How critical is the front skid?

I kind of find it hard to believe that someone will wheel a $50k+ truck so hard that they will perforate the oil pan. Actually, it seems quite stupid. There are much better vehicles for agressive trail riding.

Our Tundras are just too wide to enjoy in the trails.

If you have that kind of money to thrash something so expensive, you don't need our opinion on whether the skid will or will not gain you a margin of safety.

 

Well, maybe 2nd and 3rd gens are to wide, but round we we drive perfect sides trucks. They're not 50k carpet queens either. Well, PHMs might be...

 

I spent $3k on my truck....I'm happy to beat the snot out of it.

I just think the oil pan is probably a lot tougher than the skid plate is. Mine is off the truck for repairs and when you hold it in your hands you realize just how light it is.

 

The reentry vehicles for the Apollo missions were protected by foil and not sheets of stainless steel or titanium, etc. No just the foil that did its job well for many years, for many missions. The foils purpose was to shield the capsules from the heat, but not as one would expect, by blocking the heat. No, the foils part was to give to the heat, melting and falling off, and in the process pull the heat away from the capsules thin hull. Very light weight and easily destroyed, and vital to the program where weight was everything. [Going on very old memories; I hope I got it right - what say you Texans, with your space center? "Houston here."]

If all the skid plate does is deflect a rock, or take some of its momentum off before it enters into the trucks inner sanctum, then it too has served well.

 

Well, put it this way. I spent ten years getting hit by people with sticks....for fun.

To make this fun, I wore about 60 pounds of armor. The minimum thickness of that armor was twice that of my tundra skid plate....and it still got dented pretty often just by someone swinging a stick. We are talking about a nearly five thousand pound truck moving at speed. That skid plate isn't going to protect from much. In fact the stuff it is protecting is a LOT stronger than the plate is. Now, I have nothing against another layer of protection, no matter how feeble, I just don't think protecting heavy steel plates and castings with a layer of light sheet metal is likely very effective. The simple truth is that our trucks where never designed to run into anything without being destroyed. They are a big heavy engine and frame and axles...wrapped up in fluff, like all other modern vehicles. The skid plate they come with is just more fluff. Like the other fluff, I'm sure it has useful aero dynamic and splash protection abilities but its not going to do much in an impact. The oil pan is about twice as thick as the skid plate, for instance. Again, nothing against it, just don't expect it to be armor.

You are somewhat confused about the apollo capsules. The foil was thermal shielding intended to reflect thermal radiation the original "space blanket" What you are thinking of was the ablative heat shield, a thick, heavy composite substance that melted away while protecting the capsule, sort of like an ice cube on a hot pan. Neither have much to do with the physics of heavy object crashing into other objects however.

 

After taking it off and holding it my hands, i would consider it more a splash shield than a skid plate. Call it what you will, but its sure better than nothing. Not sure what the fuss is all about.

 

Then I stand corrected, having mixed another material's function with that of the foil. As I said, a number of years have past since then and the memories are not all that clear any more. Still, were one to replace the foil in my description with this ablative material, then the process I described would be on target - right? And it too, was not made of steel. Sometimes the plan is not so much to deal with heavy objects as it is to deal with any objects. Sometimes the plan is to go with what you have and not with what you wish you could have. I can remember going to the DMZ in Korea in '67, packing my M-14, field pack and having to wear my steel pot (helmet), thinking I was ready for whatever might come (I was 17) and then seeing all the other soldiers wearing their flak vests, or heavy bullet proof vests of that era and the effect of this reality on me. The USS Pueblo had recently been seized and tensions were high, and I would of duct taped that skid plate to me had it of been there and I had permission. Thin as the skid plate is, it is far more protection than nothing but my shirt. The analogy might be weak, but the message should be clear, something is better than nothing.

[edit] My son was involved in this rattan fighting group, wearing armor and beating the crap out of each other. I think they called it EMP, or Empire of Medieval Pursuits. Chain mall from neck to knees and armor plating for shoulders and elbows and hands (all joints), a very heavy helmet he had made in Arizona by Asir Metal Works, 14 or 16 gauge stainless steel. Here is a case where he wished he had some kind of plate armor instead of the chain mall.

 

Definitely worth it if you're off-roading or you hit a random ladder on the freeway. The Fumoto Valve makes oil changes easier.

 

I was SCA, sounds similar though, a full contact rattan group, not LARP. Helmets had to be 12 gauge minimum, 16 minimum for joints. I wore full plate. I'm a bit old for that now Not mentally of course...but back and knees are not what they once where.

 

Are you kidding me, us humans argue about which way is best to put toilet paper....over or under

 

I'm gonna just end this one before it starts a debate since there's so many 2nd/3rd gen weirdos in here....

 

Not so funny story about leaving the skid plate off. My buddy left his off after an oil change. We went hunting and when pulling out of a field where we parked he ran over a small stick. No big deal right. Well the stick was curved and when the tire ran over it, the stick kicked up and hit the plastic drain valve for the radiator breaking it off. With radiator fluid leaking out we made it back to camp before any over heat issues. Ended up having it towed to a dealer and a new radiator installed.

 

This is the exact reason I leave mine on. It's not a true skid plate, but it's robust enough to keep things like this from happening. It's not always the big stuff that can get to all those exposed lines and fins.

 

I would think it helps keep the grime off the engine as well..

 

Not one bit.

 

How critical is the skid plate?

Not so much, except for some aerodynamics and keeping road/trail debris from bouncing up in the well.

 

All my other vehicles that have had a cover help a lot compared to the ones that do not Don't know why the Tundra would be different...

 

How critical is the skid plate? Well certainly more than the truck's decals, less than the tailgate, and close to par with the passenger's sun visor. Whatever, they sure look cool when marbles paints them BLUE. And not red, orange, silver, brown or even pink.

 

My old vs new.. The old one looked battered. I had repainted it previously in that photo and modded it for easier oil change. I don't typically do anything crazy. I have some carnage on a lower control arm as well.

 

Like others said I would put it on just for protection from road debris. In the DFW area I have had people drop chairs, ladders, and chunks of concrete right in front of me. I have had to dodge 2 mounted tires and one was the spare off an 18 wheeler. Now in that case the skid plate would not have come in to play. The tires were pretty scary because both were rolling down the hwy at the posted speed.

 

LMAO..would be perfect in L.A.

 

I believe Toyota actually calls the stock plates "Splash plates", at least for Gen 2&3. Name seems to say, "not an actual skid plate".
Stock Gen1 probably not much different in design.

 

I don't see one on my 15 SR5. WTH?

 

Buy pre-owned? Some folks remove and do not re-install. Seems some that do not Off-road elect to not keep them on.

 

Yep factory certified used. I found this thread from last year seems some think it's not on an SR5.

https://www.tundras.com/threads/skid-plates.31265/

I really don't need to be buying anymore stuff. Got my tires balanced today. Seems the rears are out of round so may need to get them trued or some new ones.

 

I got a really good deal from Skid Row last December with free shipping. Might be worth keeping an eye out this year.

I'll probably grab another part of the set if they do.

 

I'm seeing a lot of unnecessary 2nd/3rd gen chatter in our little slice of 1st gen paradise.

 

I think mine will be coming off permanently next oil change. The previous owner must have dinged it up because it doesn’t align quite right and he uses some make shift bolts. It’s more of a pain to do oil changes anyways and I don’t do any off roading other than light camping trails.