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By: Jay Kopycinski. November, 2001.	Navigation Menu OutdoorWire Front Page Main Expo Center 4x4 Parts OutdoorWire Site Index Main Links Index 4x4Wire Front Page 4x4 Tech 4x4 Trails

Does your tank look like this....it could!

If you do much challenging wheeling with your Toyota you'll sooner or later hit your gas tank skidplate on a rock or other trail obstacle. The stock skidplate is good for mild hits, but will easily start to bend when hit hard. One option to fortify the area is to replace the stock skidplate with something beefier. Instead, we'll show you a quick way to beef up the stock plate for very little time and cost.

With the skidplate unbolted and removed from the tank, you simply need to weld some reinforcing steel pieces to the top side of the skidplate. We chose to use some 1/2" steel angle iron we had lying around. Alternately, you could probably use 3/4" angle, or similar sized box tubing, as well. Just be sure to check other sizes to make sure they fit between the skidplate and the bottom of the gas tank.

Angle iron used to add stiffness to the skidplate	Paint removed in preparation for welding	Welding the angle every few inches on the skidplate

We cut the angle iron pieces and laid them in the low areas of the skidplate. We then placed short welds every few inches to weld the angle to the skidplate. We found the welding caused the skidplate to warp a bit but it could easily be pressed right back flat when it was bolted back onto the gas tank.

Here is the finished, beefier skidplate

While this isn't the ultimate rock guarding skidplate, it does offer a resonable improvement over the stock setup. Best of all, the cost of the modification is practically free if you have access to a welder.