RTV 1100 Skid Plates
- Thread starter PA Jeep
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TWO GUNS
Senior Member
Are you plan on rock climbing with yours ????
Can one cut the tabs off ?
I've been all over these Louisiana swamps, now ours is a 900 .... but we have never had any trouble ....
Have slid over many logs, stumps, and mud ...... never hung up once ....
Guns,
The problem for me is three-fold.
First, it's very rocky in my area and although the factory plates have not given-up they are very dented due to their thin construction.
Second, the coverage area of the Kubota plates is not adequate. On more than a few occasions I have removed wedged branches from the left and right of the frame. (There is some pretty important and breakable stuff outside the frame rail on these machines)
Lastly the metal tabs protrude downward like metal anchors. They could be cut off, however they are definity adding to what little structural strength the factory plates contain. So I think cutting is a poor choice.
No aftermarket kits....time to make my own version. Plan on utilizing 3/8 or 1/2 UHMWPE just like in my dump trucks.
The problem for me is three-fold.
First, it's very rocky in my area and although the factory plates have not given-up they are very dented due to their thin construction.
Second, the coverage area of the Kubota plates is not adequate. On more than a few occasions I have removed wedged branches from the left and right of the frame. (There is some pretty important and breakable stuff outside the frame rail on these machines)
Lastly the metal tabs protrude downward like metal anchors. They could be cut off, however they are definity adding to what little structural strength the factory plates contain. So I think cutting is a poor choice.
No aftermarket kits....time to make my own version. Plan on utilizing 3/8 or 1/2 UHMWPE just like in my dump trucks.
TWO GUNS
Senior Member
Maybe you just might need to take that step.
Never delt with any rocky areas. Being we don't have that down here, never really thought about it.
Bet when one does "bottom-out", it's a teeth banging effect on everything.
Being I have much aluminum plates and material in my business, If had to make a plate, would be made out of this, but then again, we don't have rocks, only mud, logs, and alligators.....
I can see now where you would need something stronger than what comes with the RTV....
Keep us up on how, and please send pictures of the work .....
Heatwave
Active member
I would greatly appreciate your posting pix of your UHMWPE skid plates once you get them fabricated. That stuff is amazingly expensive ... I'd like to see how you apply it to your RTV.
TWO GUNS
Senior Member
Works on everything else >>>>> ( smile )
Attachments
Well........ removed factory plates. Plates are painted after installation by the factory. Lots of rust on mounting surface and skid plates. My machine is a 2011 with less than 200 hrs. Anyone planning on keeping the machine may want to pull the plates off and paint. I'll post some pics as i complete the new UHMWPE plates. I'm planning on making the new plates as wide as possible within the frame.
PA Jeep
I live in NE PA and think they should call it Penn's rocks, not Penn's Woods. I have an 08 RTV 1100 and the plates are dented and bent to heck. I try to avoid the rocks as much as possible, but you can't all the time. Terrible sound to hear the bang when you hit a stone underneath the rig. I try to keep paint underneath, but it is like shoveling sand against the tide.
Really hope it works out for you, I am not familiar with the material you want to use to make the plates from. Will it really add to the weight of the rig?
XTROOPER
I live in NE PA and think they should call it Penn's rocks, not Penn's Woods. I have an 08 RTV 1100 and the plates are dented and bent to heck. I try to avoid the rocks as much as possible, but you can't all the time. Terrible sound to hear the bang when you hit a stone underneath the rig. I try to keep paint underneath, but it is like shoveling sand against the tide.
Really hope it works out for you, I am not familiar with the material you want to use to make the plates from. Will it really add to the weight of the rig?
XTROOPER
Not sure about the 1100's but on the 500 I don't care for the hydro fillter being as exposed as it is....more protection certainly can't hurt. If one had a large break to work with aluminum would work excellent, you would just need to use some rolls and put a few linear radius bends on the plates to strengthen it up.
Heatwave
Active member
I'm not sure I understand everything I know about this. What are all the things protruding through the plate?--Bolts? Did it take that much drilling and that many bolts to mount the plate(s)? And it looks like--just looks like, and looks may be deceiving--that you increased the odds of high-centering your RTV.
You added the plates because you live a rocky region ... you bottom out on rocks fairly frequently. Right? I can see where you gain protection from rocks. But in muddy and/or sandy places, I wonder whether the plates might not be counterproductive.
All that I know about UHMWPE would barely fill a thimble. I hope to go to school on your installation(s) of the product. Please give us more info and pix.
You added the plates because you live a rocky region ... you bottom out on rocks fairly frequently. Right? I can see where you gain protection from rocks. But in muddy and/or sandy places, I wonder whether the plates might not be counterproductive.
All that I know about UHMWPE would barely fill a thimble. I hope to go to school on your installation(s) of the product. Please give us more info and pix.
TWO GUNS
Senior Member
Looks like you had your thinking cap on !!!!!
Looks good to me!!
If Heatwave knows a thimble full on UHMWPE, he's up a thimble full on me. Isn't that what they make cutting boards out of?
If your terrain shares mud with those rocks, you may want to consider boring some holes to let some of it drain out. I've had it cake above the OEM skid plates.
If Heatwave knows a thimble full on UHMWPE, he's up a thimble full on me. Isn't that what they make cutting boards out of?
If your terrain shares mud with those rocks, you may want to consider boring some holes to let some of it drain out. I've had it cake above the OEM skid plates.
UHMWPE = Ultra high molecular weight poly ethylene
Some of my issues with the UHMWPE plate:
I wanted a plate that would allow the use of a jack at any point on the plate. (i.e. rigid enough to hold the machine’s weight when on a rock) My first fabrication of the plate utilized a single thickness of the 3/8 UHMWPE material. This proved to allow the use of a jack only in areas of the plate that were supported close to the tubular sub-frame. Otherwise it would bend especially on the driver’s side of the machine where the plate extends 11 inches from the tube frame. This was not acceptable to me so I fabbed a second layer of the plastic to be glues to the first to add rigidity. (easy right)
I then learned that UHMWPE or any PE for that matter is very chemically resistant to adhesives. So I had to scuff the plastic to give the glue a physical bond and glue with waterproof contact cement. This however could not be relied upon to hold forever so I also had to bolt it together to ensure it would not delaminate. Unfortunately this added almost 3.5 pounds and a bunch of stainless button head fasteners on the bottom of the skid. Also this skid steals ¾ inch of ground clearance as a result of the double layer.
The other issue with the plate is the overall size of the footprint created. I know the larger the area that drags the greater the chance to get stuck. A better design would be to angle the plate upward from just outside the tube frame that would still provide protection to the linkages and other stuff to the sides of the motor/trans. Unfortunately there is no way to utilize UHMWPE in this configuration without a substantial sub frame fabrication. So plastic is not the way to go in my opinion.
On the plus side the side this skid is very rigid and can be used to lift the machine with a jack at any point and the plastic is super slick.
Fuel Tank and Cooling System Area (RTV 1100)
Pepr: I started to fabricate plastic plates to protect the fuel tank and the cooling system on my 1100. Both area provide a solid mounting surface that is flat that will support a single layer of this material nicely. Great application for UHMWPE in those areas.
Aluminum Plate:
I also fabed a ¼ aluminum plate for the front plate section just to experiment on the usage of aluminum. The aluminum bent (and stayed bent) just as the single layer of plastic when the weight of the machine was at the greatest distance away from the tube frame. (Approximately 11”) I offer this as I was going to scrap the plastic idea and use aluminum. Maybe thicker 3/8 aluminum would hold but I didn’t have any and it just takes ground clearance and adds more weight. The angled configuration described above may allow ¼ aluminum to work however my experience with aluminum and rocks is not good.
AR Plate
I’m going to start on a version made from thin 1/8 AR plate steel that angles up from the frame as described earlier. I really think AR plate fabbed in this manner would be super strong preserve precious ground clearance and provide a super hard (versus aluminum) surface that will defy rocks just as it does in the mining applications that so widely utilize the material.
Some of my issues with the UHMWPE plate:
I wanted a plate that would allow the use of a jack at any point on the plate. (i.e. rigid enough to hold the machine’s weight when on a rock) My first fabrication of the plate utilized a single thickness of the 3/8 UHMWPE material. This proved to allow the use of a jack only in areas of the plate that were supported close to the tubular sub-frame. Otherwise it would bend especially on the driver’s side of the machine where the plate extends 11 inches from the tube frame. This was not acceptable to me so I fabbed a second layer of the plastic to be glues to the first to add rigidity. (easy right)
I then learned that UHMWPE or any PE for that matter is very chemically resistant to adhesives. So I had to scuff the plastic to give the glue a physical bond and glue with waterproof contact cement. This however could not be relied upon to hold forever so I also had to bolt it together to ensure it would not delaminate. Unfortunately this added almost 3.5 pounds and a bunch of stainless button head fasteners on the bottom of the skid. Also this skid steals ¾ inch of ground clearance as a result of the double layer.
The other issue with the plate is the overall size of the footprint created. I know the larger the area that drags the greater the chance to get stuck. A better design would be to angle the plate upward from just outside the tube frame that would still provide protection to the linkages and other stuff to the sides of the motor/trans. Unfortunately there is no way to utilize UHMWPE in this configuration without a substantial sub frame fabrication. So plastic is not the way to go in my opinion.
On the plus side the side this skid is very rigid and can be used to lift the machine with a jack at any point and the plastic is super slick.
Fuel Tank and Cooling System Area (RTV 1100)
Pepr: I started to fabricate plastic plates to protect the fuel tank and the cooling system on my 1100. Both area provide a solid mounting surface that is flat that will support a single layer of this material nicely. Great application for UHMWPE in those areas.
Aluminum Plate:
I also fabed a ¼ aluminum plate for the front plate section just to experiment on the usage of aluminum. The aluminum bent (and stayed bent) just as the single layer of plastic when the weight of the machine was at the greatest distance away from the tube frame. (Approximately 11”) I offer this as I was going to scrap the plastic idea and use aluminum. Maybe thicker 3/8 aluminum would hold but I didn’t have any and it just takes ground clearance and adds more weight. The angled configuration described above may allow ¼ aluminum to work however my experience with aluminum and rocks is not good.
AR Plate
I’m going to start on a version made from thin 1/8 AR plate steel that angles up from the frame as described earlier. I really think AR plate fabbed in this manner would be super strong preserve precious ground clearance and provide a super hard (versus aluminum) surface that will defy rocks just as it does in the mining applications that so widely utilize the material.