DIY Cat Skid Plate

[Beto Cruiser]

Okay. Update time.

Made a prototype with thin metal. Transferred to dxf file for CNC. Confirmed all hardware required. Priced on SendCutSend and working on pricing with a local person as well.

We could go two ways with this (maybe both). A budget option that uses thin metal just for cat protection, not skid protection. Cuts cost down by about 50%. Other option is full thickness for skid protection as well.

Design: I'll post pics when I finish the CNC cut prototype, but for now I can say it will have a drain in the center and six long, thin slits for ventilation (but not too thick that a sawzall blade can fit perpendicularly into the slits). Plate itself will have two rivet nuts (M8x1.25) preinstalled that utilize holes in the adjacent OEM skid plate. It will also have three holes for securing to the cross member (where the trans skid plate bolts are on). Drilling will be required. The cross member will need three holes drilled into the pinch welded area and three rivet nuts inserted into those holes. If you don't have a rivet nut tool that's fine, you can just use regular nuts and try some acrobatics with your arms to make it work. Not impossible, just not convenient.

Cat-protection-only option will use 1/8" aluminum
Dual purpose off-road + cat protection option will use 1/4" aluminum or 3/16" mild steel

ROUGH estimated pricing, assuming a group buy of 10+ . Price includes all hardware, including rivet nuts.
1/8" aluminum 6062 = $140 $105
3/16" mild steel = $115
1/4" aluminum 6062 = $270 $185
Initial pricing was by SendCutSend. Looks like they are taking a HUGE cut (plus they had to ship it to me). Local supplier is much better.

Price does not include shipping. I know at least a few of you are Houston locals, so no shipping for you. Those not local it'll of course depend. If they do that Hill Country meet up thing again I could probably meet Austin/Dallas people there as well. Could be convinced to drive to Silverton this summer as well...

Let me know if you're interested in a group buy, and if so which thickness you would want. I'll have the prototype done in about a week and will post pics then so you can be sure if you want to commit or not.

 

[Beto Cruiser]

Wow first local supplier got back to me with much better pricing. Still waiting on one more local person. Previous post has been updated with new pricing.

 

[jLB]

Wow first local supplier got back to me with much better pricing. Still waiting on one more local person. Previous post has been updated with new pricing.

I’ll try one (and possibly two more) and local. I’d lean towards one of the (thicker) dual purpose options

 

[Radtoy25]

Put me down for one, I’m local too.

 

[DTCsk8er]

I'm local, and interested.

 

[sunfic]

Okay. Update time.

Made a prototype with thin metal. Transferred to dxf file for CNC. Confirmed all hardware required. Priced on SendCutSend and working on pricing with a local person as well.

We could go two ways with this (maybe both). A budget option that uses thin metal just for cat protection, not skid protection. Cuts cost down by about 50%. Other option is full thickness for skid protection as well.

Design: I'll post pics when I finish the CNC cut prototype, but for now I can say it will have a drain in the center and six long, thin slits for ventilation (but not too thick that a sawzall blade can fit perpendicularly into the slits). Plate itself will have two rivet nuts (M8x1.25) preinstalled that utilize holes in the adjacent OEM skid plate. It will also have three holes for securing to the cross member (where the trans skid plate bolts are on). Drilling will be required. The cross member will need three holes drilled into the pinch welded area and three rivet nuts inserted into those holes. If you don't have a rivet nut tool that's fine, you can just use regular nuts and try some acrobatics with your arms to make it work. Not impossible, just not convenient.

Cat-protection-only option will use 1/8" aluminum
Dual purpose off-road + cat protection option will use 1/4" aluminum or 3/16" mild steel

ROUGH estimated pricing, assuming a group buy of 10+ . Price includes all hardware, including rivet nuts.
1/8" aluminum 6062 = $140 $105
3/16" mild steel = $115
1/4" aluminum 6062 = $270 $185
Initial pricing was by SendCutSend. Looks like they are taking a HUGE cut (plus they had to ship it to me). Local supplier is much better.

Price does not include shipping. I know at least a few of you are Houston locals, so no shipping for you. Those not local it'll of course depend. If they do that Hill Country meet up thing again I could probably meet Austin/Dallas people there as well. Could be convinced to drive to Silverton this summer as well...

Let me know if you're interested in a group buy, and if so which thickness you would want. I'll have the prototype done in about a week and will post pics then so you can be sure if you want to commit or not.

I am around houston. Add me in

 

[MysteryMachine]

Interested to see how this turns out

 

[Beto Cruiser]

Prototype almost done. Just trying to decide between using spacers or bending the plate. Bending is definitely the better option, but it adds cost and complexity which are what I am trying to avoid. Spacers are annoying to have to place and could be cut (not sure if a thief would consider cutting 4 spacers/bolts with a total thickness of 5/8" each, but who knows), but are simple and keep manufacturing costs down. At this point, I'm leaning towards 2 bends and 2 spacers, just gotta see how much the bends add to the cost. Otherwise without bends the cost is looking pretty much the same as what I posted above. First run will be 10 skid plates out of 1/4" aluminum. Can turn these around in a few days. First batch by next weekend if we go without bends. You'll need to cut 3 holes in the cross member either way. If you come pick up I can help install. It's very easy.

 

[willchaf]

What is the total cost and where are you?

 

[willchaf]

Prototype almost done. Just trying to decide between using spacers or bending the plate. Bending is definitely the better option, but it adds cost and complexity which are what I am trying to avoid. Spacers are annoying to have to place and could be cut (not sure if a thief would consider cutting 4 spacers/bolts with a total thickness of 5/8" each, but who knows), but are simple and keep manufacturing costs down. At this point, I'm leaning towards 2 bends and 2 spacers, just gotta see how much the bends add to the cost. Otherwise without bends the cost is looking pretty much the same as what I posted above. First run will be 10 skid plates out of 1/4" aluminum. Can turn these around in a few days. First batch by next weekend if we go without bends. You'll need to cut 3 holes in the cross member either way. If you come pick up I can help install. It's very easy.

View attachment 2970288

Also would this design work for a 4Runner? Have a buddy here in Kingwood that may be interested as well.

 

[Beto Cruiser]

Also would this design work for a 4Runner? Have a buddy here in Kingwood that may be interested as well.

Located in med center area. Total still still to be determined, but right now it’s looking like $185 ish. If bending makes it more than $200 I’ll probably do without and keep it with spacers and sub $200.

Not sure what the underside of a 4Runner looks like. Probably can make one for it but doubt this would be a perfect match up. If this plate works well then I’d be happy to see if we can make something similar for your buddy’s 4Runner.

 

[pjabber]

I’m interested. Denver group ship anyone?

 

[Beto Cruiser]

Update: Could make a batch using spacers by this weekend, but I think it's better to hold off a week and confirm whether or not a bend makes sense. Probably two weeks out in that case.

 

[Beto Cruiser]

At risk of ticking some people off, the first batch will be 1/8" aluminum (6061) and no bends, just some spacers. Here is why.

1. 1/8" is actually quite thick. It will be sufficient skid protection for everything but intense rock crawling.
2. If you are doing intense rock crawling, this won't work even if it is thicker. It would need heavy duty brackets bolted to the frame.
3. 1/8" in very affordable and cheaper to ship, which was a key goal here
4. Bending will make it more complex and expensive, and I don't think it's that necessary. The only spacers it would have eliminated were not that tricky to place anyways. Plus I found a good source for affordable aluminum spacers.

Here is one promise I will make though. IF this is a success and there is interest in a full skid plate system, I may try to make one. If I make one and it ends up being thicker than 1/8" and/or utilizes different bolt locations, and if you should want to buy the rest of that system, I will swap you the new version for your old version for just the cost difference between the two.

What's needed to install this skid plate:

1. 3 holes must be drilled into the crossmember. As mentioned before, I'm happy to help you do that.
2. 3 rivet nuts must be installed in those crossmember holes. I can help with that, too. If you don't want to use rivet nuts you can try a regular bolt/nut, but it'll be tricky to reach the middle bolt.
3. You must have the factor fiberglass splash guard installed. This plate will utilize bolt holes on the factor plate.
4. You must cut the two wings off the factor fiberglass plate (if they haven't already broken off). This is very easy to do.

Pricing:
$120 (+ tax and shipping if applicable). Quick estimate of shipping looks like it'll be ~$20 depending on location.


First batch of 8 should be done by this Saturday. PM me or email jaysauer13@gmail.com if you're interested in buying.


I will post pictures of the final product once the first batch is done. I will also post a how-to on installing it.

 

[Beto Cruiser]

Parts cut!

 

[Beto Cruiser]

Plates are ready. Installed a couple this weekend. Had some learnings that I will incorporate into the design for the next batch, but it will make it a bit pricer. I will keep the rest of this batch at the price they were originally listed at, but next batch will probably be closer to 150-160. It will be a much easier install though (no rivet nut tool required).
The main issue with this current design is that the install is a bit tricky and you need a rivet nut tool. I'm hoping to alleviate that concern by helping if you pick up in person. It's not that hard, but it could be easier. The benefit with this first design though is that once installed, it's very easy to remove if you need to do some maintenance.

See attached for an installation guide.

Jay

 

[bamabrock]

did you ever get a pic of this installed?

 

[Beto Cruiser]

did you ever get a pic of this installed?

Yeah there are pics in that instruction PDF I posted. Some more below.

There are two install options. This is the first. It requires a rivet nut tool, which is annoying, but once installed it is easy to remove since all bolts thread into rivet nuts.

This is the second option. I actually prefer the second. It doesn't require a rivet nut tool. The trade off is that you need to drop three bolts in from above on the cross member side. The ends are easy but the middle is quite hard (I didn't install the middle bolt on the one in the pic. I'm testing it out to see if you even need that middle bolt).

Hardware provided for both options.


Jay

 

[US441]

Looks great! Nice, simple, elegant solution. I pm'ed you last week regarding interest and then things got away from me...I also have now realized this is on the 100 series thread and I have a 200 series! Any learnings you could share to leverage for 200's would be appreciated. What shop in Houston did you use to do the cutting etc., in case I embark on a project? Any thoughts on heat issues (possibly increase size of cooling slots, etc.?). Thanks/

 

[Beto Cruiser]

Looks great! Nice, simple, elegant solution. I pm'ed you last week regarding interest and then things got away from me...I also have now realized this is on the 100 series thread and I have a 200 series! Any learnings you could share to leverage for 200's would be appreciated. What shop in Houston did you use to do the cutting etc., in case I embark on a project? Any thoughts on heat issues (possibly increase size of cooling slots, etc.?). Thanks/

I'll send you the name of the guy I worked with. You can also contact @TheForger - he offers cutting services.

Time will tell on the heat issue. So far I haven't seen any issues running them. Other designs don't have much in the way of vents for air flow, so I figure it is probably not a big deal. Plus you have some room on either side for air flow. I'd be hesitant to make them too big because it would be easier to cut through.