Custom Skid Plate Build

[axiom]

OK, so this may be more of a wanting some opinions rather than a build thread because i will realistically only be doing the mocking up, not the actual fabrication. However being me, i would rather be armed with all the information and at least knock out 90% of the work rather than having someone else do it all for me.

The KJ (2006 3.7 Cherokee) is now old enough, and considered enough of a shopping trolley that no one makes any decent underbody protection for it, and to bring stuff in from the states, i reckon i can get stuff in cheaper.

Now the US guys have several brands available, and well they are both a touch too thick for what i think i want, and well thus too heavy and expensive.

Skid Row & Rusty Offroad Plates are 3/16", while AllJProducts are 1/4". Now in metric that 4.7mm thick. Brown Davis who used to make a skid plate for KJ's had them at 3.2mm thick. Now whilst i will give them the occasional scrape i don't need anything anywhere near as thick as the 4.7mm that the US guys are using.

So i'm thinking go with a sheet of 3mm Steel, and press it up to follow pretty much the shape of the cross members, so that it forms essentially a flat panel, from the front radiator support, to engine crossmember all the way back past the transmission cross member tapering to frame rails.

I know people like Briteway have built their own custom skids, and i need your expertise on the matter. i just need something that will take enough of a knock so that i can't destroy a sump, or crack a transmission housing or transfer case.

[ick72]

I d got a factory mopar front bash plate on mine and I've been thinking on extending it past the auto , but in saying that I've got other things going around in my very little mind but you can come look at it and see if your idea will work from it if you want . You just need a little bit of cut out for cooling extra

[axiom]

Thanks Ick, i might check it out, sometime soon. However ill get under mine first with my big sheet of cardboard and start doing some measurements.

I've been tossing around multiple ideas, and just want to know the best ways to fit it up and the like.

One of my current ideas is to not do a complete skid, and set up some rigid bracing at bolts to the crossmembers and between them and up to the front radiator support, and skin the bracing with UHMWPE(essentially really thick chopping board). I know rock crawler guys use it between their roll cage tubes but they also use it at 6mm thickness. However you wont ever break it and from what i have read it just slides over everything you can throw at it.

[ick72]

What ever way you do it remember if its all one piece it will have to be removed everytime you want to work on anything under it so maybe one or two piece is easier to work with

[KKnut]

2 piece is sexier, especially if she takes one off.

[KKnut]

Sorry, wrong forum.

[axiom]

Haha, Thats no excuse. I've thought of 1 piece vs 2 piece. But if i leave it as a once piece i can make some well placed cuts and the like to make oil changes easier. But for the bigger stuff, diff/tranny/transfer service. I would be taking it off anyway so that i can actually clean any build up off it. and makes for easier construction.

However i've been paying attention to a US skid plate build for hummers, and albeit theirs is made so that they can land 3 times the weight, sitting only on a rock. They discovered that nutserts look to fail when it comes to installing skid plates because of the constant abuse. Is this the case in real life. Of are they just abusing them too much