Skid Plates and Rock Rails

[t6pilot]

I have the factory plates. The one thing that gives me reservations about the Victory 4x4 plate is the bolts aren't recessed.

I have the victory plates, very robust, no worries about non recessed bolts, all grade 8

 

[t6pilot]

Dang.. I wish they had a oil drain hatch and maybe one for the filter .. oh well, guess I'll just take them on and off every oil change

No need,cut the the small square hole to a larger size, installed a quick drain

 

[Thx_1158]

Dang.. I wish they had a oil drain hatch and maybe one for the filter .. oh well, guess I'll just take them on and off every oil change

They do have the old filter and drain provisions and there is no need to drop the VictorySkid for an oil change

 

[arash]

Dang.. I wish they had a oil drain hatch and maybe one for the filter .. oh well, guess I'll just take them on and off every oil change

According to the victory4x4 website they do:

"Removable oil filter access panel and oil drain hole make oil changes easier than with the stock skids."

 

[maddyjy]

My lower rad support got bent not from rock bashing but from a washed-out part of a trail that I didn’t notice in low-light. The nose of my car slammed into the ground.

Caveat: I had the shitty little debris shield when this happened, so I don’t know if the proper skid plate would have distributed the force enough to keep the bar from bending

Hi how did you fix the bend?

 

[jenos96]

Hi how did you fix the bend?

I didn’t

 

[Don]

"Removable oil filter access panel and oil drain hole make oil changes easier than with the stock skids."

The stock aluminum skid plate is designed to be easily removed, and is probably superior to third party vendors like Victory.

 

[arash]

The stock aluminum skid plate is designed to be easily removed, and is probably superior to third party vendors like Victory.

I'm planning to get the OEM skid plate next time Toyota has a 25% off sale that actually covers skids. Only thing that concerns me is the radiator mount since others with this skid have bent the radiator support when hitting it, but I don't do crazy difficult trails so hopefully that won't be me.

 

[Muddygriff]

I installed the OEM skids pretty easily, BUT I had this original piece that seemed to have to be removed with the upgraded steel skids. Can anyone verify that needed to be done? The instructions were not very clear.

 

[Muddygriff]

I installed the OEM skids pretty easily, BUT I had this original piece that seemed to have to be removed with the upgraded steel skids. Can anyone verify that needed to be done? The instructions were not very clear.

Disregard! After carefully re-reading the instructions, that piece is supposed to be discarded. I just hate when I have pieces left over, and that was a big one

 

[Rubicon15]

Is it possible that we’re over thinking the fact that the factory plates attach to the radiator bracket? These aren’t cosmetic parts and certainly Toyota engineers have at least considered that. If some of the contributors here are going to take their new 60k vehicle and do some rock bashing, I get it but for the majority of even the weekend overlanding crowd, I gotta think factory skids are good and if they aren’t, you likely have bigger problems.

I agree. Factory skids probably meet the needs and demands of most weekend overlanders. However, if you’re considering purchasing skids, I would strongly consider a front plate that mounts to the tow hook area and not the radiator bracket.