P500 Damage due to NO skid plate?

[Gem99Ultra]

My riding is expected to be limited to wooded areas, not so much in the rocky outback's. And most probably, not at high speed.

Adding a skid plate certainly seems as prudent as wearing suspenders AND a belt. BUT - the $800+ TTL makes one wonder if they are worth the cost or not. Anyone incur damage that would have been avoided by having added a skid plate. And if so, how much was the cost to repair?

 

[Admin]

 

[Chooglin]

My riding is expected to be limited to wooded areas, not so much in the rocky outback's. And most probably, not at high speed.

Adding a skid plate certainly seems as prudent as wearing suspenders AND a belt. BUT - the $800+ TTL makes one wonder if they are worth the cost or not. Anyone incur damage that would have been avoided by having added a skid plate. And if so, how much was the cost to repair?

The stock skid plates should be fine for your type of riding. If you plan on rock crawling or riding creeks and such, I would do as many of us have done ,make your own skid plates from 3/8" uhmw material !!!

 

[solrus]

Just ride with caution and avoid off trail rides. Use common sense , then no plate needed. Or cut you own plate or buy aluminum plate, cheaper then uhmw

 

[solrus]

The stock skid plates should be fine for your type of riding. If you plan on rock crawling or riding creeks and such, I would do as many of us have done ,make your own skid plates from 3/8" uhmw material !!!

View attachment 9470

Good, simple to do example by Chooglin, use your oem plates as templates and cut uhnw plate. Not a rocket science and will save you big $$$ , you might make 3 out of 4*10' uhmw if you use oem plates as template. Will last you life long if you are not aggressive rock slider

 

[JACKAL]

One thing the full skid plates can do for a woods rider is keeping stick from puncturing the thin plastic floor boards of the driver & passenger that is in no way protected. Here the damage to machines is far less of a concerns than the occupants, just saying what is your personal safety worth? The first pic skid would not help but wheel well armor could have.

 

[Alan aka Davinci]

If you don't ride much in rocky areas you might be ok. I live in Colorado and the rocky places I have been ruined my factory skids and I was just crawling but the factory skids are crap. I went with SSS Off Road and I am happy so far even with the high cost and the SSS Of Road and they protect the entire undercarriage.

 

[Gem99Ultra]

One thing the full skid plates can do for a woods rider is keeping stick from puncturing the thin plastic floor boards of the driver & passenger that is in no way protected. Here the damage to machines is far less of a concerns than the occupants, just saying what is your personal safety worth? The first pic skid would not help but wheel well armor could have.

Wow! Those pictures are pretty convincing that thin flimsy skid plates are worthless. I've seen enough similar close calls on my Kubota to see exactly what value some good skid plates are good for. Thanks for the eye-opener.

 

[solrus]

Again everything is about of your style and landscape you ride. Some stay on trails, farms, some do woods riding or rock sliding.

Wow! Those pictures are pretty convincing that thin flimsy skid plates are worthless. I've seen enough similar close calls on my Kubota to see exactly what value some good skid plates are good for. Thanks for the eye-opener.

If I may elaborate further on eye opening and jaw falling pics )), some things you might encounter trailriding as fire (get fire extinguisher), falling rocks (metal reinforced cage might be needed), but most dangerous will be swimming pool with some distractions , u miss to turn around it, shortage your electronics and ride will be over.
Only Volkswagen Type 166 'Schwimmwagen may save you by target elimination and swimming it over.

At the airport now. So brainstorming )).

 

[Gem99Ultra]

Again everything is about of your style and landscape you ride. Some stay on trails, farms, some do woods riding or rock sliding.



If I may elaborate further on eye opening and jaw falling pics )), some things you might encounter trailriding as fire (get fire extinguisher), falling rocks (metal reinforced cage might be needed), but most dangerous will be swimming pool with some distractions , u miss to turn around it, shortage your electronics and ride will be over.
Only Volkswagen Type 166 'Schwimmwagen may save you by target elimination and swimming it over.

At the airport now. So brainstorming )).

View attachment 9485 View attachment 9486 View attachment 9487

Anybody on here interested in trading their Voldkswagen Type 166 Schwimmwagen for a brand new P-500? Driven only on Sunday's in a smooth paved cul-de-sac.
s/Wide eyed guy with dropped jaw.

 

[Gator]

Again everything is about of your style and landscape you ride. Some stay on trails, farms, some do woods riding or rock sliding.



If I may elaborate further on eye opening and jaw falling pics )), some things you might encounter trailriding as fire (get fire extinguisher), falling rocks (metal reinforced cage might be needed), but most dangerous will be swimming pool with some distractions , u miss to turn around it, shortage your electronics and ride will be over.
Only Volkswagen Type 166 'Schwimmwagen may save you by target elimination and swimming it over.

At the airport now. So brainstorming )).

View attachment 9485 View attachment 9486 View attachment 9487

Geeeze...Now I have to clean my windshield...the inside

 

[oldfortyfive]

Didn't know where to put this. I saw this in Menards today and figured everyone might want to know in case they need to make a low cost replacement skid plate or make something else.

 

[JTW]

View attachment 48918 Didn't know where to put this. I saw this in Menards today and figured everyone might want to know in case they need to make a low cost replacement skid plate or make something else.

Just FYI... Not to be confused with UHMW as most skids are being made from.. and 1/4 is on the thin side for a plastic skid.

 

[oldfortyfive]

Just FYI... Not to be confused with UHMW as most skids are being made from.. and 1/4 is on the thin side for a plastic skid.

Agreed, but it would work well enough to replace a section. The factory one is only 1/4" anyway.
HDPE - the indestructible plastic - 10 reasons to choose a HDPE workboat - Tideman Boats BV

 

[ohanacreek]

Agreed, but it would work well enough to replace a section. The factory one is only 1/4" anyway.
HDPE - the indestructible plastic - 10 reasons to choose a HDPE workboat - Tideman Boats BV

Maybe not a single piece skid will be stronger than a multi piece of the same thickness.

 

[Mudder]

Post on wheel well protectors, P500 - Wheel Well Protectors P500, @trigger did a good mod.

 

[oldfortyfive]

You guys are missing the boat with those cheap HDPE sheets. While not as good for a skid plate, it would be serviceable. That said there are lots of other uses on your machines for it. Remember you can bend it with a heat gun and make all kinds of accessories. I'm going to cut some to fit over the plywood I have on my rack. That should pretty much stop the weathering. You could also use it to make a pretty durable rack for under the hood. It's also pretty slippery. Some good foam body tape and you could double up the floor boards and wheel well areas for some additional protection or to repair.

 

[JTW]

You guys are missing the boat with those cheap HDPE sheets. While not as good for a skid plate, it would be serviceable. That said there are lots of other uses on your machines for it. Remember you can bend it with a heat gun and make all kinds of accessories. I'm going to cut some to fit over the plywood I have on my rack. That should pretty much stop the weathering. You could also use it to make a pretty durable rack for under the hood. It's also pretty slippery. Some good foam body tape and you could double up the floor boards and wheel well areas for some additional protection or to repair.

Now that idea I like..

 

[oldfortyfive]

Forgot to add that this stuff can be welded too. I've not done it, but the tools and process are fairly cheap and easy.

Amazon.com: Hobie - Kc Welder Pro With Rod Stock - 72097001: Sports & Outdoors

 

[BeerMonkey]

Forgot to add that this stuff can be welded too. I've not done it, but the tools and process are fairly cheap and easy.

Amazon.com: Hobie - Kc Welder Pro With Rod Stock - 72097001: Sports & Outdoors

I use to be a quality engineer at a fuel tank supplier for GM chrysler...etc. Our fuel tanks were made out of HDPE and ive done about every destructive test you could imagine. Cold, hot, ambient, sled test, cold hot ambient 6 meter drop test, weld retention, burn test, High pressure burst test just to name a few. I would only use a 1/4 inch sheet of HDPE to "skin" my factory skid plate with. We used UHMW for nearly every protective surface in the plant because of its strength and toughness. if i had to replace a skid plate completely it would only be with UHMW or aluminum.

 

[trigger]

Honda aluminum skids powder coated black is the plan someday. The Honda aluminum skid plates are only $339.