Random questions #3

[Minoa]

Got a couple questions regarding angled skid plates. I see most skid plates are andled 8° or 10°. How much is too much? Could you push it to 12° with no adverse effects?

Skid plates are sloped towards the back. It seems to me that it would be more beneficial to have them angled to the front. Seems like the forward bias would naturally want to help it slide over obstacles better. Once the truck slides to the rear, the front tires should be in a better position to help pull the truck over said obstacles. Thoughts or opinions?

 

[ferp420]

you have to take driveshaft angles in to account
if you angle the skid forward the short front drivehaft would be at a even steeper angle if you could even get it to work most likely would bind

 

[Col_Sanders]

With the rear angled up, you have a smooth transition from front link to skid. If the rear was angled down, it would be a ^ shape and the skid would get hung up a lot. Plus as ferp mentioned, front driveshaft angles would be terrible.

As for the angles, i think once you get to a certain point, the benefit is minimal and starts causing other drawbacks.

 

[HumboldtEF]

Spacers on the transfer case and adjusting links can always fix pinion angles if needed.

Sorrca and other competition bodies set the maximum angle a skid can be so that why most comp skids/chassis are in that range.

If you're just messing around outside of comps I dont see anything wrong with testing out a steeper angled skid.
12° is very tame, just watch your pinion angle.
There are some folks running such a steep skid that they have to run 2 rear driveshafts, 1 runs upwards to a carrier bearing on the chassis connecting to the 2nd that runs back down to the axle.

I dont know what chassis you're using but you'll want enough adjustability in the suspensions ride height that you can compensate for the new angled skid. Ideally you'd design a chassis around the skid angle.

As for raking the skid other way I believe it will have the opposite effect and make getting stuck easier. With a normal angled skid when it gets high centered the concept is that you can drive forward (in some situations) and it gets easier/more freed up as it gains more clearance. If you reverse the angle I think you'll find yourself high centered more often with it getting more and more wedged in as you move forward.

 

[Minoa]

The driveshaft angles is a non issue for me as this chassis is for an 8x8 moa I mentioned in another thread. These questions were more of a general rule of thumb type.

I joked with a friend who is helping me draw this up in CAD that with 8 wheels, the a front or rear angled skid plate probably doesn't matter as much haha

 

[ferp420]

with a moa you dont need a skid plate just keep the belly high enuff it dosent hit anything

pimp cane with 8 wheels lol

 

[Minoa]

If I were just climbing rocks, an angled skid plate would probably matter less but I'm only bashing around trails, creeks, and woods. I've got 8 wheels hung up on quite a few logs haha