Skid Plate users fess up!

rockyridgefarm · May 24, 2004

Ok, who has skid plates? Do you have Deere's Rental Upgrade Kit? Are there aftermarket units? Did you make yer own? How have they worked out? Are they purdy? (ok, don't worry about that one... /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif)

Have they been effective against ornery brush that attacks from beneath?

fgross335_2210 · May 24, 2004

And who has their JD looking like one of the vehicles in Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome? /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

SteveH_CT · May 25, 2004

My Father In-Law's Deere 1050 has a real Mad Max look about it - He made his own ROPS including bars extended over the hood - Add a seat from an old car, and you've got one un-pretty Deere. I'll have to try to get pics of it.

dltimmons · May 25, 2004

I bought and installed both the "Rental Upgrade Kit", and the "Tough Armour" kit from J.D. on my 4310.
One of the first major jobs I used the tractor for, was tearing down a 70 yr. old, cinderblock house that had collapsed under 5' of snow.
During this demoliltion job, I had a cinderblock filled with grout, roll off the back of the front loader and land on my nice new shiny plastic hood. I now have an 8" gash in the front top of the hood, repaired, but effectively covered by the, better late than never, tough armour guard.
I live in the mountains of Colorado and do a lot of brush hogging and excavating in areas that have big, sharp rocks that you can't always see until you are already on top of them. I think the skid plates will help save me some time and money over the long term. They seem to be fairly well made, and for me anyway, inexpensive insurance. The tough armour is also well made and I would recommend it to anyone who does a lot of loader work, especially if handling rocks.
If you order these kits be aware that the brush guards for the rops mounted hazard/turn signal lights, are not included, but are an extra item.
If you have any other questions, feel free to ask, and I'll try to answer the best I can.

DT

rockyridgefarm · May 25, 2004

On the skid plates, I understand they protect against big rocks scraping the belly. But will spindly branches stilll poke around it and gouge things? I know that nothing is completely fail safe...

dltimmons · May 26, 2004

Mike,

I think the skid plates are pretty effective against larger, not too flexible brush and limbs. There are some gaps along the sides, and a few access holes underneath, that the more flexable limbs may still get into and snag on something. I don't think they will protect against any and all hazards. I do think that for the price they are well designed and worth having. If they save me one days down time, when the tractor could otherwise have been working, they will have paid for themselves.
One of my biggest worries is the large hydro filter hanging down under the tractor. I felt it was only a matter of time before I went over something that tore it off. The skid plate offers pretty good protection for that area, and I don't worry nearly as much when I drive into brush or over piles of rocks that I will tear this filter off.
I have both stick and mig welders as well as a torch set and could have fabricated my own set of plates, but for the cost, and factoring in I have better things to do with any spare time I have, I feel the factory plates are still a bargain.
Installing them yourself will take a couple of hours. The hardest part was getting the bolts out of the bottom of the rops where the rear of the plates attach. Took a pretty big cheater on my 1/2" breaker bar to get these loose.
One other thing, the Tough Armour Kit comes with another grill guard and another set of mounting brackets, so the original one that came with the loader, becomes a spare. Haven't figured out a use for it yet, but I'm still thinking.
The Tough Armour Kit also reduces your veiw of the loader bucket, as it mounts a couple of inches above the stock hood, making it harder to see the bucket when its' on the ground.

Talk at you later,

DT

SteveH_CT · May 26, 2004

Thanks for all the info - Mike and I have had an off-line discussion about the armor options. My solution is ... shall we say cheap? I hope to get access to some very old office desks - the privacy panels on the old ones is pretty thick metal. I figures I could template and cut some to fit. I've not had a problem yet hitting the hydro filter... but I know what you mean - it looks like it's waiting to get a run over tree limb right up into it.

Did you do the math on the hood guard? I priced out the armor kit for the hood and I found it was more than a replacement hood. For me it just didn't equate - I'd rather save the $$ and replace the hood, if it ever came to that. BTW - My "poly-resin" hood has taken some significant hits in it's short but hard working life and has stood up quite well. A 5' to 6' log about 6" in diameter did no more than just a little scrape/scratch to the finish as it bounced it's way down my loader arms and onto the hood. Guess I was trying to reach a little high on that load /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif.

rockyridgefarm · May 26, 2004

<font color="green"> I've not had a problem yet hitting the hydro filter </font>

I think the object is NOT hitting it....

/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

SteveH_CT · May 26, 2004

Well I know you're right - but I have had some interesting pointy things come up at me while I've been driving over areas I'm in the process of clearing. One time I saw my floor mat moving up and down depending on rearward or forward motion. I got off and looked underneath - sure enough some offending branch had lodged itself in between the space for the hydro pedals and was moving around as the tractor moved. This is just one of many "interesting" moments in my tractor's life. It's been places not CUT deserves to go /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif.

dltimmons · May 26, 2004

Steve,

I really didn't look at the cost of a new hood, I was able to repair mine. It had an 8/9" fracture in the left front corner along the top. I tried several type of adheasive, including Super Glue, but ended up welding it from the back with a soldering gun. So far its' holding fine.

For me a new hood would have been a temporary fix. Cause I'm sure that sooner than later, I'll drop something else out of the loader onto the hood again. I use a lot of 30 yd. roll off containers and getting over the side of those means having the loader all the way up.

Also the Armour package includes shields for the hydro lines that cross the middle front brace behind the bucket, shields for the bucket cylinder lines, and kevlar covers for the other rubber lines. The radiator guard is also beefed up compared to the standard one, with expanded metal screening to prevent branches from piercing the radiator screen.
All in all, for me it was long term cheaper to fix the hood so it still functions, and add the guard to help prevent future Boo Boos. The hood guard (while down and closed) covers the damaged area of the plastic hood quite well. Plus I like the big armadillo decal on top of it.
Get a little money ahead and I'm thinking of getting it all chromed.

Later,

DT