The ultimate Skid Plate

[fleurys]

I'm planning on building my own set of skidplates for my 01. I would like to gather some opinions of what would be absolutely necessary if I would be building it for you ! I have read alot of posts about 3/16 vs 1/4 inch, hidden bolts washer, steel vs aluminium....

 

depending how it goes, I might also offer it for others to buy....so... let your ideas flow about what would be your ultimate skid plate for your truck. One last thing; tell me what is it, if anything, that you do not like on your current set of plates and how you would change it..

 

ps. explainaing your choices would greatly be appreciated.

 

S.

Edited October 26, 2008 by fleurys

[MY1PATH]

having recessed bolts is a really good idea! anywhere there is a bolt just use double thickness, the outer layer will have a hole big enough for a socket and the inner layer will have the bolt in it holding it in place.

steel is heavy and corrodes easily but maluable and strong (if it takes a dent you can pound it out).

alluminum can be hard but higer tempers will be more brittle(may crack on impact or get more bittle if you pound a dent out)

Alluminum doesn't corrode too bad or fast alone but bare alluminum when in contact with bare steel can lead to some bad rust problems.

Sainless is worst and best, Its heavier, strong enough and wont corrode as much. its also maluble

 

If your gonna use aluminum I reccomend 7075, from my experience @ work it seems to be less brittle than other (same temper & thickness) alluminum. and stay away form 2024, most beginners in my shop crack 2024 t6 their first time trying to bend it; not a good impact choice.

 

Hmm... If I were to make it;(spendy)

7075 T6 .375"(3/8)

bond thin (maybe .020") titanium stripsok I'll be reasonable, bond rubber strips where ever it contacts the frame across bolt locations and such to prevent aluminum-> steel corrosion contact)

Counter bore each bolt hole .25" that leaves 1/8 of material to hold skid on and .25 should sink most bolt heads up to 5/8 diameter.

make cutouts to access drain-plugs and (in my case) t-bar ajusters.

Doubler(another piece riveted the outside for extra strenght) across areas that are in closer contact to the skid and my need more protction anyway like the crossover exhaust pipe.

 

thanks for makin' me think, now I wanna make one! (the ti version)

[Pezzy]

The biggest PITA about mine:

 

Bolts... I hit em, the heads snap off, then Simon gets the fantastic job of drilling the leftover bits out, and tapping new holes.

 

Rock washers help, but when I bash the crap out of my skidplates, and make "cereal bowls" out of them (as Simon says, meaning they no longer have nice straight edges, they're now rounded inwards - mainly the skid that replaces the plastic splash guard), the rockwashers don't sit flush, so the edges catch on rocks, and we're back to my original issue.

 

Another thing to look into, ease of getting to things like the oil filter.

[nige]

i would just stack and weld a couple washers to the plate around the mounting hole instead of using rock washers. They still protect the bolt head, but you can't knock them loose like a rock washer.

 

i don't like the fact that my black panther skid plates don't protect my torsion bars. I have already taken a couple knicks out of them and that's not good. You could weld some 'wings' to the t-case and tranny plates. Shrockworks skids for the 00-04 xterras are really nice. go have a look at them for more ideas.

 

Don't use aluminum for skid plates if you wheel around lots of rocks. Sand and mud, OK, but not rocks.

[Zibi]

Aren't skids kind of redundant if you're just wheeling around sand and mud? I agree, Aluminum, aside from being much too expensive, isn't as versatile as stell for skid plates. Sure its lighter but can't take a good beating.

 

I think the biggest problem identified with the black panther ones is just the rock washers, it'd be nice to have a more elegant solution.

 

I'm also not terribly keen on the mounting points, Trainman had a good idea when I met him about attaching the front skid to the bullbar mounts.

 

It also occurs to me that since you have to half take off the rear one to get at the oil pan anyway you might as well just have one solid skid plate, that eliminates the weakpoint of having two overlap in the middle.

[Pezzy]

Aren't skids kind of redundant if you're just wheeling around sand and mud?

 

Never know what's lurking just below the surface.

[fleurys]

Thanks for the inputs.. I have taken notes... One thing remains though... 3/16 or 1/4 inch? does the cheaper 3/16 does the trick or is it 1/4inch or nothing? what's your experience on the trail ?

[Simon]

3/16" should be sufficient if you've got some bends, or braces in them

[vengeful]

Never know what's lurking just below the surface.

 

Exactly. Most people would say that if you're just driving on pavement, you don't need skidplates.

 

Well, if I didn't have my skidplates and bull-bar when I hit that bear, my truck likely would have been totalled, and mechanically disabled. Instead, I just have a busted turn signal.

[nige]

here is what my transmission plate looks like. you can see the subtle bends in and "X" pattern. They really strengthen up the plate as opposed to just having a flat piece.

 

[XPLORx4]

It might be interesting to make a skid plate out of plastic, sorta like this:

 

UHMWPE skid plate idea

 

My stainless steel skid plate is pretty banged up.

[fleurys]

It's funny you say plastics, because me and my friend were actually discussing this idea 2 days ago... We came to a conclusion that it would be hard (if not impossible) to bend it or work it to follow the undercarriage curves etc... Or for that matter the bolting of the plate in an angle (like the front spash guard)... It would probably be great for the transmission/transfer case protection though... I'll definitely read more on this... Tks.