underside body protectiom

[Fikabonds_swe]

im looking at installing underbody protection for a t6.1 ocean for a future iceland trip as well as overlanding in Scandinavia.

There are two alternatives;

1. Skidplates that only protects engine, tank, diff such as the one from Seikel.
2. Full underside protection that covers the entire underbody, such as the one from Hess or Terrangel.

Is full body protection really needed? it adds weight and my concern is that heat management as well as mud, gravel and sand gets stuck inbetween. I also live in Sweden where road salt is used during winter.

 

[ArunAlec]

im looking at installing underbody protection for a t6.1 ocean for a future iceland trip as well as overlanding in Scandinavia.

There are two alternatives;

1. Skidplates that only protects engine, tank, diff such as the one from Seikel.
2. Full underside protection that covers the entire underbody, such as the one from Hess or Terrangel.

Is full body protection really needed? it adds weight and my concern is that heat management as well as mud, gravel and sand gets stuck inbetween. I also live in Sweden where road salt is used during winter.

Make sure you don’t block the exhaust from the heater or the waste tank drain.

 

[Webbah_in_Switzerland]

im looking at installing underbody protection for a t6.1 ocean for a future iceland trip as well as overlanding in Scandinavia.

There are two alternatives;

1. Skidplates that only protects engine, tank, diff such as the one from Seikel.
2. Full underside protection that covers the entire underbody, such as the one from Hess or Terrangel.

Is full body protection really needed? it adds weight and my concern is that heat management as well as mud, gravel and sand gets stuck inbetween. I also live in Sweden where road salt is used during winter.

I have Hess protection but only for the motor and diff. I'd not recommend getting the full protection as anytime you need to do a service they need to remove it and that can take them hours (and additional labor cost).

 

[kurienp]

If it is Iceland, you can go with your standard Cali as you will not be rock crawling.

Three things that, if you focus on, will make your journey more enjoyable:
- wade depth - which you have already addressed in your other thread
- underbody protection - the plastic protection below the engine is very weak, true, however the main impact on any part of the underbody will be small stones and rocks that will get thrown up when driving. an under body engine and diff protection should be more than sufficient for this.
- Punctures - this is the bane of many who go to Iceland with soft road tyres. Carry two spares if you can and tyres with thicker walls and tread should keep you and the van happy.

Iceland is also on my list of places to visit - but possible year after next 2024 not before.

Enjoy the planning and the adventures.