Akunin 348 Posted February 7, 2020 An odd question. Has anyone coated any aluminum slid plates with Line-x? Not looking to "strengthen" them, just to make the aluminum less sticky when it comes to sliding over rocks. Sure the cost is up there and I've seen others add plastic to the skids but since line-x is harder than rhino I figured it would be worth a shot. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SlammedRanger 1,559 Posted February 7, 2020 I would think truck bed liner would make sliding over rocks worse? Its a gritty almost grip tape like texture. And the rocks will dig into it eventually. Then you will have edges to catch and really stop any sliding. I have never had any issue with aluminum not sliding across rocks. I did get a poly skid plate last year and it got yanked right off. And that plastic is way thicker and harder than bedliner. Mine had deep scratches and eventually came off completely in a hard bottom out at a race last year. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Akunin 348 Posted February 7, 2020 Yeah I thought the same until I'd seen the line-x on a skid plate of a ford raptor. No where near as tacky as rhino lining, that stuff is very soft. I've seen poly sheets when I go out rock crawling (bolted on top of aluminum) but its to thick for anything I want to do. The raptor owner loves it and it's not very thick either. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SlammedRanger 1,559 Posted February 7, 2020 I would think maybe for a full size truck where the aluminum could dent or snag alot easier maybe it would almost act like a padding that would help. But for atvs where the aluminum is very thick and the quad doesnt weigh really enough to put a hole in it. I dont see the need. But i guess for someone who blasts through a rocky area wide open and can put holes in there aluminum skids maybe? We dont have any areas that rocky around here. And i always slow down alittle through the small rocky areas we do encounter. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fishfiles 20,147 Posted February 7, 2020 You'll open a train of thought , my buddy recently built some skid plates for his Can-Am , he used checker plate and has the checker down , maybe he should have flipped it over and had the checker up as it might cause a drag when skidded , but maybe it is more of a protection plate , that for some reason gets dubbed a skid plate , eh ! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Akunin 348 Posted February 7, 2020 (edited) 1 hour ago, SlammedRanger said: I would think maybe for a full size truck where the aluminum could dent or snag alot easier maybe it would almost act like a padding that would help. But for atvs where the aluminum is very thick and the quad doesnt weigh really enough to put a hole in it. I dont see the need. But i guess for someone who blasts through a rocky area wide open and can put holes in there aluminum skids maybe? We dont have any areas that rocky around here. And i always slow down alittle through the small rocky areas we do encounter. My issue is I dont blast through! I've been hung up in the past due to going to slow and the aluminum tends to grab vs just slide over with a plastic/poly plate. The Ricochet are pretty thick at 3/16" and uses 5052 h32 aluminum. So for my application was just thinking of adding a thin layer of something on top (bottom facing) of the metal to just aid in slippage without losing a lot of clearance and adding a lot of weight. One reason I asked about line-x, I've heard it can be applied relatively thin. Does anyone have any experience with them? I wouldn't dare try that DIY stuff, looks like a complete waste of time and money. Might try to find a thin sheet of UHMW Edited February 7, 2020 by Akunin Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fishfiles 20,147 Posted February 7, 2020 I have a Ricochet bottom frame protector ( LOL ) on my red 300 Fourtrax , it is heavy duty , I think I could block each end , stand on the middle and jump up and down -----one bad thing about the skid / protector plates is they hold dirt making it harder to clean and if you don't clean it , then the wet mud will sit in there against the frame and promote rust 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Akunin 348 Posted February 7, 2020 I think their great and solid and I've had them on 3 of my quads but the wife has that 700# can am so that's the biggest reason I want to make the skid plate slide better. They are solid but if anyone has ever parked on a rock before the aluminum just doesn't slide as well Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Akunin 348 Posted February 7, 2020 Hmm, just saw that Ricochet offers UHMW plastic for the bottom of their skids. Ha! I knew I wasn't nuts. Very cool. I just might look at something a bit thinner though, maybe 1/8" should do it Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
toodeep 1,759 Posted February 7, 2020 The mention of them holding mud and I just pulled one off of a sxs so I thought about it. lol About all I can add on this subject. I don't have enough rocks to worry about so I get rid of all my skids, for the holding debris reason. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fishfiles 20,147 Posted February 7, 2020 Wow , I wasn't lying about holding mud ^^^^^ , proof is in the pudding ( pic ) , looks like a 5 gallon bucket worth , eh !!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
toodeep 1,759 Posted February 8, 2020 Probably a couple 5 gal buckets laying there. The sxs are terrible at holding mud. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Akunin 348 Posted February 8, 2020 I tend to avoid the mud where I ride. If you miss any the next day you have to take a chisel to get it off 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
_Wilson_™ 6,591 Posted February 8, 2020 I was curious to riding terrain ...... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
toodeep 1,759 Posted February 8, 2020 27 minutes ago, _Wilson_™ said: I was curious to riding terrain ...... @Akunin is out in the rock country. The photo I'll post I don't think is in his area but he probably knows it. That mud puddle that I'm working on is a cattle machine. Mud from the lot, pasture, creeks, roads and everywhere. They get used daily for everything and very seldom stop long enough for a good cleaning. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
toodeep 1,759 Posted February 12, 2020 On 2/7/2020 at 5:25 PM, Fishfiles said: Wow , I wasn't lying about holding mud ^^^^^ , proof is in the pudding ( pic ) , looks like a 5 gallon bucket worth , eh !!! Off topic some... All said and done 5 5gal buckets from that machine. I transferred it to the box for the owner, land prices are high.. lol 2 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fishfiles 20,147 Posted February 12, 2020 WOW , it should do a lot better in the mud now , shedded a couple of hundred pounds , it was weighted down Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Akunin 348 Posted February 14, 2020 That's a lot of dirt. I bet it does feel a bit more nimble! Maybe a little to top heavy now? Lol Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
toodeep 1,759 Posted February 14, 2020 I probably should charge for the power upgrade.. lol I see it all the time so it really doesnt mean nothing to me, just sharing because of the timing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites