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Aluminum Skid Plate/Underbody Protection. Now taking orders.

52K views 50 replies 21 participants last post by  Lovely Dove  
#1 ·
I am now taking orders for 1/4" 5052 Aluminum Skid Plates for the front of the touareg. These will protect the underside of your car from everything from large rocks to road hazards. The factory underbody protection is thin ABS plastic and does not cover as much of the underside as this Skid plate does.

For those of you that were following the thread, the first prototype i made was Steel. It held up great but was very heavy at 54lbs and did not cover the front of the car like some of you requested. Here is a pic of it in action.

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It supported the front of the truck in this picture.

While testing i drove through some deep water (about 2 feet) and when i got home and removed it it looked like this:
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It basically flash rusted. This was no kidding 2 hours after going through the water. So i quickly started development of the aluminum piece that completely protected the underside.

And this is what the finished product is:
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The front needs a bracket that will be supplied. It can be seen here:
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Pictures of it installed:
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What you get:
Skid plate
Front Bracket
5 X M6 bolts
3 X M6 Nuts/Washers
6 X Grade 8 Countersunk Allen Hardware
6 X Aluminum Countersunk Washer Pictured below:
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Price:
$600
I need 3 on board with the first groub buy to make these. If you are interested. Send me a PM with your paypal Address and Mailing address. When we have the 3 people i will send each person an invoice for the cost of the $600 plus a custom shipping quote. Once everyone has paid, we go into production.

Lead Time:
Once everyone has turned in their money, it will take one week to manufacture these skid plates. I will ship them ASAP after they are all completed and you can expect to see them in another week. So that is 2 weeks total.
 
#6 ·
Any chance that can be done with C-channel in aluminum? Given the lack of drainage or air flow under there, I suspect the steel version could rust out quickly.

I realize that would probably make it difficult to accomodate the welded nuts. But are the attachment points from the bracket to the plate really needed? Would it be sufficient to allow the plate to simply load against the bracket?

Just thinking out loud here. :-k
 
#8 ·
After doin this, the aluminum will only allow it to deflect more, it would also add to the cost considerably.

If you get your order in on Monday I can ship it out on Friday.
Here's what I had in mind. It may not be the same grade/strength of the plate. But it's shape/size would seem to be able to fit the bill. Cost also is about $10 for a 1-ft piece.

Order Aluminum 6063 Channel in Small Quantities at OnlineMetals.com

I like where this is going. But my timeframe (money & need) is probably weeks to a few months away.
 
#9 ·
Ok, now I get a sense of size. Great value IMO @ $600 in 1/4" alloy. Crap that freight kills it here unless there's an economical method by sea to Brisbane. Air is way too dear.
 
#11 ·
Ok, it's now a WIP.
 
#12 ·
Can you provide shipping dimensions and weight?
I will be more than happy to see what I can ship it for to australia (or other places)
I could also do a shipment for group orders Thus lowering shipping cost a lot more probably
 
#13 ·
Engineer asked me if I could provide you with rates for Australia so here they come
They will need to be shipped from Houston to Missouri first.
One skidplate $28. Two or more $25 a piece

Shipping from Missouri to Australia (took Brisbane as an example)

1 piece $330
2 pieces $360 making it $180 a piece
3 pieces $481 making it $160 a piece
Any additional skid plates $160 a piece

Shipping goes by fedex and takes 5 business days

Reason why one piece by itself is so much more expensive is because we are dealing with volume weight which comes out to 57 lbs.rather than actual weight of about 40 lbs
With two or more actual weight will play a roll reducing the cost.
For people who want to know how this works you can read that here
International Package Shipping Tips

I do not know if there would be any taxes or duties on this (I thought none at $1000 or less) Check with customs to make sure


Rates for most of western europe:
1 piece $243
2 pieces $130 a piece
3 pieces $116 a piece
any additional pieces $116 a piece extra

Shipping takes 4 business days (also fedex)

So group buying with a minimum of 2 people or more is advised unless dollars do not matter

Any other countries just ask

Hope that helps.

Mark

prices are in US dollars of course. Payment by paypal or CC.
You can pay me each individually if wanted if that is easier
 
#15 ·
If you are not within driving distance to the group drop off point, Oilslurper will act as a liason in austrailia and be sure that it gets to you.

Can you arrange pick up of the skid plates in Houston? Or do I drop it off locally prepaid? To save on paypal losses it may be best for them to pay you direct, this will complicate things but I think we can handle it.
 
#16 ·
I am actually happy with that cost for 6+plates. Fedex even better!! If they go to me I can store until the others sort out their destination freight (a truck backfill tp Syd - Melb might be cheap). We gotta watch the total cost like I said on the plate thread. Each plate needs to be individual to avoid import duty, but bulk freight to save cost. Each owner can work out their freight method. I don't live too far from the Brissy freight depots.....we'll work it out now that we're this far in.
 
#22 ·
Sorry if I missed this on one of the 27 other pages across 3 threads but does this plate need to come off just for standard service access? Is there any risk it's not '10 TDI compatible?

Yeah, Yeti, I know this isn't going to save my fog light cover next year! :p

thanks,
 
#24 ·
The front needs a bracket that will be supplied. It can be seen here:
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Sam, what are the dimensions of your front bracket? Looking ahead, I'd like to see about replacing it with a corrosion-resistant (e.g. alloy) version. I realize that probably knocks out tack-welding captive nuts on the bracket's backside. But I've got an idea or two on how to skin that cat. ;)