you are bolting in the front bolts, but they are not locked together.

In my experience, the ARBs are way better than stock. A heavier skid may give you more protection If you are doing serious rock crawling , but these will handle all the abuse I’m going to give them.

 

Here is a picture with the stock radiator closure piece, which I spray painted to match the ARB skid.