Homemade skid plates?

Are most people just welding sides since they don’t have access to a brake? I’m tempted to get everything cut and welded and gusseted and then taking them to a metal shop to bend the sides up for that clean look. I’m going 1/4” steel.

 

I'm guessing that is the case because most don't have access to a brake large enough. In most cases I would think 3/16" is sufficiently thick enough. 1/4" is a bit overkill unless you are bashing rocks all the time. Rough estimate of added weight over 3/16" would be 45-50 pounds if you use 1/4" for all 3 skids.

 

I’ll see what the price is when I get the steel. Haha. If it’s not too much more I think I’ll go big. I was looking at the BAMF skids and they looked nice.

 

I would do the whiskey bend method. Score the material to about 1/2 the thickness with an angle grinder and a cutoff disc, bend it with some clamps, angle iron, etc..., then re-weld the seam. You do the scoring on the inside of the bend, so you still end up with a clean looking bend.

But I would caution against doing a bunch of fabrication, then taking it to a shop to have it bent, unless you are very familiar with fabrication process. You might get it somewhere that it won't fit in their brake, then you're kinda screwed.

1/4" is really only necessary if you are constantly beating the tar out of your truck or have an extremely heavy rig. 3/16" with some reinforcement is plenty for most "normal" folks. 3/16 is a lot easier to bend and weld than 1/4", too.

 

I’m really just nervous from seeing what my buddy’s 1/4 aluminum looked like after first time off-roading. Not sure how 3/16 steel is compared to 1/4 aluminum other than those being two most used in various aftermarket offerings.

That makes sense about bringing half completed skids to a shop. Didn’t think of that.

 

3/16 steel is definitely stronger than 1/4" aluminum.

Aluminum is for weight savings, and weight only. Maybe some corrosion resistance... IMO, it is just for those "just in case" moments - better to hit (and bend) aluminum than to tear open your oil pan. Aluminum won't hold up to repeated bashing.

3/16" with 2 or 3 ribs in the middle, and flair the edges up is what I'm planning, and I'm confident I could put the weight of the truck on it no problem.

 

Would be interested to see what an engineer can say about edges and ribs and how much strength they add. Not doubting it, but I know the info is out there. Or maybe as I build them I can build a test sheet and run over it against a curb and see what each bend and rib adds to it. Taco mythbusters style.

 

A buddy of mine has an Xterra and got 1/4" aluminum skids (they were way more expensive than the 3/8 steel). He had to take them off to do some work on the truck and they were bent to hell from bumping rocks on light wheeling trips (not pounding on rocks). We couldn't get the bolt holes to align back up when we tried to reinstall it. Ended up beating the crap out of it with a BFH to make it fit again.

 

You could approximate it by looking up deflection figures for flat plate thickness and the span across the width of the skid plate.

Or just look up some pictures of other people’s skids, and see that most are putting 3 or 4 ribs, along with bending the edges up (making 5 or 6 ribs total), and go with that.

I’m just starting with some flat plate, making my primary bends (whiskey bends) to fit the lines of the frame/crossmembers, then see where I can fit some 1” wide flat bar (maybe 1/4” thick) for the reinforcement ribs, and orient them front to back. Then flair the edges up (more whiskey bends. I have some scrap .120 wall DOM tubing I’ll use for the spacers between the frame and skid, then just start throwing gussets at it until my intuition says it looks beefy enough.

 

Mine is a 2nd gen so it's a little different but here is what I did. Yes the back is full of mud

 

Damn, all one piece? I've been trying to get mine to be 2 pieces, so I don't need a crane to remove it, lol

 

I was going to have it bolt together but it was just easier to make it one piece. It's not that hard to move or put on the truck. I jack it up and get the back bolts started then move the jack to the front to finish. If I had two jacks it would be even easier

Taking it off or moving it I just get the jack centered on the skid and roll the jack wherever I want it

 

I was talking to a friend about the skids I'm working on, and he suggested "keying" the bolt holes so you don't have to take the bolts all the way out. Just loosen the bolts and slide it forward (or back) to remove.

I think I can get something like that to work on my 2 piece skid.

 

you can just weld the heads of the bolts to the skid if you want so it's like a stud

 

I'm not picking up what you're putting down here.

I was thinking of "keying" the bolt holes in the skids where they mount to the rear part of the IFS, where the two skids overlap. Where you have an elongated channel (just large enough for the bolt thread diameter), with a larger hole on one end that's big enough to allow the bolt head/washer to pass thru.

 

Oh. ok I didn't understand what "keying" was. yeah that would make it easier to take on and off

I was talking about just welding the nut or the bolt head to one side of the skid so you don't have to have 2 wrenches to take it off. Like the nuts inside the frame

 

Oh I gotcha.

I'm still not entirely sure how I'm going to mount the skids to the frame at the IFS. Those stock mounts are pretty flimsy (just skinny flat bar that's welded by the bushing mounts with that welded nut. Mine are a little bent as is. Earlier in this thread there's a guy who used some thicker plate to mount to - tore off the stock mounts and re-welded the plate. I might do that, but because I have a diff drop, it doesn't quite apply to my situation. I have some C-channel that I'm sure I can get to work, just need the time to get under there and stare at it then start cuting and welding.

 

These are good ideas. I like the key hole idea. Why are you guys doing for gas tank skid. I noticed some companies don’t offer it while others offer thinner metal. The sports don’t even have one while the OR is plastic. I wonder how often people dent and grind the gas tanks?

 

You need tank straps off an offroad to mount most gas tank skids. This is what stops a lot of people. The Off Road has a hard plastic skid.
Some places sell the straps separately.

 

I just don't worry about it. The gas tank is in a pretty good place. I always have rtv silicone in my toolbox to patch it if it does take a hit