Taco2Cruiser
Crazy American Off Road
Thought I might chime in a bit. I’m no longer a BudBuilt employee, but always a friend of Bud and the company. Anyway…
The resin fuel tank under modern Toyota’s are not all the same. They change shape depending on how much fuel you keep in them, heat they live in, how old they get, and so on. They are balloons, far, far from a precision size. Also, they are held to the frame with two friction straps. They aren’t even placed in the same location from one 200 to the next. I’ve seen them easily be able to shift almost an inch left or right, and almost 2” forward and back. That’s why the bolts can be positioned anyway you feel fit. If I have room to place them with the head facing out, I do, because you I like how it looks. If not, then I flip it around. Don’t think too deep about it.
Also, when you hit the crap out of the fuel cell, it will squish, like a ballon. The aftermarket skid is mainly to defend against punctures, not to become a rigid frame like piece (like most of the other skids), because you’ll just bend your frame crossmembers. Some skids are stronger than others, because the idea was to protect the expensive things. Sometimes, you have to sacrifice an expensive skid to save a far more expensive frame or drivetrain component.
Let’s look at trophy trucks for a second. Those vehicles have powerful enough engines that they can literally destroy their trucks in 20 miles if they give their trucks full power. We need, as a community, to understand that we will never make our 200s unbreakable. You can give it a hell of a fighting chance, but the driver is what will break a 200. Not the 200, or anything bolted to it.
I’ve even read some stuff about trying to make BB skids stronger. The trans skid I’ve done in 1/4” steel with more reinforcements but outside of that skid, I wouldn’t try anything. You’ll have a super strong skid, with a bent 15k frame. But hey, wheel it hard and have fun, to each their own. Glad to see people are getting out there and gettin’ it.
The resin fuel tank under modern Toyota’s are not all the same. They change shape depending on how much fuel you keep in them, heat they live in, how old they get, and so on. They are balloons, far, far from a precision size. Also, they are held to the frame with two friction straps. They aren’t even placed in the same location from one 200 to the next. I’ve seen them easily be able to shift almost an inch left or right, and almost 2” forward and back. That’s why the bolts can be positioned anyway you feel fit. If I have room to place them with the head facing out, I do, because you I like how it looks. If not, then I flip it around. Don’t think too deep about it.
Also, when you hit the crap out of the fuel cell, it will squish, like a ballon. The aftermarket skid is mainly to defend against punctures, not to become a rigid frame like piece (like most of the other skids), because you’ll just bend your frame crossmembers. Some skids are stronger than others, because the idea was to protect the expensive things. Sometimes, you have to sacrifice an expensive skid to save a far more expensive frame or drivetrain component.
Let’s look at trophy trucks for a second. Those vehicles have powerful enough engines that they can literally destroy their trucks in 20 miles if they give their trucks full power. We need, as a community, to understand that we will never make our 200s unbreakable. You can give it a hell of a fighting chance, but the driver is what will break a 200. Not the 200, or anything bolted to it.
I’ve even read some stuff about trying to make BB skids stronger. The trans skid I’ve done in 1/4” steel with more reinforcements but outside of that skid, I wouldn’t try anything. You’ll have a super strong skid, with a bent 15k frame. But hey, wheel it hard and have fun, to each their own. Glad to see people are getting out there and gettin’ it.
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