The skid is really nice looking, I think you've got a real nice design. One question though: I'm not a huge fan of the reinforcement, you could get a stronger and lighter design by using 1x1 box tubing, is there a reason you didn't go with something like that?
That flat bar has strength only in the width (vertical) direction and if you smash the skid, I'd expect that bar to just flex side to side. It looks fairly thick but if you used some real thin wall box tubing I bet you'd get better strength with less weight.
Thanks for the comment Aidan and we're glad you like the overall design. We have added more welds to the rib to alleviate concerns of the rib "rolling over" or "flexing".
There were several reasons that we didn't go with boxed tubing. The biggest reason is that with boxed tubing you run the risk of plastic deformation of the square shape with a blunt load on any and all sides. With the larger surface area (all four sides) you open yourself up to creasing easier as the "box" has corners, as well as exposing a larger surface area for debris to impact. The top and bottom of the tube don't really provide support other than tying the vertical sides together.
The tubing requires that you weld the ends solid, so that they do not fill up with dirt, water and other foreign debris.
Although the square tubing is stronger, its added weight, to use the smallest walled tubing, it doubles the weight of each rib, .065 is the smallest I have found.
Lastly, if you hit the skid plate with enough force to bend 10 gauge plate steel break the welds, and twist 1" x 3/16th steel, you probably have a lot more to worry about than a measly skid plate rib, yet thankful that the skid plate did its job.
Let us know if you have any other questions.
---------- Post added at 12:26 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:07 AM ----------
You know, your question raises another question I've been thinking about. As I was gazing upon my dune handiwork, being a bent to shit skidplate, I wondered why Ford didn't do it in steel? Ya, weight of course, but then it occured to me that the skidplate actually bending did it's work. Remembering back how hard we hit, i don't think the new skidplate, or even a reinforced one with some stringers welded on the back would have kept us from bending the skid. It would have been literally impossible to straighten with welded brackets on the back. Also, if the skid (and the brackets) didn't yield, what ELSE might have, and not just on the truck? I can tell you one thing, my and my passenger's necks took a pretty good shot and no doubt the skid took some of the impact force. What still truly amazes me is that the truck's stock underpinning just soaked it up without folding up and going home. Would love to hear some other perspectives on this... are off road aftermarket front skids intended and designed be sacrificial and to take the full force, let's say at 25-40mph, off road, a direct, full impact hit to a sand dune (which has some yield itself), or terrain and remain undamaged - or - is the skid there to protect shit like the oil filter/cooler lines from getting penetrated by debris or the engine bay from being covered in sand upon hitting a dune head on? Interesting engineering intent question.
Some more great points.
With ours, we intend for the skid plate to absorb the impact and lessen the direct force before it gets to your frame, as I would assume to be a similar goal for the SVT engineers. We chose steel because of the stronger material properties, but lessened thickness to give you a stronger skid plate but not one that will do damage to your truck.
With complete honesty the skid plate is designed to bend and give in order to protect the oil filter, belts, and other items tucked in behind it. There is a certain point in which you can design the skid plate to be too strong, then upon impact you begin shearing bolts, bending u-clips and brackets and potentially much worse.
To your comment about rebending/straightening, yes that is one way of attacking it, but with the 3/16th aluminum the more you bend and straighten it the more you weaken it. I would not straighten the stock skid plate and expect the same material properties to protect my truck.
A rule of thumb that was taught to me along time ago, if you damage the protection part and it cost exponentially less than what its protecting, smile and be glad you get to drive it home.
Hope that helps.
