Muddy_Rubicon

Looking for some input from those with experience on what to use when making my bumpers and skid plates. The industry standard seems to be 3/16 steel, and the alluminum bumpers seem to be limited to highway driven 1 tons and semi's. But alluminum diamond plate was always popular for skid plates. And is stainless just too damn heavy? Could you use thinner stainless or thicker alluminum and still have enough protection? I was thinking 1/8 SS or 1/4 alluminum...stainless is basically worry free and requires no paint and no worries of rust, but it is pretty heavy...alluminum is light and has a little give that the others do not, i can live with some corrosion but is it strong enough? Any thoughts?

Thanks, Adam

Living Still

I'd stick with 3/16-1/4" steel for bumpers and skids. If you want to save a little weight you could go use some heat treated chromoly. They use that for chassis and go down in wall thickness a bit to save weight. For skids you can use a thinner piece of either aluminum or steel and then bolt on some UHMW (ultra high molecular weight plastic). Just make sure to counter sink the bolts. A lot of guys on pirate have made some really cool stuff out of that plastic. It's really strong and is slick too.

usmcdoc14

aluminum for bumpers= no. sorry but just not enough yield strength for the weight compromise.
aluminum for skids= no. unless you drop some serious cash on a harder alloy aluminum is SOFT and when you think you are just going to slide off a object you will gouge and stick right there. unless you plan on skinning the aluminum skids with UHMW or steel. Some comp guys are having luck with it but a lot are skinning them in 10ga or UHMW.

aluminum diamond plate skids ? umm maybe on some mall cruisers, that will get you stuck on a rock in a blink.

that and aluminum will have a corrosive reaction with the dissimilar metals and would be a hassle unless you used stainless hardware and even then it can still be a problem on a daily driver.

stainless in 1/8 for a skid or bumper would be worthless, go 3/16 or thicker. but either way stainless is going to cost you 2-3x of regular steel plus the fabrication skills required for welding.

usmcdoc14

you also over there?

Muddy_Rubicon

Thanks for the reply, i'm gonna have to look into this UHMW and see if i can purchase it localy and the cost. Not worried about welding the stainless and it would be my first choice for everything, but my only concern with it is its weight...i believe its like 40% heavier...

captsam54

I am interested in getting some lightweight protection too.. Please keep me posted if/when you find those UHMW skid plate etc. parts...!!! From the guys at Pirates.. (wow their ***** over there) or extremely dedicated..:<)
Or whereever you find them.. I checked them out, but couldn't make much headway looking for posts about it there..!

Living Still

Like I said most of the people who have been using the UHMW are still laying it over 3/16 steel to my recollection anyways. There are some guys who wont be happy with anything under a 1/4 for skids. A little overkill for most people. I do not for see any manufacturers marketing skids with a layer of UHMW on top. Light weight and strong do not go hand in hand unless you are working with really expensive material like titanium.

usmcdoc14

UHMW plastic can be picked up at any decent plastic supplier or places that do commercial kitchens (it is cutting board material) also can be known as UHMW Polyethylene or Delrin) Get it thick enough that you can countersink your attachment screws. 1/2" or so. it cuts easily with normal woodworking tools.

Make a "ladder frame" of tube or angle and skin it in 10ga and then attach the UHMW to it. The frame work will get it much more strength over flat sheet.

4GvnSnr

I dont think Stainless is 40% heavier than your average carbon steel.

degenerate

there are hardcore wheelers that run all aluminum skids and swear by them.