Date: Thu, 2 Jul 1998 09:48:05 -0400
Reply-To: Derek Drew <drew@INTERPORT.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <Vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: Derek Drew <drew@INTERPORT.NET>
Subject: Front Skid Plate Design
In-Reply-To: <3.0.32.19980702082203.00b27c40@mail-60.openmarket.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
It would be a no brainer for me to go in with you. The main reason I haven't
done the project yet is initiative. I bet you'd get 1 or 2 additional orders
off the list too. You might even put the job out for bid to the
welders/fabricators on the list.
Issues:
1) Whatever is designed, it should allow the spare tire carrier to hang down
slightly lower than the spare tire naturally sits in order to accommodate the
27" tires that many of us run.
2) I am not so sure about the material that VW chose, which is that perforated
metal. I am wondering if a) it is strong enough to withstand bashing b)
whether
it is going to be excessively heavy, c) whether it is not smooth, and so may
have a greater tendency to hang up on rocks and projectiles, d) whether it
will
inevitabily begin to rust once paint on it is nicked. T-6-6061 plate is a good
choice for a strong smooth lightweight material. (Yarde Metals in Connecticut
carries this; about $200 for a 5' x 6' piece, 3/8" thick, as I recall.)
3) I am thinking that the skid plate might best be extended to the bottom
front
of the front bumper rather than terminating on to the rear of the front bumper
as depicted in that diagram. This way, you protect the underside of the very
front of the van, in addition to the spare tire carrier. Done right, the setup
would allow one to drive at speed into irregularly shaped rock piles knowing
that the van would skid up on top of them before the front wheels bite and
lift
you up. I like this idea of having a capability to
ram/skid/rise-up-on-skid-plates quite a lot, and having just typed the
forgoing, am seeing this capability as a requirement.
I have already applied some of the 3/8" thick 6061 material to the subframe
protecting the front diff, and the van has an excellent sliding action on any
rocks that it encounters in this area.
At 08:23 AM 7/2/98 -0400, you wrote:
>
> At 10:57 PM 7/1/98 -0400, Derek Drew wrote:
>
>>
>> Actually, as you say, now that I recall it, I rather liked that protection
>> plate for spare wheel. But I have not had one made because my current spare
>> wheel seems to take the bashing quite well, so my incentive to undertake
the
>> project is low. I have to take the spare wheel cover off and pound it back
>> flat with a giant sledgehammer every six months.
>
>
> I'm thinking of having a front skidplate -- per VAG's plans -- fabricated
for
> me by a metal shop here in Quincy. Probably a fall/winter project.
Interested
> in pricing for 2? Think others may be interested?
>
> Cheers,
>
>
>
> Michael J. Sullivan
> Director of Catalog Design
> Open Market, Inc.
>
> '87 GL Syncro Westfalia
> ********************************************
> work: <http://www.openmarket.com>http://www.openmarket.com
> vanagon: <http://www.hsdesign.com/vanagon>http://www.hsdesign.com/vanagon
> scan tips:
<http://www.hsdesign.com/scanning>http://www.hsdesign.com/scanning
> ********************************************
>
________________________________________________________
Derek Drew New York, NY & Washington, DC
drew@interport.net
'90 Syncro Westfalia...
...seen off-road at http://www.tiu.net/~des/vw/drew/index.html
Also seen at: http://www.pipeline.com/~tforhan/swrange.htm
http://4wd.sofcom.com/VW/snow.html
http://www.pipeline.com/~tforhan/swmassn.htm
http://4wd.sofcom.com/VW/Campers/Campers.html
Note: most valuable Vanagon sites on the planet (for owners) are:
http://gerry.vanagon.com/cgi-bin/wa.exe?S1=vanagon
ftp://gerry.vanagon.com/pub/
