Solrus, sorry I have been away and just saw this, this morning. You have your angle on the money, and placement. You are correct with the same plate thickness or heavier. I will try to get a photo as soon as its light out if it will help. I had no reservations on the mod because their is no structural integerity compromise. In fact you will be doing a reinforcement to a week spot.
I did buff off the paint in a zone about 1" around the area to stop paint blister & peel during the weld. And had a can of high heat engine paint on standby. After each weld I hit it with the paint basically using the heat of the weld as the cure process and it worked like a charm baking the paint to a cure. I have had no rust development on the welds or in that area. Also obviously take care and cover and or shield the brake lines to prevent any unwanted excitement or adverse effects from the welding i used damp rags to protect it during the welding.
Solrus once again Ive been so busy in the field Hunting / photographing I haven't had a chance to spend much time on social media. So I hope this will either help you or someone else. The procedure was relatively easy and quick I thank the 15 minutes to make the inserts took the longest. I know it was done in 30min. As a side note.... your factory skid plate will be loose here or in my case my custom skid plate. I simply drove 1 stainless steel self taping screw in each side right behind the modification so it would not sag or get caught on anything. If its to late my apologies I will try to follow up at first light with a photo or answer any more questions.
On a side note a bull we got last week. And the happy hunter (gal) that took it. Aw snap on one of these trips I will remember to get the pioneer in action!
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