When I first found out that we were going to tag along with Tom of Outbound Overland on his overlanding trip from George Washington National Forest (GWNF) in Virginia up to Green Ridge State Forest (GRSF) in Maryland, I knew I was going to need (ok let’s be honest…want) a couple of upgrades. My first post will be about the armor, but I also accessorized the truck from a utility perspective too. I will add another post for that.
When I bought my 4th Gen 4Runner, the front skid was rusted through, so I wanted to get that replaced in case the integrity of it was compromised. Fortunately, I hopped in on group buy from
RCI Metalworks and picked up a steel front skid. As was the case when I ordered a skid for my 5th Gen, RCI was prompt and it got to me within a week. Man was this thing heavy!
I also bought it in bare steel, so right away I hit it with a sandpaper flapper wheel and then painted it with
Eastwood Extreme Chasis paint. I love the way this stuff finishes and it’s pretty strong after it’s cured. I know the skids are going to get damaged eventually, so I’m not actually too worried — I just needed to slow the inevitable rust down.
I don’t have pics of the final install yet, I just didn’t remember to do it, but install was a breeze. I used a hydraulic jack and a piece of wood to help disburse the pressure. Lifted it up and bolted right in. It took 20 minutes at the most.
Next up, my
Shrockworks sliders. These were even more important to me than the skid because I have no protection along the rocker panel, and after wheeling in my 5th gen, I know how important they are to protecting the sides too. The sliders had about a 6 week build time so I was really cutting it close to when I would be heading out to GWNF with Outbound Overland. Fortunately, Mark with Shrockworks is a great help and he kept me posted all along the way. My sliders got here in exactly 6 weeks and I was able to get them painted and inst….inst….instal…installed! Why did I write it like that? Because it was probably one of the most strenuous installs I have ever in my life dealt with.
The drivers side was pretty much a breeze, and the dreaded fuel tank bolt was no problem because I actually had some leftover stick nuts from my 5th Gen’s Shrockworks sliders. I also took the advice of past installs and bent the front bolt ahead of time. It fit like a charm.
The passenger side was a whole different story. The front portion seemed to be the exact size of the frame rail, so as I began to lift the slider up on to the rails it began to shape itself from |_| to _/. Needless to say, this made the bolt impossible to thread. After many hours of struggling to realign, and squeeze the section together, I was finally able to get it with 2 sets of clamps, and blocks of wood to help distribute the forces. I was FINALLY able to catch 1 thread on the bolt with no washers, just the nut. Then I loosened that added a washer, rinse and repeat. I did this until the front had bent in enough to get the necessary washers and lock washer in place.
Post install thoughts. I have since taken my trip through GWNF — which was a ton of fun! I will post up about that soon hopefully. I noticed that the passenger side was making a lot of noise through areas that made me flex. When I went under to tighten it up, I also noticed that it seems to be contacting the underside of my body. I haven’t decided what I’m going to do yet, but I’m either going to put a shim in underneath, or grind down a little on top. Pics before install.
Please follow and like us:
