Homebrew Traction Bars (pics)
06-16-2009, 08:02 PM
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Homebrew Traction Bars (pics)
Well I made me up some traction bars this weekend. I made the frame brackets out of 1/4 plate. The bracket on the u-bolts is 1/2 plate with 1/4 plate welded to it. I made the bars out of some scrap 2"DOM tubing with .250 wall. the ends are just tractor top links that I slid into the tube and welded it all up good. Any suggestions welcome.http://i814.photobucket.com/albums/zz65/pickupman96/Traction%20bars/IMG_0617.jpg[/IMG]
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06-17-2009, 11:18 AM
#8
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Look sharp! I would have suggested just a bit longer. You would get max articulation from having the bars parellel to the drive shaft.
But your close enough...should work well!
When you have time...powdercoat them. paint will chip like crazy.
Also, add a heavy split, lock washer to keep them from coming loose. Locking tab is not enough by itself.
FYI, I find two to three full turns (compression) gives max stability on the road.
Enjoy! RJ
But your close enough...should work well!
When you have time...powdercoat them. paint will chip like crazy.
Also, add a heavy split, lock washer to keep them from coming loose. Locking tab is not enough by itself.
FYI, I find two to three full turns (compression) gives max stability on the road.
Enjoy! RJ
06-17-2009, 06:06 PM
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Looks good man! They are a little on the short side, but it shouldnt be a problem. Mine arent near as long as most peoples are.
My cousin bent his frame with short bars, but I believe the biggest part of it was because of his welded mounts that were welded to a non boxed portion of the frame, along with the 550+hp he was putting to the ground sled pulling with it.
I am running the bars that bent his frame on my truck, but I made bolt on brackets that go up the side of the frame, and are about a foot long on the bottom of the frame. Its a heavy piece of 3/8ths Angle with a 1/2" plate that goes up the side of the frame with 3 bolts up through the bottom of the frame, and 2 bolts on the side of the frame. I have pulled with them a couple of times with no problems, and been daily driving with them for a good while and no problems.
Do you pull any, or just daily drive? Either way, you should be fine. Looks good!
Eric
My cousin bent his frame with short bars, but I believe the biggest part of it was because of his welded mounts that were welded to a non boxed portion of the frame, along with the 550+hp he was putting to the ground sled pulling with it.
I am running the bars that bent his frame on my truck, but I made bolt on brackets that go up the side of the frame, and are about a foot long on the bottom of the frame. Its a heavy piece of 3/8ths Angle with a 1/2" plate that goes up the side of the frame with 3 bolts up through the bottom of the frame, and 2 bolts on the side of the frame. I have pulled with them a couple of times with no problems, and been daily driving with them for a good while and no problems.
Do you pull any, or just daily drive? Either way, you should be fine. Looks good!
Eric
06-17-2009, 07:50 PM
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thanks for all the comments. They seem to work good. Cant tell to much on the street. I mainly built then because the last few times I pulled in the video you could see the axle wrap, even with the blocks in. They are 53" eye to eye. I wanted to make them longer but I could not get my fat hand up behind the tank to put the nuts on. I was a bit concerned about the bending the frame thing after reading a thread on compd, so I used cheap crap bolts on the bar ends so hopefully those bolts will break before the frame bends. There are 3 9/16 bolts on the side of the frame and one 5/8 on the bottom. As for time and price, I have about 6-8 hours time. Would have been less but trying to work with old plate thats been outside is a pain, and 1/2 road plate is not fun to punch 5/8 holes in. As for price, $68 for the bar, $36 for the links, and about $30 in hardware. Much cheaper than pre-made. Thanks again.
06-18-2009, 07:55 AM
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RJ
06-18-2009, 05:00 PM
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I dont have any videos where you can see the axle wrap but here is a video pulling that I won here in CT last year. I just needed something for a bit more traction. Most of the pulls around here dont have weight limits, turbo size requirements, ext. they are just broke down to v-6 gas, v-8 gas, and diesel so here I am <7500 pulling against long bed ext cabs.
