Well, I am finally getting to the point in my build up that I need to start planning on building a skid plate for my cruiser. Some of the current skid plate mounting holes have bolt broken off in them and that are pretty rusted. Something that I would rather not deal with. Also, I would like to keep the bolt heads from getting deformed by rocks.
So here is my idea. Take two pieces of angle iron, let's say 1 1/2 x 1 1/2 x 3/16's and weld it to the outside of the frame rails on either side. Make them long enough to match the skid plate in length. Drill some bolt holes in them and then weld two more pieces of angle iron to the outside edges of the skid plate material that would run just a little wider than the frame rails. Make it so that two flat faces of the angle iron meet against each other so I could run bolts through them to mount it up. This way I could also mount up another idea of rocker protection to it. Just thinking out loud here. What do you think? Pro's & Con's? Just curious

Mine....angle with nuts welded.

Side

I have pounded the shit out of this setup. I vote yes.

Originally posted by wngrog
I have pounded the shit out of this setup. I vote yes.

I would have thought you would have snagged those bolt heads by now.

Thanks for the pic Nolen. We can always count on you for pics and good info. I have some questions though. In the second pic, I see the bolt heads, and they look to be on the outside of the frame rail, but I don't see how they mount to the frame. Your crossmember mount is exactly how I was going to mount my skid plate, I was just going to replicate that setup on the outside of the frame rail. Also, I will second RockinWagin's question, have you messed up those bot heads yet? Just curious

Originally posted by RockinWagin


I would have thought you would have snagged those bolt heads by now.

If it really is that big of a deal use rounded allen bolts..

Originally posted by Jason M


If it really is that big of a deal use rounded allen bolts..

I have not. I bashed one and then grabbed it with a vice grip and changed it out.

The reason I don't use allen heads is that I don't feel I can tighten them as Allen heads like I can with regular heads.

I thought it was going to be a problem, but it has not been.

Originally posted by ouibus
I see the bolt heads, and they look to be on the outside of the frame rail, but I don't see how they mount to the frame.

There are nuts welded into the inside of the angle iron.

Ahhh, it took a while from looking at that pic, but now I see what you are talking about. Kind of different from what I was talking about, but still a good idea. I was going to set mine up like your crossmember mounts on the outside of the frame rails so I could recess the bolts and attach my rocker protection to the angle iron as well.

In response to your question from the other thread Ouibus, I just welded the nut to the back side of the frame. The hole through the frame is 9/16", the hole through the mounting tab is 1/2". I bolted up the tabs then clamped the skid plate in place and then welded the tabs to the plate. I wanted to bolt from the side to avoid having bolt heads hanging down.

Thanks Cruiser Ken, again that is a sweet setup. Although, I bet that it weighs quite a bit. Since my skid plate will amost be flat, I am just going to use a 1/4" piece of flat steel with some support on the backside like you did. I already have a good crossmember, so the skid plate doesn't need to support any weight.

One question, could you expalin that whole crushing the frame issue. I am pretty curious if the setup I am considering might run into this problem. Thanks again for the help. Thomas

Since the frame is basically like a rectangular tube section you could conceivably pull the sides in by running a bolt through it and cranking down on the bolt. Your setup with the two pieces of angle won't do that at all. I think what you proposed would work well. It basically looks similar to how Nolen's crossmember is mounted but on the outside of the frame and the upper piece of angle will be flush with the bottom.

My crossmember/skid plate is a heavy SOB. I run a dana 18 and there is another support off the front nose cone that keeps the tcase in place while I position the skid plate.

http://www.ih8mud.com/photos/2003-03-28_attica-badlands/Dscf0039.jpg

Mine uses 8 hex bolts tapped into the frame rails...1/2" IIRC, and while the heads get beat up pretty badly, they've never stripped or had other issues. Skid itself is 3/16" thick and we created a dropout for the t-case using a piece of pipe. Heavy, but works well and takes a hard beating.

Originally posted by woody

Mine uses 8 hex bolts tapped into the frame rails...1/2" IIRC, and while the heads get beat up pretty badly, they've never stripped or had other issues. Skid itself is 3/16" thick and we created a dropout for the t-case using a piece of pipe. Heavy, but works well and takes a hard beating.

Uh, thanks for turning that rig over so we can see. Looks good.

you could also screw the skidplate from the top... weld some nuts to the plate, angle iron as usual with holes, and use the right length bolts and washers...
just a thought...

bye,

Denis