1:06 am
Club President
April 2, 2003
Offline
Is anyone interested in making skid plates for their 4x4?
We found someone on the verge of ordering some materials to fabricate skid plates.
It is black ½” uhmw at $215 for a 4x10’ sheet.
Shipping is high but if a few sheets are ordered, the shipping is spread out over the order.
Usually this material is close to $400 a sheet, so this is a good price. I’ve checked all the local suppliers and they are all way up there.
Uhmw is a very dense form of polyethylin that is very slippery, and strong enough to make skid plates for 4x4’s.
It is easily worked with wood working tools and can be heated and bent with a propane torch.
The beauty of using it is the weight, a full length skid in steel would be about 250# but in uhmw it should be less than 50#.
1:38 am
May 4, 2004
Offline Are they using only UHMW for skid plates or is it a steel skid plate with a layer of UHMW for slipperiness?
2:03 am
Club President
April 2, 2003
Offline "FAM" wrote: Are they using only UHMW for skid plates or is it a steel skid plate with a layer of UHMW for slipperiness?
100% UHMN - The exact stuff Walker Evans uses in his comp buggy.
3:29 am
I am thinking about making a skid for the trans and oil pan. So I guess I could use this stuff to cover my re skid and continue it on up to the front. Is this a good Idea? If so I dont think I need a full sheet. does the benefit of the slipperyness make up for the loss of 1/2 inch of ground clearance? But it sounds cool.
3:43 am
May 4, 2004
Offline "BKGM Jeepers" wrote: [quote="FAM"]Are they using only UHMW for skid plates or is it a steel skid plate with a layer of UHMW for slipperiness?
100% UHMN - The exact stuff Walker Evans uses in his comp buggy.
Comp buggies are like race cars. The teams have enough money or sponsorship to frequently replace parts. I wonder what the life expectancy of a UHMW skid plate would be on a normal person's 4x4, six months, one year, five years, indefinitely? If it can be worked with common wood working tools it seems like the common granite we have around here would work it just as easily. This just seems like something that would work great but have a short lifespan.
I recall that UHMW is something similar to plastic cutting boards available everywhere. It doesn't seem like one of those cutting boards would hold up very long to the abuse of being a skid plate, even if it was 2-3 times the thickness.
edit) Here's a topic I found over on Pirate4x4 - http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthre ... light=hdpe
3:52 am
Club Member
July 10, 2003
Offline I have a big 2' x 8' sheet of it. 1" thick. No, you can't have it.
It would last a long time on the rocks. It is also very sippery.
Steel works good too though and you can buy it ready-made.
I used to wheel a lot. . .
3:58 am
May 4, 2004
Offline "JohnDF" wrote: I have a big 2' x 8' sheet of it. 1" thick. No, you can't have it.
It would last a long time on the rocks. It is also very sippery.
Did you get it to use for skid plates or something else?
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