For those who have built your own body armor, I have a few questions

[theoutbackdream]

Hello all,

Background:
I've been aching to build some body armor for my rig but I can't really find any information on what should be ideal. My background has nothing to do with metal fabbing, so this will be my first time doing something like this. But I will be asking my friend who does fabbing to help me out, but I figure I'd ask you guys here for some information.

My goals:
Ideally, I'd like to build skid plates, which will be the easiest. Then, rock sliders, then front and rear bumpers with a swing out.

My questions:
Rocksliders:
1. is Square/round tubing a must?
2. is a bolt on good enough?

Front bumper:
1. are the factory mounting points of the crash beam strong enough for a full steel front bumper?
2. What are the important things I need to keep in mind when building a front bumper?

Rear bumper:
1. Is the factory mounting point of the crash beam strong enough for a full steel rear bumper + swing out?

General:
1. Are there any benefits to welding the armor, that bolt on lacks? I am sticking with bolt on mainly for the benefit of being able to revert back to stock.

more questions to come...

Pics of your own fabricated armor would be nice!

Thanks!

 

[theick]

For the sliders you can watch this video. It is long but the take away is that just about any slider built with quality materials and welds will be more than strong enough for the majority of people. The strongest combination is square tube frames with DOM tubing for the slider welded to the frame. But all round tube HREW is pretty good too.


The bumpers should bolt to the factory mounts as much as possible. That is what their engineered to do.

I'm in the process of building my skids now. For me the bumpers are more complicated than doing the fab myself is worth. Find someone with the same Gen 4runner and spend some time looking at their setup.

 

[theoutbackdream]

For the sliders you can watch this video. It is long but the take away is that just about any slider built with quality materials and welds will be more than strong enough for the majority of people. The strongest combination is square tube frames with DOM tubing for the slider welded to the frame. But all round tube HREW is pretty good too.


The bumpers should bolt to the factory mounts as much as possible. That is what their engineered to do.

I'm in the process of building my skids now. For me the bumpers are more complicated than doing the fab myself is worth. Find someone with the same Gen 4runner and spend some time looking at their setup.

Thanks for the video! Dumb question, why is there so much deflection in the slider though? You can see it during slowmo, right before and when the car is dropping. Is it normal?

I was thinking to use the factory mounts for the crash beam, by building a plate that aligns with the factory crash beam mounting, and build a winch plate off that, then continue building onto the rest of the bumper. But my concern is whether the factory mounts are really strong enough to hold a 100lbs+ bumper..

 

[Lindenwood]

To clarify, make sure your bumper bolts solidly to the frame, rather than the body. I would not bolt a steel bunper to the body at all.

I am going through this process as well. I was planning on building my own skids, sliders, and bumpers. But, every day that goes by where I dont have the free time Id like is another inch closer I get to just buying it all pre-made, heh.

Good luck!

 

[Justin Forrest]

What kind of rig are you building armor for? I have built my own slidersand am currently working on my front bumper. When it came to skids I ordered them from RCI. It came down to a time vs money thing there.

 

[theoutbackdream]

To clarify, make sure your bumper bolts solidly to the frame, rather than the body. I would not bolt a steel bunper to the body at all.

I am going through this process as well. I was planning on building my own skids, sliders, and bumpers. But, every day that goes by where I dont have the free time Id like is another inch closer I get to just buying it all pre-made, heh.

Good luck!

Dumb question... Whats the difference between the frame and body? The crash beam is mounted on the frame, isn't it?

Yea, I've been designing stuff out, but I don't know if it's worth the time. haha

 

[theoutbackdream]

What kind of rig are you building armor for? I have built my own slidersView attachment 22957and am currently working on my front bumper. View attachment 22958 View attachment 22959When it came to skids I ordered them from RCI. It came down to a time vs money thing there.

This will be for a 4th gen 4runner.

That looks good :) How long did the sliders take to design and put together?

 

[Mad Garden Gnome]

Hello all,

Background:
I've been aching to build some body armor for my rig but I can't really find any information on what should be ideal. My background has nothing to do with metal fabbing, so this will be my first time doing something like this. But I will be asking my friend who does fabbing to help me out, but I figure I'd ask you guys here for some information.

My goals:
Ideally, I'd like to build skid plates, which will be the easiest. Then, rock sliders, then front and rear bumpers with a swing out.

My questions:
Rocksliders:
1. is Square/round tubing a must? What other shape of metal are you considering. The less corners to catch things, the better, thus, round is ideal.
2. is a bolt on good enough? Because sliders may need periodic repair, refreshing, recoating, bolt on seems to bring less regrets later.

Front bumper:
1. are the factory mounting points of the crash beam strong enough for a full steel front bumper? You may want to consult a forum that specializes in your model for this. Is anyone putting heavy aftermarket bumpers on your type?
2. What are the important things I need to keep in mind when building a front bumper? What do you want it to do? Recovery points? Winch mount? Light mount(s)?

Rear bumper:
1. Is the factory mounting point of the crash beam strong enough for a full steel rear bumper + swing out? Is anyone putting heavy aftermarket bumpers on your type?

General:
1. Are there any benefits to welding the armor, that bolt on lacks? I am sticking with bolt on mainly for the benefit of being able to revert back to stock.

more questions to come...

Pics of your own fabricated armor would be nice!

Thanks![/QUOTE

My questions:
Rocksliders:
1. is Square/round tubing a must? What other shape of metal are you considering. The less corners to catch things, the better, thus, round is ideal.
2. is a bolt on good enough? Because sliders may need periodic repair, refreshing, recoating, bolt on seems to bring less regrets later.

Front bumper:
1. are the factory mounting points of the crash beam strong enough for a full steel front bumper? You may want to consult a forum that specializes in your model for this. Is anyone putting heavy aftermarket bumpers on your type?
2. What are the important things I need to keep in mind when building a front bumper? What do you want it to do? Recovery points? Winch mount? Light mount(s)?

Rear bumper:
1. Is the factory mounting point of the crash beam strong enough for a full steel rear bumper + swing out? Is anyone putting heavy aftermarket bumpers on your type?

 

[theoutbackdream]

My questions:
Rocksliders:
1. is Square/round tubing a must? What other shape of metal are you considering. The less corners to catch things, the better, thus, round is ideal.
2. is a bolt on good enough? Because sliders may need periodic repair, refreshing, recoating, bolt on seems to bring less regrets later.

Front bumper:
1. are the factory mounting points of the crash beam strong enough for a full steel front bumper? You may want to consult a forum that specializes in your model for this. Is anyone putting heavy aftermarket bumpers on your type?
2. What are the important things I need to keep in mind when building a front bumper? What do you want it to do? Recovery points? Winch mount? Light mount(s)?

Rear bumper:
1. Is the factory mounting point of the crash beam strong enough for a full steel rear bumper + swing out? Is anyone putting heavy aftermarket bumpers on your type?

-I was thinking just a flat piece of metal, like a skid plate.

-That makes sense, but I was just worried that bolt on's lacked some strength/weren't as strong as weld on's.

-I'll go ahead and do that. But it seems like most people mount it directly to the crash beam mounts, + an additional bracket or so.

- Hmm, good point. Those are things i'd definitely want to design my bumper for.

Thanks!

 

[Scott Murray]

Bolt on bash/skid plates are also handy when it gets caked in mud and you need to remove the plate to thoroughly clean the mud from under your vehicle.

 

[Justin Forrest]

This will be for a 4th gen 4runner.

That looks good :) How long did the sliders take to design and put together?

About 8 hours to fab and another2ish to weld on. I also have a full steel fabrication shop at my disposal. I'm a structural Ironworker by trade.