Im fishing here.....Lets say I took the time to have one piece underbody armour fabricated out of 3/16" stainless steel to protect the underbody of our H3s. Who would be interested? I do not know how the OEM stuff mounts but I found it online for $281 bucks. The only problem I see with fabricating it here in Texas is shipping it. 3/16 stainless is not light but I think it may be worth the investment.

One thing I am thinking about is maybe if I get mine made (cost pending) I could send the file to anyone who wants it. What I am thinking is seeing what it would cost to put the raw materials on a waterjet table. Those are just files on a disk loaded into a machine. It may be cheaper to have it fabricated locally if someone wanted to do it.

Just looking to see who has the interest. I work for GE Energy and could have mine done for nearly nothing if I have the template but I am looking to share this with others to help them out. Not promising that this will happen but it will drive me more to do this if I see an opportunity to help someone else and maybe make a few bucks to cover the adventure.

Russell

My email is russellandalexis@gmail.com

Also an authorized AMSOIL dealer.

 

I myself wouldn't be interested, since my H3 is more of a "mom-mobile" and accasional lake shore warrior, .... and I'm building another dedicated trail rig. But, what would the cost be without using stainless? Stainless is a bit pricey for a skidplate, and I don't have a problem crawling underneath with a rattle can every so often to do some quick touch ups. Especially if it's going to save me a bit of coin. I'm sure there are a few who think like I do, who may be interested.

The problem I have, looking at the factory armor, is the fact that it has gaps, that can hang up on stuff. I like the design from a strength standpoint, but that's all. In my opinion they should have plated in the gaps. Any real force applied to the t-case "skid" will cause it to "pry" away from the crossmember, and will still let force hit the t-case. Not good for an aluminum case. I've seen to many cases destroyed that way.

It sounds like you're on the right track with a belly pan. They can be built strong if designed right. Good luck with it, and be sure to post pics if you get one done.

 

Unless you are rolling over loose wall rock, 25-75 lb sized rocks, or stumps or something, the gaps in the dealer underbody armour aren't really that much of a concern. I was thinking the same thing you are until I bought it, put it on, and found out how well it works. It has a bar going across in some direction in all of the right places, and it is bolted on in several places, and together. It doesn't flex like the stamped piece that comes as standard either. I am not saying that the dealer stuff is indestructable or that it is the greatest thing on the market, but for almost all of the situations encountered off road where something like this is necissary it is more than adequate for the task.

 

Yeah, when I was talking about the t-case skid, I meant the stamped style that comes standard, I should have made that clear.

I have not seen a trail yet that has the exact same size rocks everywhere. There are too many variances in just about any terrain. Besides, it really does not matter what the size of the rock is, it's shape is more of a concern, especially if it's unmoveable. In my opinion, (and it's purely just that) you can't build a grided tubeular structure for armor, and expect it to not hang up. Why invest time and engergy in something, if it's going to hinder performance? Just doesn't make sense to me. If I'm going to make something that is meant to help protect, then I'm also going to make it condusive to my needs. It has to be strong, it can't hang too low, and when it does encounter an obsticle on the trail, it needs to slid over/across it. Trails can get hard enough, without setting yourself up for failure with poor designs. And, although wheelers are a friendly bunch, they do get a little tired of some putz clogging up the trail by getting hung up constantly, or breaking parts because he wasn't perpared for the trail.

But, that's just my take on it, after 22+ years of wheeling.

If I were to stumble across the H3 armor for a good deal (and was in the market for some), I would weld on some plate to fill in the gaps. It's been a while since I looked at it (the armor) but I remember looking at when I was thinking about buying an H3, and one glance told me it wasn't something I'd be interested in due to the hang up issue. But, it's been a while back, so perhaps my memory is a bit fuzzy.

Anyway, it's just my opinion of it, for whatever that's worth... it (my opinion) and .50 cents while get you a soda out of most any coke machine.

 

Your right about stainless, its expensive. I work at a place I can get it nearly free, and get it fabricated most likely for nothing. I may end up purchasing the OEM armor and covering the gaps with 1/8" steel and have it powder coated. Those gaps can trap stuff like limbs, small animals etc.

The reason I dont like the gaps is while testing my truck offroad with 180 miles on it I ripped the tranny harness plug apart and pulled two pins out of the speed sensor. It was quite the log pile, had to give a little bump in the throttle to get the front up and over then I passed over pretty easily.

I like to overbuild things, do it right, do it once.

 

Exactly!

Even the overbuilt stuff gets dinged up or broke at times. Then you realize that anything lesser would have really left you screwed. It does not take you long, after doing a bit of wheeling, to understand that you don't build anything half arsed, and you bite the bullet and get the good stuff.

I'm not saying the factory armor package isn't strong or good, I'm just saying that I see some design flaws that make me think I can either build a better one, or wait for a better one to come out. The factory one can be made to be better, as well.

 

Guys, I visited my dealer to pick up the truck after having them check out my harness I damaged to ensure things were ok. The sales manager part of the www.tgchog.org which is the Texas Gulf Coast Hummer Off Road Group. There is a company locally that builds racks, brush gaurds and of all things real under body armour. Ron Carter Hummer had the parts in stock, these things are nearly bullet proof. The under armour is one piece and is constructed of solid 3/4 inch steel bars and 3/16 steel plate and crinkle black powder coated. SWEET stuff. The sales manager had the OEM stuff on once and it got ripped to shreds, these guys are serious about thrashing there Hummers. Check out http://www.hummeraccessories.cc/index.html for good Hummer stuff.

I am still going to see about building my own to save some cash but these things are nice.

NOTE TO ALL........Someone mentioned about filling in all the gaps on the OEM stuff. The sales manager who offroads all the time says its a big no no. The pan on the tranny and transfer case will not get enough ventilation and the tranny temp goes way up so its a huge no no. Increased fluid temps causes premature wear on internal parts. Look at the parts from http://www.hummeraccessories.cc/index.html and you will see the real stuff. Only one I have found, its heavy duty.

Hope this helps you all