Bent skid: how to fix or do I bother?

SSIA. I came down hard on a root while out offroading and bent my skid. It's 3/16" steel and I don't have any heavy duty tools. Any ideas on how I could easily bend this back to relatively straight?

 

Got access to a 5 pound maul (sledge hammer)?

 

Sorry about that.

That is some thick plate. I am not familiar with it. A sledge is a great idea. Problem is being on the gate, a lot of the energy from the blow is going to transfer to the gate. Can you remove it?

 

Remove skid, place on top of a couple 4x4 pieces of wood, insert hearing protection, beat the hell out of it with a sledgehammer.

You can also try to drive over it with a front tire with it blocked up.

 

If you can remove it, (why I asked), then I would sandwich it between 2x4 and wraps it tight and drive over it. An application of heat before each pass would help if you are able to relax the metal.

 

I may have to go invest in one, it sounds like this is the way to go.

 

I'm assuming I would need a propane torch or something like that?

EDIT: Oops, I forgot to mention, yeah I've removed it.

 

I'll give it a shot driving over it. I forgot to mention I do have a hi-lift jack, however I haven't figured out a way to rig anything up. I will post back with the results.

 

You’re going to have to get medieval. It will never be as flat as originally but it can get flatter.

 

It did its job protecting your radiator/oil pan/steering rack/engine/et al.

Buy a new one and sell this one as-is to someone with tools and the desire to bend it back.

 

So I totally forgot I had this heavy ass soil tamper I ended up propping it up on some wood and beating it into submission. You're right, it's not super straight but it's close enough now.

This is literally only the 4th time I've done any type of hard wheeling, I guess I'm going to have to invest in a good set of hearing protection.

 

WHAT???? EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.................

 

Set it up on some 2x4's and drive over it, or hit it with a sledge. Or just run it as is. It's still perfectly functional.

I'd maybe weld some additional braces to the top of that bad boy so it's less likely to happen again.

 

Good call on the braces, I was looking at the BAMF mid skid and they've got gussets on it, which would probably have kept this sucker from bending.