Armoring Up - What do we need?

Deadman Offroad

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Feb 14, 2017
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So the other day I was at a crowd funding launch part for some good friends of mine, Off the Grid Surplus, where I started talking to a guy who owned a really rad Unimog. Jake is a fabricator who runs his own shop in San Marcos. He has been doing custom work on high end cars and motorcycles for years but he wants to get out of that game. Rich people tend to be jerks when it comes to paying for the work that has been done. He showed me some of the work he has done and it is outstanding. This guy has some serious skill. Funnily enough his Unimog has a bunch of Ferrari parts on it, just because they fit and he had the tools and know how to make them.

All that to say that he is looking to start doing more production stuff than custom work, and he wants to focus on the overland/offroad side of things. I talked to him about armoring up my Sequioa as there is so little love for our rigs in the aftermarket department and he seemed really interested. He is actually working on a front bumper for a 2000 Tundra for a friend of his so this would be an easy transition.

So my question to you all is this, what kind of armor would you like to see made available for our beloved vehicles? Lets make a laundry list. With the things that are available, what would you like to see different?

The things I am interested in that I am will be working with him on is front and rear bumpers, sliders, and skids.

What else needs some attention? How far back should the skids go?

Since my Sequoia is actually my wife's, she doesn't want to have to deal with a swing out. But having a swing out would be really nice, especially since we are running an RTT. I am thinking of working with him on making a easily removable swing out. That way you can run around town without it, but when you are getting ready for the trails you just toss it back on. What do you think? Would that be an interesting idea to entertain?


Take a look at his instagram account to get an idea of what he has done, @theflyingdutchmanco.
 
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Sequoia4WD

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Dec 29, 2016
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Not really armor but rear ladder integrated into swingout would be sweet or maybe a side ladder like the Southern Style Off-road rear bumper might make better use of available space.

Production hidden winch mount with recovery points would be great. It has been done but nothing Production.
That and some kind of hybrid winch bumper would do well I think because alot of people don't want to go full armor but still would like to run a winch.

Also roof rack options are very limited for our trucks as well.

Screenshot_2017-06-28-12-02-18.png
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Deadman Offroad

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I like the idea of the hybrid bumper/winch mount. I hadn't seen ss_offroad's version but I have seen C4 fabrications lo-pro bumpers, and they look really good. I had actually emailed them to see if they would make one for the Sequioa and they said no, no market :(

extreme-30-c4-fab-lo-pro-2.jpg
 

Deadman Offroad

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Feb 14, 2017
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Soooo I'll take a bullet and allow my truck to be a demo for the hybrid bumper....

Thanks for being willing to sacrifice for us ;)

If any one is good at photo shop, it would be interesting to see what it would look like on our vehicles. The bumpers on the latest generation 4 runners are already split, so replacing the plastic with a metal piece is very clean. I wonder if it would look as good on a first gen sequoia, just trying to picture it.

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Sequoia4WD

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The middle section would have to be cut out but that's SOP for these type setups. This is closer to what I envision...Screenshot_2017-06-28-19-05-31.pngScreenshot_2017-06-28-19-04-23.png
 

Sequoia4WD

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Dec 29, 2016
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+1 on belly armor. Add me to the pre-order list!!
Aluminum would be my first choice, it'd be great to have some Sequoia specific production skid plates!

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TurboMech

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Jun 29, 2017
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Not really armor but rear ladder integrated into swingout would be sweet or maybe a side ladder like the Southern Style Off-road rear bumper might make better use of available space.

Production hidden winch mount with recovery points would be great. It has been done but nothing Production.
That and some kind of hybrid winch bumper would do well I think because alot of people don't want to go full armor but still would like to run a winch.

Also roof rack options are very limited for our trucks as well.

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+1 on the side mounted roof ladder. I may just have to make my own.

Dedicated roof rack options are extremely limited, however, the Gobi fit the bill for exactly what I want. Even if they are expensive.
 
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desertrunner04

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Dec 3, 2017
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Those winch mount/bumpers integrated into the OEM front bumper look clean. Aren't there times when you need access to the top of the winch?
 
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Jbd

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Jul 2, 2018
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Yes need access to controls on top of winch. A friend's LR4 has an integrated one and he can't access controls from top, which is the way you'd likely need to access from.
 

dstgean

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Dec 1, 2017
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+1 to all that has been mentioned, although a tube bumper with winch mount would be so cool to have as an option.
 

B_Squared

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Nov 21, 2019
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I like the idea of the hybrid bumper/winch mount. I hadn't seen ss_offroad's version but I have seen C4 fabrications lo-pro bumpers, and they look really good. I had actually emailed them to see if they would make one for the Sequioa and they said no, no market :(

extreme-30-c4-fab-lo-pro-2.jpg


This.... this this this. One of the first major exterior mods I'd like to do on my tree is a winch. I love the idea of a hybrid.