Wheres the protection?

[maximum overdrive]

Hello everyone, i was pondering the thought after being in my rocky creek that there is no real protection against protrusion of a pointy rock lets say into the tub of your machine.And really no way to attach a skid plate either unless you render you aquatic abilities useless. Any ideas?

[LarryW]

Just curious what machine do you have? Argo has factory skid plates. You could possibly attach the plate by pinching it between the bearings and body.

[racerone3]

Most skid plates are held on with waterproof rivets. Hydromike has built several for his machines detailed here http://www.6x6world.com/forums/attex...hem-alive.html I just built one for my hustler bigfoot, it is held on with about 50 closed end blind rivets. they should be fairly water resistant (closed end blind rivets don't have a hole all the way through) but I put a shot of silicone in each hole before inserting the rivet. The silicone won't stick to the poly, but it should still help fill any gaps. I swam the machine for 10-15 min the other night and had almost no water in the tub (I suspect what did get in came through the RF bearing flange looking at the muddy streaks on the inside of the machine) here is a link to sealed end blind rivets McMaster-Carr (scroll down to the sealed blind rivets) You can also get them from Recreative. they use them to hold the skid plates on the Max IV

[maximum overdrive]

Larry, its a 03 Max II Argo had a great idea!

[racerone3]

Forgot to mention above, if you have access to an 8' sheet metal brake, you could do most of the bends in the poly skid plate with that. then rivet it in place and use heat to form the bends up around the front and back of the machine

[LarryW]

Great idea with the sheet metal brake Race!

And for the pinching between bearing thing. Depending on your axle/sprocket design it will move the sprocket outwards which might cause problems.

[jwiereng]

Blind rivet.

Not all blind rivets are watertight. Unlike solid rivets, blind rivets can be inserted and fully installed in a joint from only one side of a part or structure, "blind" to the opposite side.

For AATV skid plates make sure you get sealing blind rivets.

It would be a shame for someone to read this thread, go out a make a skidplate with non sealing blind rivets and have 50 leaks next time he swims.

[maximum overdrive]

Thanks for all the input. I have my work cut out for me so to say! Next time I swim in the creek I will take a video camara it got pretty dicey in there.

[hydromike]

Not all blind rivets are watertight. It would be a shame for someone to read this thread, go out a make a skidplate with non sealing blind rivets and have 50 leaks next time he swims.

They're called closed end blind rivets. Recreatives sells the brand made by Marson, and uses a rubber washer and a steel backing washer when installing their skid plates, and at several other locations on thier machines. They use a steel mandrel and an aluminum rivet. A 3/16 closed end blind rivet installed correctly in a 3/16 hole drilled through a skid plate and the body is watertight at the depths they're subjected to on an AATV. A dab of silicone never hurts.

~m