One of the pillars of my 4Runner buildup has been to keep it practical enough to be a daily driver. In my opinion, there is nothing less practical than a 4Runner with a busted oil pan, transfer-case, or anything else that leaves it dead in the water. Some of the most important modifications I have done were adding armor to the 4runner to protect running gear and body panels, add recovery points, and add clearance. For me, I like the extra confidence that I can drive a long ways from home and run difficult terrain all while knowing that I have a much lower chance of incurring damage that leaves me stranded.
My 4Runner with the Full Shrockworks Armor Treatment
One big trade-off of adding the armor is weight, and it is something that everyone modifying for offroad capability should consider. Between rock sliders, heavy-duty skids, and a steel front bumper I estimate I’ve added ~350 pounds of extra weight. You definitely need to factor this into fuel mileage, handling, and GVWR. There is no free lunch!
I have chosen to use Shrockworks armor on my 4Runner based on the reputation for quality, fit and finish, and have yet to be disappointed by their products, they look, fit, and perform as advertised. Here is what I’m running:
Shrockworks Rock Sliders: These were my second purchase for the truck after putting on my first set of Goodyear Duratracs on the truck. The sliders bolt to the frame of the truck and protect the lower doors and body panels from steep breakovers and obstacles that would otherwise crunch the panels.
Why Shrockworks Sliders? When I was in the market for sliders in the Spring of 2011 there were very few slider options. Shrockworks has a reputation for very-high quality products (made in Houston), and also for very long wait times. I decided that I was OK waiting ~8 weeks in order to get them. Overall I have been very pleased with them, they’ve done their job (protecting the lower panels) and the powdercoat has held up well for the past 2 years.
Shrockworks Sliders On the 4Runner (Not my Truck)
Shrockworks Skid Plates: The Trail Edition came with a mostly full set of thin, stamped metal underbody skid plates, which is better than nothing, but not a whole lot better. The thin stamped metal will not hold up to sharp rocks or support the weight of the truck on an impact. Shrockworks offers a full skid plate protection kit made of 3/16” steel that creates a smooth continuous skid from the front bumper all the way back to behind the transfer case, and also a nice, big beefy fuel tank skid plate. Again, I knew going in that I’d have to wait several weeks to get these after ordering them, but such is life.
Underbelly shot of Shrockworks skids from the Shrockworks website
Shrockworks Front Bumper: While I loved the look of the stock Trail Edition front bumper, it left plenty to be desired in terms of approach angle, protection, recovery points, and winch-friendliness (although there are now winch-plates you can use with a stock 4Runner bumper that are pretty slick!). After a particularly hairy, muddy trail run in Vermont back in 2011 that required me to get winched in some slick situations I was convinced it was time for a bumper. When I was looking at bumpers there were 2 primary options, either Shrockworks or ARB. While ARB has a great reputation (and I use other ARB products), I don’t love the look of their solution for the 4Runner, which sticks out pretty far on the front end and requires cutting of the OEM bumper. The Shrockworks bumper seems to fit the truck more naturally, with less overhang, and also does not require cutting the factory bumper cover.
The Shrockworks 4Runner Front Bumper
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