Transfer Case Skid Plate

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Date: Tue, 30 Sep 1997 21:15:05 -0700
From: "Michael Medart" 
Subject: Transfer Case Skid Plate
To: "Toy4x4 Digest" 

>Easy solution for the crossmember: lift the truck higher and get bigger
>tires. ;^)
>One other more serious solution might be that really heavy duty looking
>skidplate that Confer makes I believe.  I was in Northwest OffRoad and
>saw it in person, it looked really good. It completely covers the 
>crossmember.  Final solution is to not give a damn. Not much happens 
>when you hit it. I don't  worry about hitting the crossmember so it 
>doesn't really matter to me.
>
>Wil 
 
Yes, the Con-Ferr IS a good skidplate.  I've hit mine numerous times on
both the Sledgehammer and Rubicon trail (and everything else in
between) and I believe it has saved my t-case on many occasions.  It's
so heavy duty that you don't worry when you bash it big time on the
rocks.  Well worth the $100.

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
Michael Medart, Ventura, CA bigblue@anacapa.net
1988  Toyota  4x4  X-Tra Cab  V-6, Rancho/Downey
lift, 4.88 gears, Detroit E-Z  locker,  ARB Air Locker
Rancho  RS  9000's  w/remote,  Con-Fer  shackles/
skid  plates and  roof rack, 33" BFG Muds. RTI: 651
///////////////////////////////////////////////////

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Date: Tue, 03 Mar 1998 11:59:57 -0500
From: Darren Floen 
Subject: Taco (skid) crunch plates
To: Toy4x4@tlca.org

Use 1/8" or 3/16" steel reinforced with angle steel.I've seen aluminum
pans tear like paper.They look good until you use them.I made a skid
plate(stump shield)for a bush truck last summer from 3/16" steel.I just
built a new one for this truck before Christmas,because he decided to
actually use it on a boulder under the snow.It saved the oil pan
though.It really wasn't that mangled,but the second time we used 1/4"
reinforced plate.Keep in mind that these trucks weigh 150,000 lbs when
loaded,so a little Toyota could get away with a lot less steel.If i
remember correctly,you are a licsensed welder,so you should have no
problems with the fab work.Run the angle steel in the front to rear
direction of the truck,upside-down(like a teepee),on the inside of the
pan.This will prevent snags.
  Don't go to crazy with it(making it too strong)because you want it to
bend before the frame does.Consider it a shock absorber.

Hope this helps a bit.

Darren

Steve C. wrote:
> 
> I have crunched my skid plate and was wonderin if someone were to build
> one themselves what type and gauge of metal would be recommended.  Its
> the rear piece of the two piece setup and fab should be straight forward
> and fairly uncomplicated.  I am leanin towards heavy aluminum plate.
> Don know if thin steel would work or not.  I just dont wanna have it
> pushed up into the driveline like the last one almost did.
> 
> 'Thanks yall.
> --
> Steve Capuano                   1996 Tacoma ext cab V6 4X4
> stevecapuano@geocities.com      32x11.50x15 BFG MT
> Houston, Texas                  Rear LockRight  K&N filter
>                                 Edelbrock headers
> NRA lifetime member             Dynomax 2.5" cat back

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Date: Tue, 3 Mar 1998 12:30:32 -0500
From: "wolfer1" 
Subject: Taco (skid) crunch plates
To: 

Darren wrote:
I've seen aluminum pans tear like paper.They look good until you use
them.

I've seen them tear also, but with closer inspection and getting a
piece of the skid plate it was only 3/32". Yes that would cause it to
tear. Taking it to work and testing it, it was a soft alloy and was
unaged. Artificial aging (baking in a oven) gives aluminum it's
strength. The ones in which I have fabricated for my Jeep CJ-6 ( Yes I
also own a JEEP) have held up for 3 years now and have minor dings in
them. I'm using 3/16" aluminum. The alloy has allot to do with how
strong the aluminum is. Out of curiosity what kind of truck and what
is loaded on them to weigh 150,000?

Domencik

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Date: Tue, 3 Mar 1998 12:45:14 EST
From: DRM033 
Subject: Taco (skid) crunch plates
To: Toy4x4@tlca.org

In a message dated 98-03-03 12:11:03 EST, you write:

> .Run the angle steel in the front to rear
>  direction of the truck,upside-down(like a teepee),on the inside of the
>  pan.This will prevent snags.

Not that that way is not good, but I don't like the fact that this creates a
trap for mud & muck to collect.  I would cap off the ends or sit one side on
the flat plates & weld it there .  Also, make sure that you concentrate most
of the reinforcement near the bottom where you need it.  The one I bought from
Downey has been beaten pretty bad and I would not recommend anyone to buy it 
if you want to use it off road.  I guess I will pull it off & modify it like 
I want it.

I would run several pieces front to back, then some other ones across to
support it that way.  Most of the hits mine has taken are at the bottom center
& they have compressed the plate.

- ---------------------------------------------------------------------
David Moore                       DRM033@aol.com
90 Toyota Truck - 4" ProComp, 33" Swampers,
4.88's, rear ARB, TJM bumper & Ramsey #8000
                        TLCA #5662 
         Traxx In Motion 4 Wheel Drive Club   
              www.netmatter.com/traxx                  
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------

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Date: Tue, 03 Mar 1998 19:03:37 -0500
From: Darren Floen 
Subject: Taco (skid) crunch plates
To: Toy4x4@tlca.org

Up here in North West Ontario,logging is our main industry.These trucks
i speak of haul logs to the sawmills and paper mills.The trailers we
haul can carry around 25 cords of wood(logs),thats where the weight
comes from.These trucks do some pretty amazing things in the bush to get
that wood out.The roads are very rough,since they are only used until
the wood is all gone from that area,then abandoned pretty much.All our
trucks use stump pans,since the snow hides the obstacles.

Darren

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Date: Wed, 4 Mar 1998 00:49:02 -0500
From: "wolfer1" 
Subject: Taco (skid) crunch plates
To: 

I see why you have to built them so strong. If those are the same
trucks they use on the west coast of Canada I have had a few close
calls with them when I lived in Alaska and drove the AlCan or Cassiar
Hwy.

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Date: Wed, 5 Aug 1998 07:00:43 -0600 (MDT)
From: Scott Ellinger 
Subject: Re: Skid Plates

> 1.  Is it better to plate the whole bottom, from lowest point in front to   
> lowest point in back, with angled approach/departure and lose some ground   
> clearance in the middle or just plate the lowest parts and give good   
> angled approach/departure?  It seems to me that a full length one would   
> hurt you if you high center but would help you get towed off if you do   
> get stuck.  Thoughts??

This is basically what I did on my IFS.  I'm contemplating straight axle
skid plate designs (I just bought a '76 Chevy as a tow rig, but it's 4x4,
so I'm gonna build it too) but I don't have much firsthand skidplating on
straight axles under my belt.

On my IFS, I ran one single piece of 1/8" steel from the front frame
crossmember, under the bumper, all the way back, attached it to the 
transfer case crossmember, and it goes to about 6" behind the transfer
case.  Dimensions are approx. 2x6 feet.  Weight is about 60 pounds dry.

A full length one will protect a number of things: front diff/suspension
parts, driveshaft, transfer case, crossmembers, steering, ets.  A partial
may not protect as much, and a multi-piece full length plate could get 
hung up on its seams on rocks.

Also, by going down, back, and back up again, I can go forward, backward,
and in some cases, sideways (limited sideways motion) with the front diff
sitting on a rock, stump, etc. without fear of mangling parts.  I have on
occasion had to winch myself off of it, though.
> 
> 2.  Is steel a better option than aluminum and how thick for either?   
>  Pros/cons?

I prefer steel; it bends instead of tearing, bends back instead of breaking,
and is cheaper and easier to get than aluminum (at least for me), plus, if
need be, I can weld it.
> 
> 3.  How can you protect the drive shafts?  I bent my rear one in VT and   
> front one in the creek out behind my barn :((  I know, picking a better   
> line would be best but any tips?

See above for the front shaft; for the rear, I'm not sure.  I've banged my
rear shaft on rocks pretty hard without damage; maybe the solution is to 
just run a really stout shaft that you can drag on the rocks.... :)
> 
> 4.  If you build a good plate for rocks, does it hurt you in deep sticky   
> mud?
> 
It could, I suppose, but I don't know for sure.  I do know that my truck,
a couple of years back, went through some goo on a locally notorious mud
trail, with open diffs and no problems, that a locked-up Wrangler (straight
axle) on similar tires couldn't get through.  The people watching said that
the skid plate floated the front end across, and the rear dug down and 
drove the truck through.

- --scott
Scott Ellinger   ellinger@holly.colostate.edu   Larimer County 4WD Club
        Visit my Home Page: http://holly.colostate.edu/~ellinger
 '86 Toy pickup body, Ford 5.0, GMC NV4500, "slightly altered" RKSTMPR

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Toyota 4x4 page: http://www.off-road.com/4x4web/toyota

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