could use some help with skid plates.

[justTrey]

I am working on making some skids for my jeep, its a simple 2010 4 door that I am slowly building and learning as I go.
I need or should have some skids on the oil and trans. I am actually trying to make my own and I wanted to ask for some suggestions.

Since the jeep is heavy I do not want to add more too much weight. I am working on a set of bumpers made out of 5052 3/16" aluminum and wanted to ask;
- any suggestion on what the skids should be made from? 606* or 707*?
- i have read a lot of threads where 3/16" cold roll is too thin for a vehicle of this weight

I could do a layered approach 2x 3/16" sheets.

I tend to be slow and easy off road but I am learning you never know when all of the weight is going to be resting on a single skid, like the stock one on my gas tank..

Thanks for any insight and help.

 

[MarsFab]

3/16 is too thin if you span it frame rail to frame rail like most people but if you could build a frame for the skid out of tubing and just use plate where it's needed to protect the vital areas I think it would be plenty sufficient. Here's an example.

Sent from the MarsFab Off Road mobile response unit.

 

[off_road2]

^2, or 3/8" min if you decide to use plate and i'd use steel under there despite the weight. You may save some weight if you can make a skid plate that also mounts the trans and replaces the factory crossmember.

 

[BrianGreen]

3/8 bowed when I set my Tcase back down on my crossmember. I added some angle to the top of it to strengthen it.

 

[WARRIORWELDING]

I am working on making some skids for my jeep, its a simple 2010 4 door that I am slowly building and learning as I go.
I need or should have some skids on the oil and trans. I am actually trying to make my own and I wanted to ask for some suggestions.

Since the jeep is heavy I do not want to add more too much weight. I am working on a set of bumpers made out of 5052 3/16" aluminum and wanted to ask;
- any suggestion on what the skids should be made from? 606* or 707*?
- i have read a lot of threads where 3/16" cold roll is too thin for a vehicle of this weight

I could do a layered approach 2x 3/16" sheets.

I tend to be slow and easy off road but I am learning you never know when all of the weight is going to be resting on a single skid, like the stock one on my gas tank..

Thanks for any insight and help.

The 50 series aluminum you were refering to has very little to do with making those bumpers tough. 5052 is used because it is ductile enough to be formed or put into a press break and cold worked without cracking. This is a great alloy for bending. Aluminum bumpers have come along because of the weight savings gimmick. Higher series aluminum cracks when cold worked. This is why all the higher alloys are either hot forged or machined from billet stock. As for the steel skids, any skid with some structural reinforcement or a design that spreads the load out on "bridged structural members" is better than any flat plate design. I built a cross member skid for a long bed toy that mimicked a turtle shell (3/16) that utilized a modified stock toy transfercase crossmember. Jason Lackey bottomed it out on a trail at telico and we could spin the whole truck on it like a top. Take a piece of 3/8 flat bar 36 inches long and bend it in the middle. Now take 3/16 (having the same mass) made into a structural shape 36 inches long and try to bend it with the same force, you'll be amazed at what it will take. Different test same theory: take a 1/2 diameter rod 36 inches long bend in middle with Knee, now try it with 1/2 black pipe. Bet your knee wish you had not tried!

 

[off_road2]

3/8 bowed when I set my Tcase back down on my crossmember. I added some angle to the top of it to strengthen it.

Yeah, it's good practice to put 'wings' on the edges of the crossmember that act as structural stiffeners as well as reduce the knife edge of the crossmember...it'd look something like \________/ to as extent

 

[BrianGreen]

Yeah, it's good practice to put 'wings' on the edges of the crossmember that act as structural stiffeners as well as reduce the knife edge of the crossmember...it'd look something like \________/ to as extent

Once I put dual cases in, I will stiffen it up some. Had to make this one pretty quick so I could move the truck around again.

 

[upnover]

I prefer the skid to be unattached to the drive train. A stand alone unit so to speak. Although my Jeep isn't like this I wish it was.
Frame out the skid design to cover what you want covered. Plate it with 1/4 in steel. If you are spanning it very wide, run some tube on the top side to strengthen it. This way, when you need to work on it, you can take it down and have easy access to everything, you also do not have the stress on your drive train when you do slam it down on a big rock. JMO