What have you done to your 2.5 gen Tundra today?

Installed drivers side grab handle, Husky X-act contour mats, ordered '18 Platinum head lamps and fog lamps and 10 pin wire harness (still need to figure out a harness fix), ordered color keyed door handles and mirror caps, ordered X2 Power Battery to replace stock battery (even though it's new), installed remote starter (aftermarket).

 

VERY interested in your feedback on this Troy. Keep us posted!

 

Good to know, keep us posted. I just haven't had luck with touchless washes, would love to find a solution. Thanks!

 

I'm very interested to know how the new'18 headlamps go in and what you think of the output. Please post back!

 

Exciting! Keep us posted on the 18 headlight install

 

Will do! The '18 LED fog lamps are a plug and play as Roman confirmed the harness is the same on the '17 and '18 models. However, the '18 Platinum head lamp harness is a 10 pin compared to a 4 pin on my '17 Platinum. I hope that my friend can mod the two 10 pin harnesses I ordered. I may need two of the 4 pins as well. Will know more in the immediate near future as Roman said my head lamps should be at my door step by the end of next week, and my fog lamps and harnesses should be here by the end of this week. I can't imagine the harness modification being that difficult.

 

Installed new wheels and AT tires. 1st picture is late in the evening. 2nd picture shows the wheels and tires next to the truck prior to installation.

 

My Dodge 2500 Cummings had the banks exhaust and loved how it performed. I only wish Banks made more items for my Tundra engine like they do for my old dodge.

 

Installed a punisher emblem replacement I made out of 1/8" plate.

 

@Baja Designs

#ledporn

Just installed new Squadron Sports with the amber wide cornering lens. These babies are bright!

DIY to follow!

 

I'm glad you like them. I was think about switching my combo lenses to the wide cornering but just never got around to it.

 

You asked a good question, COMiami. Turns out the RCI plate requires another RCI front skid plate to install. It is NOT a stand-alone plate. It is very well made, and the OEM "skid plate" that came with the new TRD Tundra is a joke. The stock plate is flimsy and very short, and it looks nothing like any skid plate I have ever seen before, especially on one of my Toyotas. The stock front end skid plate is junk, and is so flimsy that it will easily bend up into the engine compartment, where it could do real damage to the vehicle. It is not armor, and it is not Toyota quality. Credit to RCI for making super rugged kit. They just gotta describe it better so the buyer knows what they need to install it.

 

The stamped sheet metal piece is sometimes referred to as a splash guard. Dealers call it a skid, but they will lie about anything! It's certainly not a true skid. The pro comes with a skid plate that works well with the RCI transfer case skid. It's made to slip in between the front skid and the frame. It's got slots not holes on the leading edge.

 

I am sure you are correct. My TRD vehicle description sheet says the truck comes with a front "skid plate" and a "gas tank skid plate." The OEM front skid plate is actually worse than no skid plate at all, because it is so short and so flimsy. It is pure junk. This is shameful.

 

Thanks. So sounds like I would need to get an RCI front before I consider the xfer case skid. That's why I asked so I don't make a buying error later on. Thanks!

 

I can't imagine how much the combo lens lights up the road, the wide cornering light up much more distance out front than I expected. Crazy bright!

 

With the combos you have to be a little more cautious with the aim to not blind on coming traffic but boy do they put out some light.

 

I bet! Even with the wide cornering lenses I only plan on using them without oncoming traffic or in legit fog.

 

Or you could buy a TRD Pro skid. A member was selling one last week.

 

Can't wait to see what needs to he doesn't to make the 18' headlights work! Good luck, props to you for giving it a try!

 

Yes. You will need both front and transfer case plates. Why RCI does not say this is a mystery. On the good side, we learned that the RCI transfer case plate doesn't interfere with the stock gas tank plate, which is very thin sheet metal, same as the stock OEM front skid plate. Difference is that the gas tank is plastic and can absorb some movement, so the thin skid plate there actually does help.

 

Seems the going price for the TRD Pro front skid plate is $400 to $500, and from the photos I see it looks like more flimsy junk, hate to say it. Have you seen the RCI skid plates? These are serious armor. The transfer case plate alone weighs close to 100 pounds. The stock OEM front skid plate weighs about FIVE pounds, and the TRD Pro skid plate looks like it might weigh maybe ten or fifteen pounds. The RCI front skid plate costs about $325 and weighs about 75 pounds. This is like Humvee armor. You can high center your Tundra on this armor and spin it around like a top. The Toyota OEM will crumple in a second. I do not like saying this, obviously, as a long time devoted Toyota pickup driver.

 

The pro skidplate is the same thick aluminum as the RCI . Yes I have seen them, the RCI is on my truck. Used, the pro skid, can be purchased for less than 1/2. I agree, it would make no sense to buy it new from a dealer

 

The RCI plate I bought is 10-gauge steel, though they do offer aluminum too, which is a lot lighter and probably close to the same protection as the steel. Yeah, if you're going to buy the TRD Pro front skid plate, used is definitely the way to go. New ain't worth the money. The aftermarket products are too numerous and far superior, for less money than the OEM.

 

I wanted the aluminum to reduce weight, eliminate rusting, and match the stock skid. I'm carrying way too much weight as it is.

 

We have oak stumps here, that sneak in underneath without warning. A rock grates. A big rock jolts the vehicle. A hard old oak stump won't make a peep when your vehicle backs over it, and only when your vehicle is suddenly a foot or more in the air do you find out you "hit something." I wanted steel plates, which I had on my Tacomas and which looked like they had been beaten with sledgehammers when I said goodbye. A truck as heavy as the Tundra, in these woods, needs all the under protection it can get. Those steel RCIs are about as good as we are going to get. For occasional or careful off-road, the aluminum should last forever.

 

I have been hi-centered more times than i can remember. Grinding off bolts and peeling back differential covers is not new to me. I've never run aluminum skids before but don't believe that they will be inferior to the steel. Only time will tell. I believe the best skids are probably 1/2" slick plastic. They allow you to slide off the rocks and don't gouge or dent.

 

On RCI's Facebook page they have pics of the aluminum skids after shooting a .22 cal and barely even dented them. I think we're good!