Can we talk Skid Plates?

[Lives2TruckAround]

I’ve been wondering about under body protect. The bottom is mainly the skateboard structural battery. Soooo….

what would be the best approach here to protect the under belly? Just reinforce it with more steel? Try out the plastics for slippery-ability? Maybe test out aluminum to protect with less weight?

thoughts and opinions?

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[Zabhawkin]

https://unpluggedperformance.com/cybertruck/

They asked for suggestions a while back, I made several.

 

[Cyberman]

I’ve been wondering about under body protect. The bottom is mainly the skateboard structural battery. Soooo….

what would be the best approach here to protect the under belly? Just reinforce it with more steel? Try out the plastics for slippery-ability? Maybe test out aluminum to protect with less weight?

thoughts and opinions?

It has been decided that the Cybertruck, at 16" max lift, and 35" tires, is so high that no earthly rocks can possibly reach its belly, therefore rendering a skid plate pointless.
But seriously, I've seen the underbelly of the Cybertruck in person (the Peterson Museum version). It's pretty much one big skid plate as it is. There's no driveshaft, no tailpipe, no catalytic converter, no mess no fuss, crisp and clean, no caffeine. It's part of the beauty of the modern EV. I've got to believe there's some level of protection from wayward crags off-road, right? You can't just leave batteries exposed to the first bump in the road. My dude Easy E wouldn't do that.

 

[SolarWizard]

I think the battery structure will be made to support the weight. Something I have on my Jeep and is becoming more common offroading is adding a layer of UHMW like some cutting boards to help slide over obstacles

 

[Sirfun]

It has been decided that the Cybertruck, at 16" max lift, and 35" tires, is so high that no earthly rocks can possibly reach its belly, therefore rendering a skid plate pointless.
But seriously, I've seen the underbelly of the Cybertruck in person(the Peterson Museum version). It's pretty much one big skid plate as it is. There's no driveshaft, no tailpipe, no catalytic converter, no mess no fuss, crisp and clean, no caffeine. It's part of the beauty of the modern EV. I've got to believe there's some level of protection from wayward crags off-road, right? You can't just leave batteries exposed the the first bump in the road. My dude Easy E wouldn't do that.

I was so impressed, I took a photo!

 

[cvalue13]

I was so impressed, I took a photo!

Like the bumpers of the alpha prototypes, that’s not what we’re seeing on the pre-production prototypes.

like Rivian, I’d guess Tesla offers an under-armor upgrade package. That way the stock unit both meets various regs (in case of the bumpers) and also means the as-tested vehivle is light enough to hit stated range goals.

if people want to mod the truck thereafter, all good.

but the pre-production underbody shots even appear to show carbon fiber underbody parts.

who knows what ultimate production looks like, but almost certainly not like the alpha protos

 

[Lives2TruckAround]

I only ask because i was afraid of some small tube or something coming undone by a Boulder smash. I’m sure somebody (totally not myself) is going to try rock crawling to some extent and figured I’d put this page out there for someone to google find.

personally i wouldn’t want to hit something and dent my battery to any extent. but i like the photos and input everyone has stated so far.

 

[Lives2TruckAround]

https://unpluggedperformance.com/cybertruck/

They asked for suggestions a while back, I made several.

Thank you for this! I would like to see this company make some bullet proof IFS packages. Never want it to break

 

[cvalue13]

Thank you for this! I would like to see this company make some bullet proof IFS packages. Never want it to break

In my short time with a BEV pickup truck (a Lightning, since last July), one of the probably top 3 lessons I’ve learned is this:

​

compared to ICE trucks, decisions about aftermarket modifications become more high-stakes​

whereas with an ICE truck people are not only used to but excited to modify tires, lift, bumpers, aux lights, skid plates, etc., they do so not having to worry so much about the resulting range hit.

but in a BEV truck, pretty quickly most (not all) owners get far more scrutinizing about whether they really need these mods. And it’s because people find out real quick that even minor modifications can have seemingly wild effects on range.

there are still owners who, for example, truly need bigger all-terrain tires for their use cases, and so for them the significant hit to range (due to both contact patch and aero effects) is just a cost of the deal for them.

then there are all the other folks who mostly have city-queen trucks that merely like the looks of bigger/beefier tires, who come around real quick to the realization that they don’t like the look so much that they’re willing to take the 25%+ range reduction (at highway speeds).

in some ways, the range costs of modifying BEV trucks becomes a filter for posing.

not that there aren’t also the few, the proud, the brave who have a YOLO approach to it and put a 2” lift and beefy tires on their city truck, range-be-damned.

it sounds like you might be in the category of folks who really need under-armor on the truck. And at least for under-armor, that’s likely a relatively low-impact mod - especially if provided by Tesla (they’ll at least be likely to have done some aero optimization of any such mod they offer).

but keep in mind, the typical after-market 4X4 accessory producer is probably unlikely to think too hard about aero just yet. And tiny changes to the precision-designed aero package of a stock BEV truck can add up fast.

throw a poorly designed (and heavy) under-armor to your truck, then an external light bar, then add an inch of tire contact patch, and at highway speeds you can surprisingly fast need a whole new charging strategy for your commute.

 

[Lives2TruckAround]

In my short time with a BEV pickup truck (a Lightning, since last July), one of the probably top 3 lessons I’ve learned is this:

​

compared to ICE trucks, decisions about aftermarket modifications become more high-stakes​

whereas with an ICE truck people are not only used to but excited to modify tires, lift, bumpers, aux lights, skid plates, etc., they do so not having to worry so much about the resulting range hit.

but in a BEV truck, pretty quickly most (not all) owners get far more scrutinizing about whether they really need these mods. And it’s because people find out real quick that even minor modifications can have seemingly wild effects on range.

there are still owners who, for example, truly need bigger all-terrain tires for their use cases, and so for them the significant hit to range (due to both contact patch and aero effects) is just a cost of the deal for them.

then there are all the other folks who mostly have city-queen trucks that merely like the looks of bigger/beefier tires, who come around real quick to the realization that they don’t like the look so much that they’re willing to take the 25%+ range reduction (at highway speeds).

in some ways, the range costs of modifying BEV trucks becomes a filter for posing.

not that there aren’t also the few, the proud, the brave who have a YOLO approach to it and put a 2” lift and beefy tires on their city truck, range-be-damned.

it sounds like you might be in the category of folks who really need under-armor on the truck. And at least for under-armor, that’s likely a relatively low-impact mod - especially if provided by Tesla (they’ll at least be likely to have done some aero optimization of any such mod they offer).

but keep in mind, the typical after-market 4X4 accessory producer is probably unlikely to think too hard about aero just yet. And tiny changes to the precision-designed aero package of a stock BEV truck can add up fast.

throw a poorly designed (and heavy) under-armor to your truck, then an external light bar, then add an inch of tire contact patch, and at highway speeds you can surprisingly fast need a whole new charging strategy for your commute.

I’m with you on the ins and out of critical thinking for sure. I was educating myself on carbon fiber vs aluminum vs fiber glass for other projects.

I educate myself on the crazy Australians that modify their trucks for extreme travel and the like. I’ve been making a list of weak points and cost vs needs etc too for IFS, airbags, suspension overhaul and I definitely weigh my options.

there’s a lot of thought going into my project and I just wanted to know what others were thinking as more of a collective.

 

[cvalue13]

there’s a lot of thought going into my project and I just wanted to know what others were thinking as more of a collective.

tbh, I think the most thoughtful are still just waiting to see what the production truck turns out to be/include whatsoever

everything else is playful conjecture at best, whiling away the years of bored anticipation

the “pre-production prototype” at investor day is likely a close-to-final of the overall zeitgeist of the truck, but hard to know what details of any are still contingenr

that caveat up front, here’s a thread talking about what appears to have been carbon fiber plates under that prototype’s suspension/motor areas

https://www.cybertruckownersclub.com/forum/threads/carbon-fiber-underbody-spotted.8050/

 

[Zabhawkin]

My dailies don't get much in he way of modifications, maybe slightly larger tires but the tires on the Cybertruck are already huge. I might go skinnier with a more road worthy tread pattern but I am not anticipating doing much. I probably wont even add skid plates. Though if I do wind up breaking stuff those parts will probably get upgraded, but likely wont be more than the half shafts and lower A frames.

 

[Lives2TruckAround]

tbh, I think the most thoughtful are still just waiting to see what the production truck turns out to be/include whatsoever

everything else is playful conjecture at best, whiling away the years of bored anticipation

the “pre-production prototype” at investor day is likely a close-to-final of the overall zeitgeist of the truck, but hard to know what details of any are still contingenr

that caveat up front, here’s a thread talking about what appears to have been carbon fiber plates under that prototype’s suspension/motor areas

https://www.cybertruckownersclub.com/forum/threads/carbon-fiber-underbody-spotted.8050/

I’m not one to sit around and do nothing until something happens. I have models drawn up for the announcement dimensions, prototype dimensions, and now working on finals for these “beta” models.

I’m already emailing a company for portals for the IFS. When my truck drops I’ll be ready for anything hopefully.

 

[S.H.Peterson]

YES!

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