i guess, but you are gonna add alot of weight as well with that big sheet of steel, the ammount of weight u add to the ammount of drag you cut out will more then likely cancel each other out. I drive alot of offroad and never had a problem, truck is high enough. IMO anyways but interested to see what u come up with in the end good luck

 

In my opinion your just asking for trouble. You will reduce the flex in the frame so if you do get a "stump" or some thing in snow you'll probably do more damage. I'd re-think about making it in pieces, you'll eventually trap more crap under (or on top) of that thing reducing the airflow to critical componets. Might even want to conside a heavy duty oil cooler and get rid of that clutch fan set up and get you a true flex fan that spins all the time or an electric pusher fan. Just my thoughts

 

In my sig, you'll see that I added an alectric fan to my truck already which is adjustable... some of the best money I've spent so far. Also, it ran at perfect temp during a 2 week stretch of 100+ temps here is Detroit this summer. Also my oversized trans pan keeps the fluid temp WAY below operating temp, so maybe it'll help keep the fluid a little warmer. Lastly, I have a thermocouple in my transfercase to monitor the 4x4 unit temp. I don't think temp will be my main enemy.