Show off your DIY armor!

I just rattle can everything, no primer as its a waste for me. Just do a touch up every couple of months since it all gets scraped off

 

This stuff is what I use. It's brush on. It goes on and lays down thicker than spray. It seems a lot stronger to me. Also it's easier to put on because you can use a brush and touch up tiny spots verses having to tape off and or getting over spray places on your truck that you don't want it to be.

 

hmmm looks very similar to the one i made lol.

 

I rattle canned a whole truck one time (seemed like a good idea at the time)! I sanded and took my time and it lasted a long time believe it or not.

 

Is that camo on the hood or a reflection?

 

Camo

 

Finally replace my 10+ year old DIY skid. I scored a set of ARB "skids" for a hella cheap ($60) and beefed them up to function as actual skid plates.

More info. here: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/new-skids-on-the-block.772675/

Here's a side-by-side of my old skid next to the ARB set:


Here's a hasty phone sketch of what I had planned to reinforce them:


Reinforced ARB Skid(s)

Here's the first skid plate after I had added some additional 3/16" plates and gussets and new support legs to bolt it up. I repurposed the round tube legs from my old skid plate, mainly because I didn't have any thick walled scrap tubing and I didn't want to buy any metal.



Here's the full set after I got done reinforcing them:




Here's a "color-coded" pic to show what type and thickness of plate/steel was used in each section:

RED = 3/16" flat bar (flat plates and vertical gussets)
GREEN = 1/8" angle iron (welded on-top of the 3/16" plate)
BLUE = 1/8" square tube
YELLOW = 3/16" C-channel (I ran out of flat bar)
*All the 3/16" Flat-Plate and C-Channel sections were also drilled in the center and spot welded, then perimeter welded.

 

Bulletproof! Nice work

 

Thanks dude


Definitely beefier than the old skid, and at least 2-3x stronger than the standard <1/8" thick ARB "skids".

They did suffer some minor damage after my test-run, but only in areas I hadn't or couldn't reinforce.

 

Good god man! It’s beautiful!

 

Thanks man - I chose a few different, more colorful expletives...err....adjectives to describe it. But, beauty is in the eye of the beholder!

 

Holy crap, those are bomb proof now!

 

Pretty much - they took some good hits on the test run and held up really well.

They did get a few minor dents, but only in the (1/8") areas that I hadn't gusseted or reinforced and in a couple sections that I could get access to. I can't imagine what they'd look like without any reinforcement.

 

They would've folded like a tin can probably.

 

Front bumper I made over the last couple of days, as high and tight I could make it and should be pretty bomproof. Will eventually make removable skids for under the winch and around the front of the winch.
Bolted to the frame with a front crossmember chop, and has 13 bolts holding it on in 3 different directions.
Front frame has a .25" wall crossmember, frame is sleeved internally and plated on the outside where the crumple zone is.



Have homemade skids front to rear to accomodate the crossmember chop and dual tcases, front skid is well gusseted and still bent up over time but still does its job. Will probably make some tube tranny/tcase crossmembers/skids to save weight and add strength.

Also tied the back on my slider up to the rear of the frame, to both strengthen the slider and give the frame a little more support. Sliders are both bolted on and welded in easy to access cut areas incase I need to swap them out.

 

Looks great! I've got a similar design in mind (without the eyebrows) that has a piece of tube going all the way across like you do. Wondering if you can post some close up pics of your crossmember chop and how you tied in to the frame horns, and also how you sleeved the frame. I'm thinking of using a 2x4 as a cross bar to connect the frame horns, then welding the winch tray to the top of the 2x4 with some gussets between the two. That would serve as the foundation to the whole thing and hopefully keep the frame from twisting when using the winch.

 

I truly admire you TW members. I work in metal fab all day, but sadly just handed over the cash for my RCI plates. If I wasn't so fucking behind or tired all the time.......

Anyway, good on ya guys... good on ya

 

Cut up my old body armor bumper and made this.. it still uses the low clearance factory hitch, but gained more clearance on the corners and has high clearance wings.. so it’s my cheap medium clearance bumper

The before

 

a better before.. untouched bumper with cut bed I bought after my bed broke and was trashed

 

Longer explainer on the main Armour board- retro Lacrosse ball bumper: