Rogue Overland
Adventurist
This seems like the right place to post this. Just a little video of our experience with steel and aluminum skids. What do you think based on your experience?
Thank you!Great video!
Aluminum does corrode beyond oxidation. I have seen plenty of .500" wing spar chords/webs and floor beams missing half the material.
That sums up everything really well.
If you're curious. All materials have an elasticity property. It's just very low in a material like concrete. The amount of force needed to permanently deform a material under tension is Young's Modulus of Elasticity. Bending stiffness is a function of Young's Modulus. Carbon steel's modulus is about 3 times that of aluminum's. So In short. Steel needs almost 3 times the force of an impact that would permanently deform an aluminum skid plate.
Stainless steel's elasticity property is about the same as carbon steel so if you want the benefits of crosions resistance that's better than aluminum and you've got deep pockets.
Young's Modulus of Elasticity for Metals and Alloys
https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/young-modulus-d_773.html
When I ordered my skids for my GX I went with Steel for two main reasons.
1. When instructing we often stick a vehicle purposely to so we can teach stuck assessment and proper recover technique. Doing that repeatedly over a weekend, month, seasons would fatigue aluminum.
2. Cost was lower, that for me was simple. The could very well be like a consumable over time.
Aluminum does corrode beyond oxidation. I have seen plenty of .500" wing spar chords/webs and floor beams missing half the material.
Boeing overbuilds there planes .
According to a friend that works for Boeing , they use a lot of 3M tape to put things together
According to a friend that works for Boeing , they use a lot of 3M tape to put things together