I've been interested in UHMW for some time now. I decided to make a skidplate using 1/2 inch UHMW. First I started with a single piece of cardboard, then I made a pattern to lay on top of the UHMW, as you can see I made the skid plate all 1 piece.





Then I used a circular saw and a jig saw to cut it out. I used a sander to round the corners. I had to heat and bend the wings on the side to meet the outer edge of the body. I routed all the edges with a 45 degree bit. Then i got 1/4 inch thread stock and cut it in 3/8 lengths I made about 20 grounded to a point ends.



Then I screwed these into the frame pointed end down, then I used a floor jack to hold the UHMW in place while I adjusted the UHMW where I wanted it. Then I used a hammer to make indents in the plastic where the pionted ends were. Then I drilled quarter inch holes in each dent that was left. I used the stock skid plate on top of the UHMW to locate the drain holes. I drilled and tapped 2 holes in the front and rear frame for skid plate attachment. Then I used a counter sink bit to counter sink the holes about a 1/8 inch deep. I used 1/4 Inch counter sink bolts because there is a lot of surface area on the head of the bolt. The bonus is you end up with a 1/2 Inch hole instead of a 1 1/2 Inch hole, much less for rocks to catch.



I liked the idea of having the UHMW sitting out past the edges of the body front,rear,and sides. I really like the idea of it going forward past the body, I know theres not a lot of support, but if you roll over a rock with your front tires atleast you hit the UHMW before the body.


Front


Rear



The rest of these pictures are not the best because I held the machine on its side to take them.











THANKS FOR ALL THE IDEAS THAT EVERYONE HAS GIVEN ME

John

Nice job on the skid plate looks really nice and clean

John,
Nice job and good pictures too! It's too late now, but you could have cut the front section under the A-arms a bit wider and protected them without sacrificing movement.
I am in full agreement with you on the countersink bolts. They make a much stronger completed assembly and present a much smoother surface to the rock edges. I wasn't sure it was a good idea after my post-test ride inspection revealed one of the bolts completely buried under really hard direct hit. But after I pulled the material away, there, unharmed was the bolt!
According to my local nut (and bolt) house, these black screws are a stronger grade than the stock bolts.
Getting the skid plate re-installed is a lot harder with the small holes. Will you be drilling out holes for the ability to drain the fluids w/out dropping your skid?
Nice work!
John in AZ

Looks pretty cool, can I ask why you didn't go with a larger counter sunk head?
It seems to me with the weight of the plastic, vibration and the constant hits it may take that the bolt and or bolt heads may break??

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My RZR Project

Keep It Wet and Dirty!

Where can you get the uhmw i live in tn and wondering if any one close carried it?

yea I have all drain holes in it for oils changes. I havn't decided yet wether or not to have drain holes for water I will wait to see after riding in different riding conditions. I realy dont want mud grabbers in the bottom. I feel if I need to clean the floor where your feet go I will just vacume before rinsing. THANKS FOR REPLIES GUY'S John

RZRider their is so many bolts that I realy think that even if you tried you couldn't brake them, plus these bolts are stronger than stock. I even added bolt to the frame in the back where they had holes but no bolts plus more in front and rear. THANKS, John

just look in the yellow padges, or buisness phone book under plastic, you should find sombody who has it.

just look in the yellow padges, or buisness phone book under plastic, you should find somebody who has it.

John
Nice skid, I'll be doing one next month. I like the way you did the bolts.
Think I'll try this route.
Tim

FYI, Make certain that you do not use LONG screws for the area around the gas tank!

There is a UHMW manufacturer in Maine -- Gar-Dur UHMW - Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene Machined Parts and Profile Extrusions

They might be able to sel lyou a piece. The material on the plate looks like Reprocessed UHMW. Virgin-grade UHMW chips/cracks a lot less, so you may want to try that instead.

That turned out really nice... How much did the sheet cost you? I was pricing aluminum skid plates and 400 somethin dollars for a skid plate is a bit much for me!

A LOT LESS, hmm, I researched UHMW for quite some time, and found that most all of the rock carriers and rock conveyor belts systems started using recycled UHMW around here and havent noticed a differance. At least that was what I was told by two different UHMW distributers that both sell recycled and virgin UHMW. I'm not saying virgin isn't better especialy for FDA use, but $255 recycled $400 virgin. I will take my chances. Even 1/2 inch hi density polyethelene would be hard to break | TIVAR® Recycled UHMW Sheet

I just finished my homemade 1/2" UHMW skid. I noticed that the transmission housing comes within 1/8" of the skid so I added a shim from leftover UHMW pieces at the back near the transmission. It gave some extra clearance between the skid and the tranny housing.

In my experience with large plastic sheets, they tend to get longer or shorter as they get hot or cold. Has powrmizer had a problem with no allowance for the shrinkage/growth where the bolts connect?

I have the same open area above the skid between it and the fender well. I'm noticing alot of dirt getting in there. Does anyone have any ideas on how to close this area off?

Thanks to pwrmizer for some great ideas on doing this fab!

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08 Rzr, 1/2" UHMW custom, winch, 2" Rubberdown lift, horn, front & rear bumpers, storage trunk, 1.5" Hunterworks spacers, and gas can.