Anyone do a lightweight build?

According to the tire calculator, they are 1" taller and 1" skinnier than what you're running now. You shouldn't have issues, even at full stuff.

 

Nice to see a thread started on something like this. I've been having a heck of an internal debate between the aluminum option for a particular brand's front bumper, or steel (easy to work on it with my MIG). A light weight build is big for me as I daily drive this truck- my shell is a removable canvas one. Rather than steelies, I'd probably want alloy.

 

I've looked around some more, read several other threads and have come up with a few decisions.

-Tube bumpers. They're starting to grow on me and will be lighter than plate. For the rear bumper, it'll actually be lighter than stock as I currently have an OEM bumper and a Curt hitch. An integral bumper/hitch will save weight.

-Tires. Looking at 32" or 33" x 10.5". Beyond the fact that I like the look, the reduced rubber width will result in a lighter tire. This'll also allow me to run a steel "D" hole and offset any weight savings of a wider tire on an alloy. Its a neutral trade-off but I like steel wheels.

-Skids. I'll eventually get a set of BudsBuilt but I'm leaning towards 1/8". Yes, they offer less strength vs. the 3/16" but thats okay with me. I'm more concerned about an unseen rock or branch working its way to the drivetrain instead of slamming and dragging the undercarriage through the trails.

Besides the obvious benefits to fuel economy, a lightweight build can also reduce the stresses to the drivetrain.

 

^ I completely agree. There's no way I would skip on steel wheels either.

I think a better designed skid that is thinner can be as good as a badly designed skid that is thicker. Brace a thin one where it counts and deal with the rest. It's gonna get dents and scratches, but better it than drivetrain parts.

 

x2, skids are brute thickness right now, but going thinner and bracing it properly should cut a lot of weight but prevent it from being ineffective. Probably lots of weight to be saved there.

 

That's funny right there.

Unless you're wheeling in a group (which you should), an unused winch is just another piece of the machine. I don't take my bed off when I'm not hauling, I don't take the passenger seat out when I'm riding alone. A stuck with no winch = dead in the desert. The immediate need comes well after any time when installing it is an option.

I used to run alone all the time with a modestly equipped vehicle, there was more than once I really NEEDED a winch, but several hours later I got moving again. Same situations would have been a 2 minute job if I was equipped like I am today. The times I've been stuck in the last few years were at most a minor inconvenience.

You absolutely don't HAVE to have a winch, but they sure are nice from time to time.

 

You're absolutely correct and I'm the type of person who carries first aid, survival and other tools in the car "just in case".

I could've done a better job in my explanation but it's about prioritizing. Everything is important when you need it, superfluous when you don't. For some, quickly spending $10k on tires, lifts, skids, bumpers, winches, radios, tools, etc. is just a means to an end...which is having a rig capable of anything, anytime. For others, it's wheel it until something breaks, then improve.

For me, mine ran surprisingly well stock but there were areas I knew I couldn't go and didn't try. My original plan was skids for protection, then bumpers for approach/departure angles with a lift last. However, I found issues with the suspension so I decided to upgrade that first.

I will get a winch once I find that I begin to get myself in situations where I "may" need one. However, there are other things that I could better spend my money first in order to get to those areas where I may need a winch.

For me, half the fun is the challenge of trying to build as light of a vehicle as possible yet making it just as strong and capable as a "heavy" rig.

 

Just do lockers last They let you get into some pretty gnarly places and if you get stuck there you're really up a creek.

My first *I need a winch* moment happened on a trail I'd been on a dozen times a year and never needed one. Elk hunting, snowy/icy mountain trail. I got 'stuck' trying to go uphill to get back to camp and that's when I found out the front axle on a YJ uses a vacuum diaphram to engage. Mine apparently got old and wouldn't flex when it was cold, left me stuck in 2wd. I'd done that trail over and over again in worse weather and 4wd without an issue. 2wd and I was pretty much up a creek. Up until then I never even considered being stuck on that trail but I came pretty close to being a frozen dead guy in the mountains.

When I finally got moving forward again I had to do a hard trail fishtailing and bouncing off red-line, any loss of momentum and I wasn't going to get going again. I ended up doing some substantial trail damage including a 4" wide branch punching through my windshield.

After that I figured out how bypass (permanently) the vacuum portion of the system and started collecting some better equipment. Getting back alive and safe equipment comes before getting further up the trail equipment. I'd rather see a full on stock vehicle with a winch and some recover gear than a full on built rig with lockers/gears and no gear heading up the mountain. 2nd rig *probably* will make it back, but if there's a problem it's going to be BIG.

 

I hate those vacuum disconnects. Found out the one on my F150 was bad when my son and I got stuck on the ice with temps dropping to -20.

 

The "lightweight" that you describing is a typical taco build. If you want light weight, yank the bed off, take the doors off, gut everything out of the interior, run 255/85/16's on stock wheels and you will be well over 500lbs lighter. Just avoid bolting on all the useless cap that most people on here bolt on. You don't need extra lights, you don't need any kind of rack, extra gas cans, shovels, or a bed cap get my drift... I pretty much built the truck your describing as "lighweight" and its still heavy.

I would focus the build on reliability, that's the route i took. I cannot stand wrenching on the trail, so i built the truck to be easy on parts. I installed a crawler which is easier on drive train parts, use the locker all the time, and use a winch instead of buying a front locker. Building it this way has resulted in one broken cv in 6yrs of wheeling.

Get that winch, its money well spent!

You truck should have an electric front disconnect, my 02 does.

 

Just an update.

I bought a set of RAT 1/8" skids. 1/8" steel will dent if I come down hard on them but the way I see it:

1. These skids are still a vast improvement over the OEM sheetmetal skid
2. Coverage from the IFS to the t-case is a vast improvement over the OEM IFS-only skid
3. Even if I do dent them, they will still do their job in protecting the IFS, rack, transmission and t-case from direct damage.

Once I get them painted and installed, I'll add the pics to my build thread.

 

A little late to the party, but one thing nobody has seemed to touch on is grade of materials. If you want to go light but strong, you may have to spend the extra money on higher grade steel or better forming processes.

For example, I am building skids out of 1/8" plate, but it's A572 Gr. 50. More expensive and harder to form, but it's as strong as 1/4" or 3/16" low-strength alloys, at half the weight.

If you're looking at steel wheels, you can get forged aluminum wheels that are twice as strong as cast steel wheels - much more expensive but much lighter.

High strength, low weight, low cost. Pick two.

 

Using "shapes" vs. plate will always yield a lower deformation when you take a hit. You can also lower the weight this way. My mid skid, which covers the transmission and transfer case, weighs in at 60lbs. For comparison the All-pro transfer case skid by itself weighs 90lbs.

The main frame is 1.9" OD x 0.145" wall and the filler is 1" thick UHMW. The 1" UHMW weighs less per square foot than 3/16" steel plate which is the typical skin for skid plates.

There are ways to save weight, but for the most part you will have to think outside of the box to accomplish that.





With that being said, my truck is by no means light.

 

Dang! That's pretty alright!!

I'm doing 1/4" thick UHMW this weekend on top of my existing mangled 3/16" steel skids. I'm going for the....let's slide across rocks side of things haha. I need to straighten out my tranny skid and reinforce it before I drill and tap holes for the UHMW though

 

The skids I sell are 1018 cold rolled steel. 1018 has an average yield strength rating 50% greater than A36 hot rolled. A36 is what pretty much every bumper or skid is made out of on the market. It's cheap and easy to get. 1018 costs more, but the material properties are more consistent and overall superior.

A36 yield strength - 36,000 psi

1018 yield strength - 54,000 psi


I should maybe use this tidbit to sell my products, but it doesn't mean a whole lot to most people.

 

That or have something that clearly states that pound for pound, your skids are stronger.

 

I'm thinking I might make a skid in each material and some sort of testing device to mangle them and take deformation reading at certain points. If nothing else, I would be interested to see the real world difference. Not sure if it's worth my time, though, since the increased cost of 1018 is slowly pricing me out of the market. My supplier that does the laser cutting won't cut hot rolled steel so I have no choice, cold rolled it is.

 

A few simple calculations showing deflections would be more than enough. A few diagrams and you'd be good.

Oh, and it's definitely worth noting your material type. If you don't people won't understand your pricing and you know how people go for something with a lower price point.

 

I say that it's high strength cold rolled steel, stronger than the hot rolled that other vendors use. But I'm not sure if that means much to people that don't know steel. Also, I don't have any proof that cold rolled wouldn't have yielded hitting a certain rock where A36 did, so it's hard to upsell cold rolled. My price right now is still lower than budbuilt and skid row, but I think it's time to move on. Doing R and D on new products is so much more fun than marketing products that haven't changed in 2 years.

 

Hey I have the perfect idea

Right now I have a mangled set of shitty All-Pro skids. The IFS skid is bent beyond repair, and so is the tranny skid. Like bad.

You send me a fresh set of 1018 skids, I'll drag them across every rock on the Dusy at the end of August when I'm down there. And I'll give you a complete report back, WITH SKIDS from the trip?

Then you can compare. All-Pro vs yours? Real world test. Against one of the toughest and never ending trails in North MERICA.