Jetboy
New member
Thought I'd share my latest mod. - Story starts here:http://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-gen-t4rs/259429-trd-pro-skid-plate-=-not-so-strong.html TRD Pro skid didn't survive an offroad trip.
But I really like the look, so I decided to make a clone in steel. I have a CNC plasma table in my garage - so that makes these sorts of projects easier. But dedicated cut shops are becoming more and more common, so it's not necessary to have one anymore. I had some issues with a set screw going missing and also didn't check and cut with a bad tip so some of the cuts aren't as clean as I'd like. And something was wonky with my plasma machine that it wouldn't cycle and reset for about 20 seconds between cuts, so all those vent holes took a long to cut. Like 30+ minutes. But overall it turned out pretty decent. I think it took about 6 ish hours of time to draw, cut, weld, and paint, plus overnight to dry and then another 30 minutes to install. It's all 3/16. I hope i don't regret not jumping up to 1/4", but 3/16 is already pretty heavy. I try my absolute best to minimize my weight. I could possibly have made it slightly lighter while also stronger with a bit more forming - but I don't have a big enough press to do much with 3/16.
If you're interested PM me and I'll share the dxf file I used to cut it. That'll save a bit of time in re-creating it. But you'll still have to have it cut, bent, welded, etc. And there's a decent amount of fitment left to do after cutting. If you have a big press you could do a bit more origami to save a lot of welding and grinding time. It will not be cheaper than a TRD Pro skid no matter how you do it. But hopefully it will be more durable!
So, this is how it turned out:
But I really like the look, so I decided to make a clone in steel. I have a CNC plasma table in my garage - so that makes these sorts of projects easier. But dedicated cut shops are becoming more and more common, so it's not necessary to have one anymore. I had some issues with a set screw going missing and also didn't check and cut with a bad tip so some of the cuts aren't as clean as I'd like. And something was wonky with my plasma machine that it wouldn't cycle and reset for about 20 seconds between cuts, so all those vent holes took a long to cut. Like 30+ minutes. But overall it turned out pretty decent. I think it took about 6 ish hours of time to draw, cut, weld, and paint, plus overnight to dry and then another 30 minutes to install. It's all 3/16. I hope i don't regret not jumping up to 1/4", but 3/16 is already pretty heavy. I try my absolute best to minimize my weight. I could possibly have made it slightly lighter while also stronger with a bit more forming - but I don't have a big enough press to do much with 3/16.
If you're interested PM me and I'll share the dxf file I used to cut it. That'll save a bit of time in re-creating it. But you'll still have to have it cut, bent, welded, etc. And there's a decent amount of fitment left to do after cutting. If you have a big press you could do a bit more origami to save a lot of welding and grinding time. It will not be cheaper than a TRD Pro skid no matter how you do it. But hopefully it will be more durable!
So, this is how it turned out:
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