Thinking of some armor for my 06 Tundra DC.

[Colorado4wheeler]

OK, I did search and Sean had some good recommendations for armor for a regular Tundra. I take my truck offroading in the mountains a fair amount. SHE IS 100% stock except for some new Revos which work really well even at 25psi. The poor front Skip Plate has many hits from rocks. I usually just beat them out if they are deep but just are not deep enough to worry about. So I don't really see a point in replacing it. Two areas that worry me are the rocker panels (Sliding over a rock and then bashing onto my sheet metal between the tires. Second, I worry about the front diff and that HUGE metal transmission mount. This weekend I landed on that piece lightly. First the sliders. Will they protect my doors from large rocks that I might rock into as I negotiate corners? I nearly dented a door this weekend. Second. is underbody armour really worth it? Most the time I hit the front skidplate and I seldom touch the other stuff but I don't want to hurt her to badly. Third, is it even worth worrying about the rear axle on my truck? I slid off a ledge and kinda landed on it once this weekend as well. Any thoughts? BTW, my wife is funny about all this. Her thoughts are all these dings, grinds, etc just make the truck HAPPY? Like it's fulfilling it's life purpose.

[rambrush]

Yes scratches, dings all add character to the truck.

I am eventually adding Stubb sliders under the doors, but seeing how expensive to ship it would be easier to do road trip over to him for install.

Skid row skid plates will allow you to get up and slide over on your belly if the need arrises. I believe Sean has discussed the problems with mounting them elsewhere.

My front skid plate sounds like yours full of dings and dents.

Keep in mind that rear bumper and things undeneath that get hung up and torn off as well. This occurs during trips into and out of washes and such.

[DevinSixtySeven]

Hey Steve! Glad to hear you're getting it out there...and Tracy's comment is classic .

Yes to your Q re: sliders. That's exactly how mine usually get used.

IMHO skid plates are critical, far more important than sliders or bumpers...they can mean the difference between driving out and walking out, or not getting out at all. The Skid Row pieces are easy to mount, tho I don't know if they will mount directly to the DC...might have to grab the angle finder and a tape and DIY.

I'm not sure how much punishment the stock axle housing can take, but the guys at Offroad Solutions (Denver) might know, same with Front Range Offroad Fabrication (Red Feather, near Ft. Collins).

Consider a higher spring rate down the road, if you do add skids and sliders. Otherwise the truck will sit too low, which among other things means more hits on the front bumpstops, which will pull your alignment off.

-Sean

[Colorado4wheeler]

Originally Posted by DevinSixtySeven

Consider a higher spring rate down the road, if you do add skids and sliders. Otherwise the truck will sit too low, which among other things means more hits on the front bumpstops, which will pull your alignment off.

-Sean

So if I did the plates (and I was thinking of DIY) and the sliders I could probably do a 1 inch (or so lift) and be at the same basic height?

[rambrush]

If you order from coilsprings.com they can wind the springs to whatever weight specs you give them.
I took mine from stock 750's up to 900 or so to accomidate the ARB bumper winch, skid plates and sliders that I am planning on using. They were wound to maintain the stock height but they can add lift as well.

[Colorado4wheeler]

Edit : Arggh

[Colorado4wheeler]

Edit ARGHH X2

[Colorado4wheeler]

Originally Posted by rambrush

If you order from coilsprings.com they can wind the springs to whatever weight specs you give them.
I took mine from stock 750's up to 900 or so to accomidate the ARB bumper winch, skid plates and sliders that I am planning on using. They were wound to maintain the stock height but they can add lift as well.

What about the rear? Maybe some helper springs or just rebend the oem leafs a little?

I was thinking of a single piece home made skid plate. It would extend from the oem front skidplate to just past the transfer case. I could make the flat part first, it would need two bends to tuck under the front skid plate a little. Then some support rods to support the rear part that extends past the transfer case. Afterwards I could weld the wings on that would protect the framerails and transition to the sliders. Does that sound decent. It would seem the ones recommend are made in three pieces to make the designer more money (selling three parts) and to make shipping easier.

[DevinSixtySeven]

Keep them in several pieces if you can, it makes them easier to mount and remove if you only need to access one item...so you're not removing the entire skid for both the front of the engine and the transfer case.

It should be fine as long as it's supported on the frame somehow, otherwise any extension past the frame or crossmembers becomes a cantilever rather than a skid plate.

It should be possible to make the wings and the bottom section from the same piece of material, you'll need to provide the guy with the break the angles and dimensions, but once you have that finished piece in hand it's pretty easy to figure out holes.

For the belly skids, we measured for holes on the frame, drilled the skid, then held the skid against the frame with a floor jack to position and then use the holes as a template to drill the frame. Once we had the holes in the frame, we ran bolts (skid no longer in place) through each hole and tacked a nut on the inside of the C-channel. It's a lot easier than fiddling with nuts, washers and spacers if the plate is longer (and heavier!) than you're willing to support and reach inside at the same time.

Something similar would probably suffice for the forward skids as well, except where they attach to the crossmembers...the Skid Row plates use a loooong bolt and a bridge plate across a few of the crossmembers.