full under body skid

[cannon]

I'm thinking of making a full under body skid plate for my cj. But, I'm having a hard time finding any pictures or ideas on how other people have done them. Anyone have a good one or know of where one is to be seen. I don't have any skid plates at all at the moment because after my trany and tranfercase swap this summer none of the old stuff fits. I do have a 4x2 box tube tranny mount running across that I built so this should be a good attachment point to start from. I figure if I am going to get/make skid plates why not cover it all! Thanks for any help

[swbooking]

To tell you the truth it is all up to you. Your the one that would have to decide the mounting points etc, im sure you can look at other skids online (Gen-Right, Kilby, Warn, etc...) and check out how they mount theres, but if your gonna custom make it you should just lay under your jeep for a while and look at the best mounting points for the skid(s).

Like the tranny x-member/tc skid for my XJ (from TnT customs) mounts in 12 spots, 6 of those go through the uni-body and bolt up using a crush sleeve, VERY BEEF.

Like i said the "beefyness" is up to you and your design, but since you have a frame you probably wont have to go through all the crush sleeve bs like me. Test fit all your parts to make sure and be carefull nothing gets into the way of any moving parts, Driveshats, arms, etc...

[The-Hurricane]

a full underarmor like that would be a bitch to clean, and to remove to do small stuff. just a thought. when im out muddin my tranny and transfercase skid and gastank skid get packed with mud that doesnt come out till i go under with a creeper and pull it out

[cannon]

Swbooking does your skid have frame or is made completely out of plate. I was thinking that with some sort of tube frame I could get away with less attachment points. Things are mostly dry here in colorado. we have our muddy days but not to often. I also finally got the pressure washer that I have been wanting so that should take care of the mud.

[swbooking]

This is it...

http://www.tntcustoms.com/webv5/xjylinkupgrade.asp (just look at the XD Belly pan)

yeah i wouldnt recommend one large skid either, itd be too much to have to take the whole skid down just to get to one piece of it...

[cannon]

This is what gave the idea for the big skid on a frame what do ya think of this one.



http://www.myjeeprocks.com/forums/ga...5/9/skid05.jpg

[dirtman13]

I'm looking at the same skid for my CJ. I'm tired of smashing my stock one and having to bend it back. I found this one but I'm not about to pay $450 for it so I'm going to make one.
http://www.ultimatejeepstore.com/scr...idproduct=1054

[swbooking]

I like that one cannon, the only downside i think would be that it would suck to have to take the whole skid down to work on something... Thats why i would think maybe sectioning it into a couple pieces would be a little better.

[SAR Jeeper]

I like that one cannon, the only downside i think would be that it would suck to have to take the whole skid down to work on something... Thats why i would think maybe sectioning it into a couple pieces would be a little better.

I'm not sure of the construction of that one, but it make sense if the skid was held onto the skid frame by 6 or 8 flush mount screw's/bolts.

[swbooking]

Ive also seen skids with like "bolt skids" on the skids, so you dont have to worry about sheering off the bolt head or using flush mounts... Like this DPG offroad one (its there old style...)

[dirtman13]

Saw this on another website. This is simular to what I'm going to build. I should be picking up a tube bender this weekend.

[swbooking]

What bender are you going wtih?

[dirtman13]

I'm not sure yet which one it is. I'm actually going to barrow it from a friend. I do know that it is a floor mount model and should be perfect for what I have planned. He has a shop in AV and the bender has been sitting in the shop unused for over a year. I plan on doing the skid plate, tube fenders and maybe a roof rack. The only thing is he only has the 1 1/2 die.

[Matt Pascoe]

Cannon,
Is your tranny/t-case flush with your frame rails or does it hang down like stock?

If you have a 1" body lift, you should be able to keep everything above the frame which allows a flat belly skid. HUGE improvement over a bent tube skid like you posted (less places for the rocks to grab you).


Heres my tranny cross member:

Also, consider using T6 Aluminum for the skid. Much lighter (easier to remove for service) and handles rock abbrasion very well. My skid is mounted with the three original frame skid mounts plus two more I added further forward (just a couple nuts welded into the bottom of the frame rails).

[swbooking]

wow, that looks good. Keeping the tranny above the frame is definently something to think about, lots of clearence. and from experience, 1/4 steel plate skids are VERY heavy. i would also consider aluminum and im even thinking about adding HDPE sheets to the skids as well...