Need ASFIR Alternative Skid Plate

[OwnerCS]

I think I would like a hybrid setup with steel transmission side and aluminum front. Since I will be removing and reinstalling alone in my driveway, I will slot bolt holes to ease installation and removal. The front for me is less about deflecting rock than it is to deflect water and mud from swampy areas. I would look for a way to cover up the hole made by the Talon eagle to close an opening where mud and water would be able to pass.

 

[choyota]

Noticed my Talon's skids were bent when looking at it from the front. The front skid plate comes in 2 pieces and tie into a "mount" that is bolted to the frame, and the skids mount to that. You add shims provided by Talon to lower that mount to accommodate diff drops. Problem is, the contact point of where you most likely will be running into boulders/rocks is exactly where that tray/mount is. One of the sides to this mount bent inwards when I went offroading, so it shifted my skids. Here's a picture for better representation. There needs to be either a redesign or reinforcement to this:

Here's mine, clearly bent:

I've reached out to Talon and provided feedback.

 

[OwnerCS]

Noticed my Talon's skids were bent when looking at it from the front. The front skid plate comes in 2 pieces and tie into a "mount" that is bolted to the frame, and the skids mount to that. You add shims provided by Talon to lower that mount to accommodate diff drops. Problem is, the contact point of where you most likely will be running into boulders/rocks is exactly where that tray/mount is. One of the sides to this mount bent inwards when I went offroading, so it shifted my skids. Here's a picture for better representation. There needs to be either a redesign or reinforcement to this:

View attachment 4101731

Here's mine, clearly bent:

View attachment 4101732

I've reached out to Talon and provided feedback.

Good to know. I may find a way to reinforce during installation. Mine will be used for deflecting mud and water "think swamp life" more than crawling rocks.

 

[Mattwaldo1]

I just installed Talon's Garage on my 2000 100 Series Land Cruiser.

They were the only commercial off-the-shelf skids that allows a combination of steel front skids (radiator and engine) with aluminum skids for the middle (transmission and transfer case). I wanted a hybrid approach to save weight since I won't be bashing into rocks a lot but wanted something beefy in the front just in case I do something stupid (which I am prone to do). I figure if I hit something hard it'll give me enough warning to stop and back up before the rock gets to the middle part of the skid.

Now the real test is to actually see what they will do. So that will most likely take months, if not years to find out.

How are these talon skids holding up? Got pictures?

 

[choyota]

How are these talon skids holding up? Got pictures?

In my case (see post #22), I had someone I know who welds/fabs throw on some gussets after I procured another skid mount from Talon's Garage. I think they should probably move from a 2-piece system to a 1-piece for the front skid. Or come up with some other alternative. I provided feedback so they are aware. I mean, this thin little box is going to collapse under the 100's front-end weight if it's resting on a boulder.