Metal Skid Plate Part Duex

Spurshot · February 27, 2015

I decided to start another skid plate thread after not finding the last one.

I've taken my plastic "skid plate" to my friend's house and drank his beer while discussing the possibilities of making a steel skid plate to replace the OEM piece.

I told him it didn't need all the stiffening details. But he looked at that stuff and said most of it was easy to make. We talked costs. Steel will be about $50 for the material, aluminum might be 3-4 times that, stainless like 5-6 times that.

Fabrication and tooling costs are going to drive the price. Steel fabrication recurring costs might be in the $50-100 range. So, $100-150 is a possibility for costs without any finishing. I would suggest zinc plating as a finish. From that, you can paint them whatever color you like and not worry much about rust.

There's going to be some non-recurring costs for tooling and development. I'm guessing that's in the $2-3k range.

So, taking a bit of a swag here, say $150 per part fabrication and material, pessimistically...25 parts will be sold, so $100 more each for development and tooling amortized into the part, $250 each plus allow $25 for finishing. So maybe $275 cost. Call it a round $300. It's going to be about a 45 lb object. Shipping weight will be in the 55-60 lb area.

What's the interest level?

GasHog369 · February 27, 2015

Its too bad you are so far away, A buddy of mine could likely do it for a lot cheaper. He would just need a plastic one to input the dimensions into his computer and he can cut these out in bulk , any material.

SouthernSilveradoGuy85 · February 27, 2015

I remember the skid plates on my 98 were kind of thin. I don't think they need to be made out of thick metal like maybe an HD bumper. I would probably rather put spray on/roll on bedliner on it or maybe powdercoat it.

Not sure I would pay that much for metal skid plates anyways. I don't plan on doing any kind of off-road where I'd have to worry about the plastic skid plate being damaged.

SouthernSilveradoGuy85 · February 27, 2015

Its too bad you are so far away, A buddy of mine could likely do it for a lot cheaper. He would just need a plastic one to input the dimensions into his computer and he can cut these out in bulk , any material.

From what I can remember from being under mine, it wouldn't be a straight cut out and that's it. It would have to be bent a little I think, not 100% sure though. And I'm not going to crawl under it with snow on the ground to find out lol.

GasHog369 · February 27, 2015

I hear ya, but bending to meet the holes likely wouldnt be that tough with the right tools.

Sad that GM cheaped out on there best selling truck.

Spurshot · February 27, 2015

Hey, I'm not stopping anyone from taking this on. I have a real job and I don't need to make money off anyone here. Lets be real here. These group deals on forums fall apart faster than a $5 straw hat. I figure 25 parts is realistic on a deal like this. Tooling is putting possibly up to $100 a piece into that low a volume. I suspect the real cost will be in the $200 area, but I'm going to err on the side of caution to get a reading on interest. I see comparable skid plates at 4WheelParts for in the $400+ range. This is a 3ft x 2.5ft object. I'm not talking about a flat plate, but rather a complex contoured part very much like the pictures below. Just for the record, this guy's shop has "the right tools" as he is a OEM supplier of similar products. If someone wouldn't pay $300 for this in 10ga (.134") steel, then I can stop this discussion right here.

SouthernSilveradoGuy85 · February 27, 2015

I guess the reality is that plastic can still take a beating and then bent back to shape. Of course sometimes an impact will go past what the plastic is capable of. But if you think about it, replacing a plastic one is a hell of a lot cheaper than replacing a metal one. If reinforced right and using the right plastic a plastic skid plate could be as sturdy or at least close enough as a thin metal skid plate that manufacturers will use. Like I said before, they're not going to put heavy steel just to be a skid plate so thin metal isn't much durable as the right type of plastic that's reinforced. Think about it the same as polymer handguns. Polymer frame handguns like my Glock can take a better beating than metal frame handguns. Not saying metal handguns aren't durable, but I haven't heard of anybody having issues with the polymer itself. Not to go off track, could also think about the plastic type body panels on some vehicles. I've seen people pull out a dent and you wouldn't even know it was there. I've heard of people even using a plunger to pull out a big dent.

Being a 4x4 truck and a Z71 I wish GM would have maybe upgraded the plastic ones with metal ones at least for the Z71s, but it's not a huge deal since I'm not going to take this truck off-road and mudding like I did my old 98.

I'm sure there's 2 reasons they went with plastic. Weight for that .02 mpg and cost to manufacture. It's easier, cheaper and quicker to form a plastic piece than it is to make the same piece in metal. Case in point, the cost of making a metal one is in the 2-300 range. While you can buy this same plastic one for less than $50 and that's with a profit. I hate seeing all this plastic on a truck, but it could be worse.

Spurshot · February 27, 2015

I guess the reality is that plastic can still take a beating and then bent back to shape. Of course sometimes an impact will go past what the plastic is capable of. But if you think about it, replacing a plastic one is a hell of a lot cheaper than replacing a metal one. If reinforced right and using the right plastic a plastic skid plate could be as sturdy or at least close enough as a thin metal skid plate that manufacturers will use. Like I said before, they're not going to put heavy steel just to be a skid plate so thin metal isn't much durable as the right type of plastic that's reinforced. Think about it the same as polymer handguns. Polymer frame handguns like my Glock can take a better beating than metal frame handguns. Not saying metal handguns aren't durable, but I haven't heard of anybody having issues with the polymer itself. Not to go off track, could also think about the plastic type body panels on some vehicles. I've seen people pull out a dent and you wouldn't even know it was there. I've heard of people even using a plunger to pull out a big dent.

Being a 4x4 truck and a Z71 I wish GM would have maybe upgraded the plastic ones with metal ones at least for the Z71s, but it's not a huge deal since I'm not going to take this truck off-road and mudding like I did my old 98.

I'm sure there's 2 reasons they went with plastic. Weight for that .02 mpg and cost to manufacture. It's easier, cheaper and quicker to form a plastic piece than it is to make the same piece in metal. Case in point, the cost of making a metal one is in the 2-300 range. While you can buy this same plastic one for less than $50 and that's with a profit. I hate seeing all this plastic on a truck, but it could be worse.

The part on these trucks is in no way a "skid plate". It is a simple splash shield. It will not protect anything. It is a simple unreinforced plastic part intended to provide splash and aero performance. Nothing more. It is as flimsy as a tortilla. Crawl under your truck and look at it and poke at it. It is NOT a skid plate.

4x4Hank · February 27, 2015

My 2014 Z71 Silverado is my first truck in a long time. I am dating myself here but I had a 73 K5 Blazer and a 76 4 x 4 shortbed Silverado and they both had some pretty hefty steel skid plates. My recollection is that the skid plates came on all of the 4 x 4 Blazers. I do remember ordering a skid plate package for my 76 Silverado pick up and it came with gas tank skid plates (twin tanks) as well. They were not as thick as the transfer case skid plates mind you but they did provide some decent protection. They certainly weren't plastic. I was shocked when I saw that the skid plates were now plastic but I guess I understand the weight/gas mileage factor that we didn't care about in the 70's.

FormerFordGuy · February 28, 2015

Im an estimator for a commercial excavating co. I have to check out future job sites on a daily basis. I'm always crawling over curbs, telephone poles, railroad ties, concrete rubble, etc., etc. A good set of sturdy skid plates would be a lot cheaper than a hole in my oil pan or a cracked transmission case.

bass mechanic · February 28, 2015

I would really be interested in seeing if it was possible to place covers all the way across and enclose the underside of the truck. I could care less about off toading but I think such a project would help with fuel economy

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SouthernSilveradoGuy85 · February 28, 2015

I would really be interested in seeing if it was possible to place covers all the way across and enclose the underside of the truck. I could care less about off toading but I think such a project would help with fuel economy

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You have a supercharged 6.2 and you're worried about fuel mileage? Do you work on your own stuff because the underside of the truck being covered would make it pretty hard just to work on something.

bass mechanic · February 28, 2015

Actually my MPG has not changed highway wise with the SC but I spend a lot of my driving on the highway with a dirt bike in the back.

And yes nobody works on my truck but me

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Spurshot · February 28, 2015

I would really be interested in seeing if it was possible to place covers all the way across and enclose the underside of the truck. I could care less about off toading but I think such a project would help with fuel economy

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It's possible. I looked at it. Just a different task. Believe it or not fender skirts on the rear wells is a large drag reduction and much easier.