Plastic Skids

oddball · **Posted:** Wed Jul 08, 2009 4:49 pm

I've always been into lighter weight on vehicles, so yes, I would seriously consider plastic, and for what it's worth, I'd be all over aluminum in a heart beat!

chefdab · **Posted:** Wed Jul 08, 2009 4:55 pm

JJsKJ wrote:

I voted in the yes category.

I'll also toss in a write in vote for aluminum skids too. (remember my pm?)
There is a company in the process of creating quite a few al. armor accesories and testing is showing them to work great. i think there is going to be a good market for lighter weight armor on Jeeps. Wheelers are starting to realize that lighter is better when it comes to overall vehicle performance and parts longevity. One of my future mods will be to swap my current belly pan for an al. version...now to find the pros that know how to work w/ al. for that type of application.

Are you talking about Savvy Off-road? I have been following their product releases on Jeepforum and they do look very promising. However they are only making products for the TJ right now.

tumanator · **Posted:** Wed Jul 08, 2009 6:23 pm

I voted yes but i want to add "with a but" would the cost of materials, design, production, make them cost as much as the mopar ones? I can get the full set of mopar skids shipped for under $300. So what it really comes down to is money$$$

icarl · **Posted:** Wed Jul 08, 2009 9:34 pm

tumanator wrote:

I voted yes but i want to add "with a but" would the cost of materials, design, production, make them cost as much as the mopar ones? I can get the full set of mopar skids shipped for under $300. So what it really comes down to is money$$$

the mopar ones are not that great :roll:

Inc · **Posted:** Wed Jul 08, 2009 9:37 pm

icarl wrote:

tumanator wrote:

I voted yes but i want to add "with a but" would the cost of materials, design, production, make them cost as much as the mopar ones? I can get the full set of mopar skids shipped for under $300. So what it really comes down to is money$$$

the mopar ones are not that great :roll:

Yeah, they work, but if I was buying a set because I didn't have any I wouldn't get the Mopar ones. I have them and they have served me well, but they came with my jeep and I would have bought others if I didn't have these already. They are inexpensive though so if you are really strapped for cash, the Mopar are enticing.

tumanator · **Posted:** Wed Jul 08, 2009 9:52 pm

honestly i don't do rock crawling, usually if i do its jumping a couple rocks or a log or so, usually just cause it's in my way on a mountain road. My only concern is really a rock bouncing up and hitting the oil pan on a creek crossing or hitting a stump while backing up and poping that cheap gas tank. So basically for what i do Mopar will work fine, if they're getting banged i can always upgrade, or cover them with plastic (if it's affordable enough)

*Edit*

I did just kinda realize that once i get my lift on in the next few weeks, the amount and difficulty of roads i try might change..... perhaps you guys are right about the better skids.... but a Kilby costs almost as much as the full mopar set - hence if a cheaper solution can be found it's worth looking into

Inc · **Posted:** Wed Jul 08, 2009 10:03 pm

tumanator wrote:

honestly i don't do rock crawling, usually if i do its jumping a couple rocks or a log or so, usually just cause it's in my way on a mountain road. My only concern is really a rock bouncing up and hitting the oil pan on a creek crossing or hitting a stump while backing up and poping that cheap gas tank. So basically for what i do Mopar will work fine, if they're getting banged i can always upgrade, or cover them with plastic (if it's affordable enough)

*Edit*

I did just kinda realize that once i get my lift on in the next few weeks, the amount and difficulty of roads i try might change..... perhaps you guys are right about the better skids.... but a Kilby costs almost as much as the full mopar set - hence if a cheaper solution can be found it's worth looking into

Your points are valid. I wheel hard and my Mopar ones have held up, but I know they wouldn't if I kept using them the way I did. So they are gone and I have to get custom ones, but if you won't be really pushing your KJ the Mopar ones would be fine I think. They aren't ideal, but they will hold up to a lot of medium duty wheeling.

tjkj2002 · **Posted:** Wed Jul 08, 2009 10:13 pm

I had to vote for no,when I still wheeled my KJ with IFS I'd have a very hard time seeing a plastic skid holding up,more so for the trans skid since it's a pretty big span.Mt front skid has also been directly slammed into rocks,not on top off but directly into and have a very hard time seeing a plastic or aluminum skid handling the force.Now the milder wheeler(or non-wheeler) plastic or aluminum would be okay,just not for me.Now that I'm SFA'ing my KJ the only 2 skids going to be used is the t-case(belly pan) and gas tank skid and the belly pan will be a structural part of the suspension so 1/4" steel is needed.Now I also beat my KJ a bit harder then most will also.

The buggy in the pic you have is a disposable skid that most likely gets changed often and has alot of tubes under it for support.You'd need a strong support base for the trans skid at least and there's not alot of room to keep from loosing clearance,plus steel slides better on granite just a bit better,just my 2 cents.

icarl · **Posted:** Wed Jul 08, 2009 10:16 pm

I would hope these plastic ones are better than the mopar ones is all I am saying. And being better they might be more expensive, no?

tumanator · **Posted:** Wed Jul 08, 2009 10:22 pm

Inc wrote:

...hold up to a lot of medium duty wheeling.

lol, not to bash on me or anything, I can't afford to do the MOAB trail runs right now, but I do more wheeling just getting out of my driveway in the winter than most KJ's will ever do in their life. When I decided on the KJ i didn't realize how low they really are to the ground ( and honestly i don't think anyone realizes it until there's a foot of snow on the ground)

Inc · **Posted:** Wed Jul 08, 2009 10:25 pm

tjkj2002 wrote:

I had to vote for no,when I still wheeled my KJ with IFS I'd have a very hard time seeing a plastic skid holding up,more so for the trans skid since it's a pretty big span.Mt front skid has also been directly slammed into rocks,not on top off but directly into and have a very hard time seeing a plastic or aluminum skid handling the force.Now the milder wheeler(or non-wheeler) plastic or aluminum would be okay,just not for me.Now that I'm SFA'ing my KJ the only 2 skids going to be used is the t-case(belly pan) and gas tank skid and the belly pan will be a structural part of the suspension so 1/4" steel is needed.Now I also beat my KJ a bit harder then most will also.

The buggy in the pic you have is a disposable skid that most likely gets changed often and has alot of tubes under it for support.You'd need a strong support base for the trans skid at least and there's not alot of room to keep from loosing clearance,plus steel slides better on granite just a bit better,just my 2 cents.

Plastic slides a lot better on granite, I've seen both first hand. The buggy in the pic gets them swapped out because he can afford to swap it out, not because he needs it to be. He is harder on any rig than any of us will ever be on ours, SFA KJs included. His plastic skid does have underside structure, but only for what it mounts to. Boiler will be making an structure for strength and support as well I believe.

icarl, my guess is that they would be more $ but Boiler would have to answer that.

tjkj2002 · **Posted:** Wed Jul 08, 2009 10:34 pm

Inc wrote:

Plastic slides a lot better on granite, I've seen both first hand. The buggy in the pic gets them swapped out because he can afford to swap it out, not because he needs it to be. He is harder on any rig than any of us will ever be on ours, SFA KJs included. His plastic skid does have underside structure, but only for what it mounts to. Boiler will be making an structure for strength and support as well I believe.

icarl, my guess is that they would be more $ but Boiler would have to answer that.

Like I stated,just my 2 cents that they where not for me,and yes they would need some pretty beefy structural support if your more then a mild wheeler.Oh and those pro buggies are running considerable stronger components that can withstand more abuse then ours even with 1/4" skids,and that's just the bare components with no protection,kinda comparing apples to oranges there.

Boiler · **Posted:** Wed Jul 08, 2009 10:35 pm

My skids will not compete with mopar in price, not by a long shot. Nobody who isn't stamping them out of sheet blanks by the hundred (or ten thousand...) could.

What the difference is is this: higher price for lightweight material, higher price for total size. My intention is to build a system of skids that is smooth with the transmission cross member to the rear shackles, and from frame rail to frame rail side to side. I'm also planning on having rock rails that can have plates added to close them off to the frame rails. In front of the transmission cross member, I'll drop an inch below flush with it to clear the cats, exhaust, and oilpan, and terminate about 1.5" above the lowest part of the front crossmember.

The intention is to cover everything, including empty holes, to improve sliding and reduce any jacking to get off rocks. We're talking serious upgrade here. For quick and dirty skids, mopar are really hard to beat. Best thing to do is make some that are far and away better and do something they don't do.

Inc · **Posted:** Wed Jul 08, 2009 10:37 pm

tjkj2002 wrote:

Inc wrote:

Plastic slides a lot better on granite, I've seen both first hand. The buggy in the pic gets them swapped out because he can afford to swap it out, not because he needs it to be. He is harder on any rig than any of us will ever be on ours, SFA KJs included. His plastic skid does have underside structure, but only for what it mounts to. Boiler will be making an structure for strength and support as well I believe.

icarl, my guess is that they would be more $ but Boiler would have to answer that.

Like I stated,just my 2 cents that they where not for me,and yes they would need some pretty beefy structural support if your more then a mild wheeler.Oh and those pro buggies are running considerable stronger components that can withstand more abuse then ours even with 1/4" skids,and that's just the bare components with no protection,kinda comparing apples to oranges there.

Yeah, but if we use the same components on our rig as a KOH buggy, in this case style of skid, then we are going to get longer life out of those components because our rigs don't get beaten on like theirs. I do get that different people like different things though.

tjkj2002 · **Posted:** Wed Jul 08, 2009 10:39 pm

Boiler wrote:

My skids will not compete with mopar in price, not by a long shot. Nobody who isn't stamping them out of sheet blanks by the hundred (or ten thousand...) could.

What the difference is is this: higher price for lightweight material, higher price for total size. My intention is to build a system of skids that is smooth with the transmission cross member to the rear shackles, and from frame rail to frame rail side to side. I'm also planning on having rock rails that can have plates added to close them off to the frame rails. In front of the transmission cross member, I'll drop an inch below flush with it to clear the cats, exhaust, and oilpan, and terminate about 1.5" above the lowest part of the front crossmember.

The intention is to cover everything, including empty holes, to improve sliding and reduce any jacking to get off rocks. We're talking serious upgrade here. For quick and dirty skids, mopar are really hard to beat. Best thing to do is make some that are far and away better and do something they don't do.

Might want to think about adding a cooling system also then,that exhaust will melt the skids and cook the trans and t-case if it's all enclosed.

Boiler · **Posted:** Wed Jul 08, 2009 10:42 pm

Addressing the varying opinions: TJKJ I appreciate your view. Others may have the same and whether it is correct or not isn't the point. What I want to know is what % of people would go straight for steel and avoid the plastic / aluminum. Right or wrong, they still won't buy my skids

That said, they'll be

1) strong
2) easy to replace and remove for maintenance, etc.
3) built as a complete system, but still solid as individual pieces.

The "plastic" I'm looking at has high impact strength and 40,000 psi tensile strength. At 1/4" thick and one quarter the weight of steel with steel and or aluminum framing, they should be the stuff.

EDIT: I am considering the exhaust. I'm planning on having the muffler exposed for one. The front skid still hasnt been brainstormed completely. My main issue will be the exhaust pipes between the two.

2nd EDIT: I'm not set in stone on the plastic yet anyway, really the design could use any plate material.

oddball · **Posted:** Wed Jul 08, 2009 10:49 pm

Boiler wrote:

Addressing the varying opinions: TJKJ I appreciate your view. Others may have the same and whether it is correct or not isn't the point. What I want to know is what % of people would go straight for steel and avoid the plastic / aluminum. Right or wrong, they still won't buy my skids

That said, they'll be

1) strong
2) easy to replace and remove for maintenance, etc.
3) built as a complete system, but still solid as individual pieces.

The "plastic" I'm looking at has high impact strength and 40,000 psi tensile strength. At 1/4" thick and one quarter the weight of steel with steel and or aluminum framing, they should be the stuff.

EDIT: I am considering the exhaust. I'm planning on having the muffler exposed for one. The front skid still hasnt been brainstormed completely. My main issue will be the exhaust pipes between the two.

So how long do I have to wait?

Boiler · **Posted:** Wed Jul 08, 2009 11:05 pm

I'm going to do all my skids concurrently to lessen down time. My goal is to have a full set built by the end of August. Testing & tweaks & such and then hopefully everything works as intended and I offer them for sale soon after. I'll probably have an aluminum gas tank skid ready for sale by August. I'm playing CAD monkey for the next 10 days while Tony is out of town, and then we hope to start fabricating. Which reminds me, I need to log off this site if I'm going to get something done. :lol:

Cya all tomorrow.

greatoppressor · **Posted:** Thu Jul 09, 2009 8:29 am

Don't forget about us KK folks! If you could bring aftermarket skids for KKs quickly, you'd be just about the only game in town... for now, at least.

-SR-

Drassis · **Joined:** Tue Sep 23, 2008 7:31 pm **Posts:** 182

I think a flat surface on Rocker Rails would be sweet (plastic sheet attached to metal rockers)

But for other skids front-belly-rear... Most companies make 4 skids for the KJ out of metal if you had with plastic sense its lighter 3 larger ones for more area coverage that would be sweet, it could be like a slip an slide under my jeep all I got to do is get some beer and invite the girls over lol

Plastic Skids

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