RCI front skid coverage

Like others have alluded to, and you'll see elsewhere on this site, the steel vs. aluminum argument is alive and healthy. Sheer weight is not something that can be tossed aside when the total cargo capacity of our rigs is about 1500lb stock. When you look into full underbody skids and see that engine + trans + transfer + gas tank + rear diff skids in steel add up to about 240lb ish, the argument for aluminum becomes much more meaningful. Many people swallow the higher upfront cost to alleviate that weight gain, given that steel is roughly 250% denser than aluminum. But thats the trade off... cost vs weight vs off road 'bash-ability'

 

RCI 1/4" aluminum engine skid ordered w/black powder coat.

Evan @ RCI answered all my questions right away - great customer service.

 

Sorry..

 

I know, right?? What's wrong with you??!!

 

@kmeeg, I don't know if you bought yours from RCI directly or not, but if you did, you must not have paid much shipping...I see you live just down the road from them.

 

I paid $63.61 to RCI for full skids to be shipped to my house in April 2021 & $62.95 in Sep 2018.

 

I thought their shipping was very reasonable - $18 for the one skid. I live one state over.

 

May be the shipping is out of their hands. My wife has a business the price depends on the weight more than the location. Not sure, I don't have much info on her business and the shipping. LoL..

 

Just an update on this RCI skid - it'll be six weeks this Friday since ordering, so I emailed RCI today to see if they had any updates on the order. Evan responded within 45 minutes of my email being sent that it was currently in powder coat and would ship as soon as that process is complete and the skid is boxed up. Great response time.

FYI the current lead time stated on the RCI site for skids is 4-6 weeks.

Edit: it will be five weeks this Friday, not six as stated above. So I am well within the window.

 

I ended up ordering the Powder Coated steel/ Filler plate and took 10 days from order placement to receipt. Bolted right up no issues

RCI's customer service is superior. Always a quick response from Evan. I was up in the air as to which slides to order, definitely will be RCI.

 

BTW, any one thought about catalytic converter skid plate or some sort of cover to prevent theft? I don't think my RCI skids will prevent catalytic converter theft.

 

And yes, I do find time to get on the 4Runner forum in between PGA tournaments...

 

Yes, I ordered that extra plate, to go along with the RCI skid. The first one RCI sent was the wrong one, but they overnighted a replacement.

 

Got my set in today. From order to delivery was less than a week. Black powder coat steel. Pretty good video for the install. I'll do it over the weekend when I have access to ramps and a jack. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5YwWJRkOpc

 

Got this done. The filler plate from the skid to the front bumper is a no brainer. Ramps and a floor jack is the way to go unless you need a workout. Very happy with it. Bolted right up.

 

Hey all,

I just thought I'd share my RCI skid experience in case it would help anyone. I have a 2010 with the Victory Blitz bumper. I installed the RCI skid and the filler plate. I had to drill two holes in the Blitz bumper for the front of the filler plate, but it fit perfectly and covered the gap just in front of the radiator quite well. To be honest, I do like the much wider coverage offered by the factory skids, but the RCI combo offers some advantages in maintenance and I've had a lot of limbs get hung up in my undercarriage before and I do like the steel filler.

 

For anyone interested, I was communicating with RCI yesterday about any discounts on their skid to bumper filler plate, and I was told they are having a Labor Day sale starting Monday 8/21. 20% off. Need skid plates or sliders?