Armor Your 80 Series

FEATURE ›››
ARMOR
YOUR
80 T
1
You call this a skid plate, Toyota? The first step is removing
the thin sheet metal t-case skid: three 14mm bolts are all
that holds it in place. Once you hold it in your hand you’ll
realize just how thin and flimsy it is and there is nothing else
there to protect your transfer case.
Cruisin Off Road 80 Series Skid
By Tim Lund
he factory skid plates on most four-wheel
drive vehicles are almost laughable and with
a little belly draggin’ through the trails you
soon find them looking like crumpled tin foil.
Bang them a little too hard and not only will you
bend up the skid plate, but you risk the chance
of damaging some of the drivetrain components
that those flimsy skids were supposed to protect.
Luckily, there are companies that build heavyduty skid plates for the underside of your Toyota.
One of those is Cruisin Off Road out of British
Columbia, Canada, a small family run business
that specializes in armor for the 60, 70 and
80-series Land Cruisers.
Their offering for this tech
column is their 80-series
transfer case skid plate
($235). It attaches to and
runs rearward behind the
OEM T-case crossmember
to protect that valuable
aluminum transfer case that,
crushed by rocks, you would
not be going very far. And
yes, this skid plate definitely
fits the easy tech section,
as it took us all of about 15
minutes to install and most
of that time was getting tools
and putting them away.
STEEL STRENGTH
Built from 1/4-inch steel
plate, the Cruisin Off Road
skid plate is burly enough
to take the abuse that we
all see in the off road world,
yet doesn’t weigh a ton. The
skid plate has drain holes to
allow mud and water to work
its way out and an access
hole for the t-case oil drain
plug for servicing. Mounting
is via existing threaded holes
in your frame—no drilling!
It is also powdercoated
in black for corrosion
resistance. It’s clearly beefy
enough for bashing rocks,
so let’s take a look at how
it goes on. Contact owner
Jason at Cruisin Off Road,
www.cruisinoffroad.com,
and cruisinoffroad@shaw.ca.
2
The Cruisin Off Road skid plate lifts right up into place and
bolts to the frame with two 14mm bolts on either side and
the three original t-case skid bolts. If your frame is rusty we
would recommend that you clean the frame holes up with a tap
before installing the supplied hardware. Note the oil drain plug
access hole.
3
Once all seven bolts are installed, torque them to
30 ft./lbs. and you are done. That’s it, not much
fuss, definitely not much mess and you now have
serious protection for that t-case.►
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A
4
The Cruisin Off Road skid plate runs from frame rail to
frame rail, protecting your transfer case and even the
speedometer cable--yes, we have seen sticks rip those out
before. It’s a solid, well-formed plate.
5
Priced at $235 for the 80-series unit, and with a
replacement transfer case much higher, the COR skid plate
is a worthwhile investment. Cruisin Off Road also has armor for
60 and 70-series Cruisers, all for $235!
ARMOR YOUR 80 SERIES
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