I'm sure you can back it up with how dangerous they are. It's a convenience thing that you can put a plex hose on the end and open the valve thus not getting oil all over the top of the skid plate. As stated ,I've had mine for 3 years with absolutely no issues. I'm interested in knowing how...
Once you get it started they come off pretty easily. One thing I wouldn't suggest is using a heat gun, just use a hair dryer. You don't want to be the person on YouTube that damaged your paint.
I own a 4x2 Sport and you would be surprised how capable that drive train is. Now I don't go on any aggressive rock crawling or mudding but I've been on some forest roads that had some bad ruts and mud puddles and had no issues plowing through. Finally, know your capabilities
I figured it would be negligible as with the Gen 3's. I'm sure Toyota could save a lot of change by eliminating it but I'm sure the government is pushing it