Skid plates or No

That was one of my first mods. Even slapped a big ole red TRD sticker on it too make it "official"
I ended up selling it along with my RCI trans skid.
I've got my eyes on Talons. I like that the engine skid is modular.

 

What happened here? I can't tell.

 

passenger side cats were stolen

 

I know the struggle..
Hope your's gets fixed faster than mine did..




Learned my lesson...

 

Been there, and reason I got the RCI trans skid first, BF deal with free cat shields included. Driving home 3 hours from where it happened sucked though

 

Ouch, I hate to see it. Mine was an old pic (2023), but truck was in the shop for 2.5 months because of OEM parts backorder. I always recommend skids to anyone on the fence because theft and the overall inconvenience sucks

 

Mine was in November 2021 at the height of, well, you know.
They were stolen at noon in my employer's parking lot....

Toyota had my truck for 8 months, although they had me in a 2021 Tacoma the entire time.
They covered the cost of the loaner for the last 7 months and insurance paid the first month.

I'm a big advocate of cat shields.
I've even gotten into arguments on this forum endorsing them..

Anyone debating on getting cat shields, you don't want this drive of shame to the dealership.


https://youtu.be/qXwLc4w6Aic?si=duA04pkTg-Sva6o9

 

I agree with you on the need for them. Never had my cats stolen but I'd be pissed if it did happen.
Prior to my drive out to DFW last year I was able find a RCI trans skid w/ cat shields on OfferUp and installed it knowing that my truck would be parked at a hotel parking lot overnight on the way there and back. Definitely helped sleep better. I sold both my engine and trans skids to put into buying Talon's full skid.
I hope @Talon2006 see my message yesterday

 

Had my driver side cat stolen, totally sucks. Got plates on our Sequoia and Tundra now.

 

I never heard of cats being stolen until I read about it on here. Not long after that I ordered some cat shields from RCI. I already had their RCI engine, and transmission/ transfer skid plates on. So I had to takeoff the transmission skid to put the cat shields on. As the saying goes: I’d rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it. It’s good insurance. Plate all you can plate. I would like to get skid plates for my U-bolts but can’t find any. A company made them for the 95 Jeep YJ I had many years ago. But can’t remember the name. I have a 2014 SR5 DC

 

Not enough dents on those skids.... Yoi must be using them wrong


Where are your LCA skids...

 

I know. LCA skids are on my bucket list of mods. Hopefully this year I’ll get to do some off roading. I do miss those days going to Rousch Creek off-road Park in Pennsylvania. These are the ones for the u-bolts I had on my jeep I wish they made them for tundras. I don’t know if a u-bolt flip kit would work with airbags The skids on my YJ were dented and scratched with little paint left on them. I repainted them sometimes.

 

I don't think the LCA and rear diff needs skids. They are so tough on their own. I've hit both numerous times with no issues other than scratches.

 

They help protect the Forward facing cam bolt adjusters aswell... How do I know...

 

Yep, got both of mine stolen, too. Thieves damaged the fuel line and other stuff causing over $7500 in damage. Insurance fine print wouldn’t cover the cost of OEM cats, either, so I had to eat that cost while I waited 10 months for them to arrive. I got the Valhalla cat shields immediately after long before he closed shop.

 

Can't believe we've had so many people here with stolen cats. Maybe because the trucks are so high, they don't even need to jack them up to steal them.

 

That and the risk/reward per vehicle as we have (4) of them on each truck....

 

That and the rear differential has some low bolts that should be protected. as well as the rear drain plug.

 

Mine was at a trailhead in GSMNP, I was out backpacking for 3 days. Our trucks at factory height are easy targets. Probably less than 60 seconds a side, 4x cats and they are outta there. Send 2 guys and have both cats in under a minute. Priuses got hit around me pretty hard as well.

 

Mine was stolen at stock height, no jack necessary. Just really accessible.

 

not, but if anyone wants to give away a stock steel one i could take that off your hands for ya

 

I think @Talon2006 is M.I.A. I've messaged them on here and through their website early this week and haven't heard anything back.

Anybody here have the full Talon skid plate kit with cat shields? Would you pay the extra $$ for the Talon versus RCI that has a 15% sale right now? They both accomplish the same thing but I like that Talon's is modular and consists of more pieces than RCI.
It makes for easier removal if needed.

Does RCI have a Tundras. com coupon code? That might sweeten the deal for me.

 

I am here…. We have a lot of big things happening at the shop that we have not announced.

I just responded to one PM, I’ll check if it was yours.

 

Are you running steel or aluminum skids? I'm currently shopping for full skids and debating if the extra ~48lbs is worth the money savings for the steel skids. It's a pretty big price difference between steel and aluminum. My Tundra's not much of an off-road truck so I'm kind of leaning more towards the light weight aluminum.

 

The bigger question from weight is maintience.

rocks are going to chip the powder coat and cause it to fail. Aluminum is bolt on an go.

 

I responded to your PM

 

Mine was right in front of my apartment door. Security camera caught them driving by slowly around the apartment complex parking lot a couple times in a black sedan at around 3:15 am. They parked near my truck, one guy got out, and in less than 30-40 seconds they were gone. Unfortunately, security cam footage was black-and-white grainy, and local police couldn’t identify them or the car they were in.

 

If you're near CT you can have mine.

 

I'm happy with my RCI plate. Good a good deal on it and it gives the truck a tougher look. I bought mine mainly for protection from road debris. The only kind of off roading I do is an occasional dirt road on the way to a hiking trail.

 

I have a TRD skid plate and cat shields scheduled to be installed at my dealer after my engine is replaced.