I have a Mahindra 5510 4x4 with Farmi JL501 winch, a mahindra Max22 4x4, and a bobcat 331 excavator that i use for logging. i am thinking of using a pickup plastic bedliner as a skid plate to protect the undercarriage of the tractors.
I know it is not as strong as steel but it is light weight and cheaper. i can get several used bedliners for under $100 each.
also looking how to build a simple delimber for trees under 12 inch in diameter
Edit 1-11-2018 - also thinking of going to a wrecking yard and cutting the roof off a vehicle, then mounting that under the tractor.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/27421/Tractor_-_Mahindra_with_Farmi_501_winch_-_1.JPG)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/27421/0516040928.jpg)
Rusty Iron also used metal for the belly pan portion of his tractor. I can see using the bed liner for some areas just to keep limbs from poking into areas where electronics etc. may get damaged, but the belly itself won't be protected at all IMHO....
Made a new tractor modification. These directional/flasher lights are in a lousy place IMHO. Massey get's $70 for one of these plastic lights. I bought two new ones with metal frames and glass lenses for $40(?) each and built these cages for them. I painted the inside silver to help with the reflection of them. Not sure how much it helps but it doesn't hurt....
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/26694/005~10.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1465222700)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/26694/006~7.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1465222701)
Quote from: DDW_OR on October 26, 2015, 01:45:24 PM
I have a Mahindra 5510 4x4 with Farmi JL501 winch, a mahindra Max22 4x4, and a bobcat 331 excavator that i use for logging. i am thinking of using a pickup plastic bedliner as a skid plate to protect the undercarriage of the tractors.
I know it is not as strong as steel but it is light weight and cheaper. i can get several used bedliners for under $100 each.
look at how Rustyiron used the bedliner to protect the fuel tank.
PLEASE READ RULES
also looking how to build a simple delimber for trees under 12 inch in diameter
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/27421/Tractor_-_Mahindra_with_Farmi_501_winch_-_1.JPG)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/27421/0516040928.jpg)
I see several bed liners on the Eugene CL for free. They work great to just cut the 4x8 or 4x6 sections out and use them in utility trailers.
Better than a pickup liner would be one out of an end dump or dump truck , they are light and very tough.
Somebody in this community made a good point about protective plates a while back; solid shields collect petroleum products that can cause a fire.
Expanded or perforated metal seems to be the best material.
The function lines on my 3016 were right in front of the rear tire; I wrapped them in a section of perforated drain hose and moved them to the inside of the step.
The hydro filter under the driver's left side and the fuel filter seems to be the 2 most vulnerable components on the 3016s.
While it would not help much in the woods, I have a Mahindra 3616 (36 HP cab model, 4x4). When I spray or mow in my blueberries I used to break or just lose 1 or more of the flasher/turn signal light lenses, until I did 1 simple modification. I took some black elec. tape and wrapped several times around the middle to hold the lens on, thinking I'd make some protective surrounds sometime. That simple trick has worked perfectly the 3 years since and the original tape is still on it. That did not cover enough of the light to bother for safety, it looks like 1 strip of tape, but is about 8-10 layers thick, it just looks like 2 lights when traffic gets close enough.
also thinking of going to a wrecking yard and cutting the roof off a vehicle, then mounting that under the tractor.
going to get an Arbro 400 stroke harvester for the Bobcat E80 to cut and delimb the trees.
then get a turbo saw for the Bobcat 331 to cut the brush.
The roof off a vehicle is very thin material and will puncture easily. The best stuff I found I like the best is 1/2" HDPE. Unfortunately its pretty pricey but it makes great skid plates. good protection but very slippery so if you drag the undercarriage it slides instead of getting hung up.
1/4 inch hdpe would be 10 times the protection than automotive sheet metal and much easier to work with.
My artic cat has 1/8 inch from one end to the other and it has taken some serious abuse.
I use 1/4 under the fuel tanks on my haul road truck, we also build fenders for the drives out of either 3/8 or 1/2 in. It is a little pricy, but you only have to buy it once. I would not expect much out of pickup bedliner material, as far as I am concerned it is a pretty poor material for it's intended purpose.
yea, bedliner material tends to be brittle especially in cold temperatures. The reason it works in truck beds is the full support under it.