REFERENCE: 2019+ Power Wagon Armor

[MDethloff]

Engine block heater for Diesel trucks in cold temp. Diesel works on compression, so the block heater helps keep it warm.

@MDethloff I really dig what you've done here. Added benefit over the other options available, and looks super stout. I'm sad that I'm going to be getting a new bumper soon or I'd hit you up to order one.

Thanks man! There's still such a shortage of bumpers for these trucks because it's pretty tough to make a bumper that looks better on these things than the factory unit. I really love Thuren's prototype tube bumper he made a while back, that'd be a sick item. What are you going with?

Really interested to see what price is going to be on that front skid/light mount. I right now have the plug just hanging out in front of my PW since I had it plugged in a few days when we got down into the -30/-40s here. That would be a much cleaner install. I also love how low you get those lights for fog. Interested in seeing more for sure and pricing.

I'm working on pricing now that we're out of prototyping and getting production started to build stock! Dangling block heater cords always bothered me. It also sucks to be on your knees in the snow trying to fish the dang cord out.

 

[UglyViking]

Thanks man! There's still such a shortage of bumpers for these trucks because it's pretty tough to make a bumper that looks better on these things than the factory unit. I really love Thuren's prototype tube bumper he made a while back, that'd be a sick item. What are you going with?

I went with an Expo 1. I would have preferred to do a power wagon style, but unless someone can figure a way to stuff a winch into the cummins trucks, I'm stuck with something sticking out. I was thinking that someone was going to figure a way, but no one has, so I'm going full bull bar bumper. One extreme to the other. haha

 

[MDethloff]

I went with an Expo 1. I would have preferred to do a power wagon style, but unless someone can figure a way to stuff a winch into the cummins trucks, I'm stuck with something sticking out. I was thinking that someone was going to figure a way, but no one has, so I'm going full bull bar bumper. One extreme to the other. haha

That is one of the two best looking bumpers in my opinion on these trucks, and the most functional bull bar between them.

Once you hop under both trucks side by side and compare where the winch sits it takes about 1/4 of a second to realize why nobody has put a PW winch in the Cummins, there is nooo room haha. You could do it Ford style and push the entire factory bumper forward but that's a funky look and you're going to stuff the bumper into thigns left and right. I think the EO is a great choice.

 

[UglyViking]

That is one of the two best looking bumpers in my opinion on these trucks, and the most functional bull bar between them.

Once you hop under both trucks side by side and compare where the winch sits it takes about 1/4 of a second to realize why nobody has put a PW winch in the Cummins, there is nooo room haha. You could do it Ford style and push the entire factory bumper forward but that's a funky look and you're going to stuff the bumper into thigns left and right. I think the EO is a great choice.

Oh yeah, I know I was under there a few hours after I bought mine, and I've thought about every possible way, including thinking about a different intercoolers like the 3rd gen trucks, but even if I could make that work it would be a ton of hassle for that. Oh well, I think it looks pretty slick overall so we will see.

 

[Shake N Bake]

Base kit!

Two questions. Does the skid mount to those vertical "anti climb" tusks on the frame? For us PW guys, will you have an option without the plug hole to keep it cleaner? Id rather not have a stainless cover plate if possible.

 

[el_barto]

Good thinking! We actually looked at doing that, making wings that extend out across the bumper for a cleaner, angled mating between the parts, but it's too much of a stretch to do. There isn't something great to brace against so I don't think it would really be doing anything out at the locations that normally get hit; I think it'd actually just get hit more on the ends which is kinda just making things worse, so I decided to just keep the skid narrow.

For sure, wings being cantilevered out would likely not be very strong.

However, here is an idea I noodled with but haven’t done anything about:
A piece of like 1/4” or maybe 3/16” plate that bolts onto the bottom edge of the front bumper (use the holes from stock air dam). Then make it stiffer by welding a plate bent to the profile along the rear edge (essentially making it a piece of angle iron that follows the profile of the bumper). This would give ridgidity / spread the load of an impact to the lower edge of the bumper. Bumper will likely still get damaged from very large impacts/dropping the weight of the truck into it but I think it would help as a skid when you are scraping on an approach

 

[MDethloff]

@Shake N Bake that's correct, it does mount at the rear to the anti-submarine brackets using 4x M12 bolts. I'm trying to balance aesthetics & options with manufacturing & stocking. On the models that come all black, everything except the rock light brackets is going to be black (because you can't see them so there's no need). That cover plate will come black so it'll blend in with the skid plate. That's going to be a lot easier to stock than a whole different main plate without the NOCO hole, and then if you ever want to add the NOCO in the future you can do that without needing to drill the hole and bolt pattern.

I think that NOCO has a lot of opportunity especially for guys that aren't daily driving their truck and want to put a tender on it, even occasionally.

 

[MDethloff]

Well the snowball's already rolling, why stop now!

Here is our new brush guard for the 2019+ Cummins intercoolers. This is a much lighter duty option not meant for boulder bashing but offers protection from the common tree branches, sticks, gravel, etc. encountered on forest roads, highways, job sites, etc. I know this is a Power Wagon group but you guys know people and work with guys with these trucks and it's just fun to share cool projects like this with you guys. Fully stainless, bends for strength, good airflow and drainage. Just waiting on some hardware to come in to pack these up!

 

[Shake N Bake]

@Shake N Bake that's correct, it does mount at the rear to the anti-submarine brackets using 4x M12 bolts. I'm trying to balance aesthetics & options with manufacturing & stocking. On the models that come all black, everything except the rock light brackets is going to be black (because you can't see them so there's no need). That cover plate will come black so it'll blend in with the skid plate. That's going to be a lot easier to stock than a whole different main plate without the NOCO hole, and then if you ever want to add the NOCO in the future you can do that without needing to drill the hole and bolt pattern.

I think that NOCO has a lot of opportunity especially for guys that aren't daily driving their truck and want to put a tender on it, even occasionally.

Good thing I kept those brackets when they fell off the truck. Will the black production units be a flat black to better match the PW bumpers or a gloss black?

 

[GPurcell01]

I'm loving this. I keep going back and forth if I want to replace my bumper. I think I found the answer depending on price

 

[jsalbre]

@MDethloff Any updates on the engine skid?

 

[MDethloff]

Good thing I kept those brackets when they fell off the truck. Will the black production units be a flat black to better match the PW bumpers or a gloss black?

I use a matte, light textured black, it has just a little sheen to it but it's not gloss. I'm getting a kit powder coated and am going to put it on the shop Power Wagon with the black front end and I'll share pics!

 

[MDethloff]

@MDethloff Any updates on the engine skid?

Yes! We've got the design approach nailed down. We've had skids on trucks for a year and a half but they were too expensive to bring to market. Now we've got it dialed in for both the diesel and gas trucks. The nuissance of the factory blocking off the mounting points of our previous design on the 21+ trucks has turned into a blessing I think. We worked out a way easier way to install the skid than the earlier model. Getting around the starter motor, bellhousing, oil pan, trans cooler lines and thermostat, driveshaft, axle housing, brake lines, exhaust, radius arms and shift linkage has been an adventure!

 

[UglyViking]

Yes! We've got the design approach nailed down. We've had skids on trucks for a year and a half but they were too expensive to bring to market. Now we've got it dialed in for both the diesel and gas trucks. The nuissance of the factory blocking off the mounting points of our previous design on the 21+ trucks has turned into a blessing I think. We worked out a way easier way to install the skid than the earlier model. Getting around the starter motor, bellhousing, oil pan, trans cooler lines and thermostat, driveshaft, axle housing, brake lines, exhaust, radius arms and shift linkage has been an adventure!

I know I mentioned this to you way back in the day, but I figured it's a good time to check. Will there be enough clearance for this to work with the deep pans so common with 68RFEs?

 

[MDethloff]

I know I mentioned this to you way back in the day, but I figured it's a good time to check. Will there be enough clearance for this to work with the deep pans so common with 68RFEs?

As long as it doesn't sit lower than the engine oil pan does it will work. I don't know of any pans on the market that sit THAT low.

 

[UglyViking]

As long as it doesn't sit lower than the engine oil pan does it will work. I don't know of any pans on the market that sit THAT low.

Ok. Is well why don't you go ahead and DM me the bill and let's get this party rolling then!

 

[UNifc6pF]

take all my money

 

[MDethloff]

Ok. Is well why don't you go ahead and DM me the bill and let's get this party rolling then!

take all my money

I'm not going to take orders until it's 100%, and I'm pretty set on building inventory and only selling what I have on the shelf. I'm not a fan of pre-orders or backorders unless it's something that's just going to be in stock almost immediately. I *might* do early orders for the new HD winch/intercooler skid because Baja Designs has a lead time going on a lot of their lights, so that way I can at least get all the orders in with them early while the skids are in production so people can have a shorter overall wait to get everything in hand. That's a different scenario though since that design is already proofed out and being made in production quantity.

 

[Kelsoff]

Here we go!

I wanted to address the longstanding issue of it being almost impossible to put lights in a good location on the Power Wagons. I also wanted to offer serious protection to the intercooler on the diesels. This is the new Intercooler/Winch skid plate for the HD's. It is a true armor package, completely mounted to frame members with M12 bolts with no reliance on the ultra thin sheet metal of the bumper. I'm thinking of offering it in two versions, annotated below: a silver, bare aluminum & stainless model that pairs awesome with the chrome front ends, and a powder coated black aluminum/carbon steel model that matches the black front ends. It's formed from 1/4" aluminum plate for the main center section with steel bracketry inside allowing some adjustment to open/close the gap near the center of the bumper. This is set all the way down (largest gap) in the pics.

It can be run simple as the main center section with an aluminum filler plate (with venting for improved airflow on the diesels), or it can have a protective stainless steel cradle with a 20" Baja Designs S8 light bar in the center with built in adjustability from the front and an anti-theft feature (you can adjust it from the front but have to remove the entire cradle to fully remove the bolts from the light bar).

On the sides we have armored brackets that mount & protect a pair of Baja Designs Squadrons (stainless if bare, steel if powder coated), which bolt to the frame bracketry and flanges of the main plate.

Adding onto the sides are a pair of stainless brackets pointing a pair of Baja Designs Rock Lights at what I think is the ideal spot for navigation and close-in lighting; just high enough that other cars on the road cannot see the light itself as a safety feature!

On the front of the main plate is a port for a NOCO plug. This can be blocked off with a stainless filler plate if not in use. The NOCO plug can be either run as a single or double extension that allows you to keep your block heater, battery tender, or both, always plugged in internally, and gives a really easy external port to plug an extension cord into when you're parked. It's weatherproof when closed up and not in use. No more reaching under the bumper to get your block heater; no more dangling block heater cords during winter; and no more popped hoods for battery tenders!

Let me know what you guys think!


Marcus
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Just tell me when I can swipe my card!

 

[Kelsoff]

I think the design is freakin awesome. I would just have to figure out what to do about my front license plate.

Fortunately there is plenty of room for a couple of zip ties to get that plate out of the way...figured that out after losing mine on Holy Cross.