Skid plates

[4gotalot]

Ice came off Ennis Lake last week so I took the dogs for a boat ride and a lot of stick fetching. Arrived home and found a lot of big boxes from BudBuilt. The stage 3 skid plates are here! This is our first week of temps in the low 60’s by the afternoon so I will be able to paint them out side.

 

[Markuson]

Ice came off Ennis Lake last week so I took the dogs for a boat ride and a lot of stick fetching. Arrived home and found a lot of big boxes from BudBuilt. The stage 3 skid plates are here! This is our first week of temps in the low 60’s by the afternoon so I will be able to paint them out side.View attachment 1960867

Nice.
Are these steel? Stainless steel? Aluminum?

 

[4gotalot]

Nice.
Are these steel? Stainless steel? Aluminum?

I went with 3/16 steel. Aluminum would have worked for 90% of what I bumped into so far but the steel will help my brain not stress as much about the other stuff I haven't hit yet.

 

[Markuson]

I went with 3/16 steel. Aluminum would have worked for 90% of what I bumped into so far but the steel will help my brain not stress as much about the other stuff I haven't hit yet.

Ya, 3/16 stainless here. I have to touch up my other armor all the time, but will be nice to just leave skids bare for a change...

 

[Taco2Cruiser]

I did speak to the tech again about the skidplate interference. It was not just the access, but the bottom A-arms contacted the skidplates at full droop when we had the alignment where we set it.

@first LC, could you send me some pictures of the contact? This is the first feedback I’ve heard of contact made.

 

[Tommy Dwyer]

Ya, 3/16 stainless here. I have to touch up my other armor all the time, but will be nice to just leave skids bare for a change...

Speaking of your other armor (ARB skids) are you thinking of selling them?

 

[Markuson]

Speaking of your other armor (ARB skids) are you thinking of selling them?

Sure!

Will have to wait til after cruise Moab... will probably repaint and see what condition they’re in. I have quite an assortment of other doodads to sell… So I will try to deal with those soon.

 

[Tommy Dwyer]

Sure!

Will have to wait til after cruise Moab... will probably repaint and see what condition they’re in. I have quite an assortment of other doodads to sell… So I will try to deal with those soon.

Thanks! Will be interested to see what else is in your “garage sale”

 

[unclemat]

I did speak to the tech again about the skidplate interference. It was not just the access, but the bottom A-arms contacted the skidplates at full droop when we had the alignment where we set it.

Now that is concerning. My BB skids are waiting to be installed.

 

[Taco2Cruiser]

Now that is concerning. My BB skids are waiting to be installed.

Here’s what’s interesting. The skids were built off my 2011. Before Bud designed them, he rotated the lower arms cam tabs bolts the center of the truck and horizontal. That means that the arms cannot get any closer, it’s maxed. Then the skid was spaced by .3”.

Now 200 frames are far from exactly the same. (Working on these Kaymar rear bumpers, almost all 200s body’s are not center on the frame, and the frames themselves, which is be expected from a mass production vehicle.)

So I’d love to see a picture of where it is contacted. At the end of the day, if something doesn’t fit, we’ll fix it, and send you a new one. But I’d be pretty suppressed if you have an issue.

But things change, you’re be amazed at how Toyota changes things randomly. And they sure don’t call an aftermarket shops and tell us they changed anything. The fun is, we actually make everything in shop. So making a change, and fixing it, is not really a big deal, so we got you.

@sleeoffroad so the tech did the alignment, then tried to put the skid back on and it was hitting the arms? What did the tech do next? Did the tech have to push the arms the outside to fit the skids?

 

[unclemat]

Hey! I am not super concerned, but I will certainly keep an eye on it.

 

[sleeoffroad]

@sleeoffroad so the tech did the alignment, then tried to put the skid back on and it was hitting the arms? What did the tech do next? Did the tech have to push the arms the outside to fit the skids?

We compromised the alignment from where we normally put it so the arms would not hit.

 

[firstlc]

Here’s what’s interesting. The skids were built off my 2011. Before Bud designed them, he rotated the lower arms cam tabs bolts the center of the truck and horizontal. That means that the arms cannot get any closer, it’s maxed. Then the skid was spaced by .3”.

Now 200 frames are far from exactly the same. (Working on these Kaymar rear bumpers, almost all 200s body’s are not center on the frame, and the frames themselves, which is be expected from a mass production vehicle.)

So I’d love to see a picture of where it is contacted. At the end of the day, if something doesn’t fit, we’ll fix it, and send you a new one. But I’d be pretty suppressed if you have an issue.

But things change, you’re be amazed at how Toyota changes things randomly. And they sure don’t call an aftermarket shops and tell us they changed anything. The fun is, we actually make everything in shop. So making a change, and fixing it, is not really a big deal, so we got you.

So I was underneath this morning to take some pictures - I didn't see any touching, but I also don't have a lift to get full droop. My understanding (please correct me if I am not quite right) is that in order to avoid touching at full droop Slee had to adjust the camber and castor outside of where they generally like to set it for 2017 Land Cruisers.

Anyway, yesterday I think I may have figured out what the culprit actually is. I have King shocks - I installed them just over 2 years ago when the truck was new. Apparently, they were one of the first batches of shocks King produced for LC. In order to get a minimal lift I had to really squish the spring - using up all of the preload. So I assumed with a new front bumper and winch I would need a new, stiffer springs for my coilovers. Anyway after talking with King they sent a new set and Slee installed it as I asked. But, as it turns out, the guy I spoke with at King when I ordered the springs did not recognize the design of the shock changed about a year ago - and sent me a newly designed spring length which is 2 inches longer than the spring I originally had. So the springs now in my coilovers are not only stiffer, but 2 inches longer than they should be. (Slee did notice this and talked to both King and me about it, but King said the longer length was the right length and that the original spring was the wrong length spring for the shock.) So, when I finally talked to King the other day (and found all this out) they said the longer spring can cause "binding" on my coilovers. To me, as an attorney, that is a nebulous term that means "sh*t will randomly not be right" in my suspension. It is my guess that that extra 2 inches in the springs is why there is touching on full droop. Making a long story longer - on Tuesday I will be getting new shocks installed. I'll let you know if that fixes the touching problem I'm having at full droop - I imagine it will since I never had a problem for the entire year I had the skid plates with the original King coilovers and springs. Thank you again for your help. Both Budbuilt and Slee are excellent companies to work with.

 

[Taco2Cruiser]

So I was underneath this morning to take some pictures - I didn't see any touching, but I also don't have a lift to get full droop. My understanding (please correct me if I am not quite right) is that in order to avoid touching at full droop Slee had to adjust the camber and castor outside of where they generally like to set it for 2017 Land Cruisers.

Anyway, yesterday I think I may have figured out what the culprit actually is. I have King shocks - I purchased them just over 2 years ago when the truck was new. Apparently, they were one of the first batches of shocks King produced for LC. In order to get a minimal lift I had to really squish the spring - using up all of the preload. So I assumed with a new front bumper and winch I would need a new, stiffer springs for my coilovers. Anyway after talking with King they sent a new set and Slee installed it as I asked. But, as it turns out, the guy I spoke with at King when I ordered the spring did not recognize the design of the shock changed about a year ago - and sent me a newly designed spring length which is 2 inches longer than the spring I originally had. So the springs in my shocks now are not only stiffer, but 2 inches longer than they should be. (Slee did notice this and talked to both King and me about it, but King said the longer length was the right length and that the original spring was the wrong length spring for the shock.) So, when I finally talked to King the other day (and found all this out) they said the longer spring can cause "binding" on my coilovers. To me, as an attorney, that is a nebulous term that means "sh*t will randomly not be right" in my suspension. It is my guess that that extra 2 inches in the springs is why there is touching on full droop. Making a long story longer - on Tuesday I will be getting new shocks installed. I'll let you know if that fixes the touching problem I'm having at full droop - I imagine it will since I never had a problem for the entire year I had the skid plates with the original King coilovers and springs. Thank you again for your help. Both Budbuilt and Slee are excellent companies to work with.

Yes please send those pictures so I can see. Take close in of the cam tabs so I can see where the bolts are within the cam.

Regardless, Slee said your alignment is compromised, so that needs to be corrected soon so you don’t irregularly wear your tires. I like to fix known issues before they cause needless repair work.

Will you be at LCDC? I’d like to get my hands on that truck.

 

[firstlc]

Here are some photos from the driver's side. Tuesday was the soonest I could get the new shocks installed and the truck realigned. In between the only offloading I'll be doing is my mile long dirt road to my house.

I'm on the waitlist for LCDC. I waited too long to sign up because I thought I could just "stop by for a day" since I'm in Durango and Ouray is just a quick/easy day trip for me. Anyway, I thought I might just turn up in town and say hi at some point.

 

[sleeoffroad]

Regardless, Slee said your alignment is compromised, so that needs to be corrected soon so you don’t irregularly wear your tires. I like to fix known issues before they cause needless repair work.

He won't get tire wear. We just prefer to put more caster on the trucks when lifted. In this case we did less. That is what I meant with we compromised on the alignment. There is nothing technically wrong, just not set the way we normally do.

 

[firstlc]

We just prefer to put more caster on the trucks when lifted. In this case we did less.

I’m having the new shocks put on today and getting an alignment. If you don’t mind sharing, how much caster do you typically recommend for a lifted truck?

 

[firstlc]

I’m having the new shocks put on today and getting an alignment. If you don’t mind sharing, how much caster do you typically recommend for a lifted truck?

So after a new set of shocks and alignment everything is fitting correctly. No touching at full droop.

 

[Froggy365]

Ice came off Ennis Lake last week so I took the dogs for a boat ride and a lot of stick fetching. Arrived home and found a lot of big boxes from BudBuilt. The stage 3 skid plates are here! This is our first week of temps in the low 60’s by the afternoon so I will be able to paint them out side.View attachment 1960867

Hey! What color did you end up painting your BBs? I have the exact same truck and was debating on the color choice. The BB red might look kind of sharp, or maybe I'd go with matte black as it's easy to touch up...

 

[4gotalot]

Hey! What color did you end up painting your BBs? I have the exact same truck and was debating on the color choice. The BB red might look kind of sharp, or maybe I'd go with matte black as it's easy to touch up...

I painted them gloss black thinking that the BudBuilt stickers would adhere better. Also the gloss finish has a higher BC at freeway speeds so I think I may have picked up some HP and MPH.

Installed this last week and it went very well. In the garage, on my back, one plate at a time loose fit then go back and torque.