on the subject of axle wrap my dad's 01 dmax with a manual six speed had plenty of axle wrap . with a 5 ton load on the gooseneck the pinion would pop up causing the driveline to bind at the rear u joint . the driveline looked like a worm on hot tin when i filmed it. any way gm left us hanging so i came up with a traction bar/spring. went to local spring shop had them make a spring to replace the overload that was long enough to reach the spring hanger eye . there i installed a rubber snubber. got rid of 90 % of the problem for less than 150 bucks and some time. i am liking what i see with the airbags.

 

Ill bet that load got a bit of looks from the other motorist.
Did you have to hang a red flag behind it?
Jim

 

Farmer0_1

That traction bar looks nice..
How much body lift did these create under torque?
Reminds me of the old Lift bars we used in the 70’s

The system I built is not for the owner who has their foot in the throttle at every stoplight, you would definitely be having wheel hop, axle tramp and wrap but was built around how I will drive and probably most of us who want a softer ride.
If you were a racer then you would defiantly need to add a means to control the axle movement.
It is hard to have something that will perform well at both ends of the spectrum; you have to sacrifice a little something for everything.
I don't think it would be too difficult to weld a bracket onto the bottom of the spring between the U-bolts and then a forward bracket inline with the front spring eyebolt then connect them together using adjustable Heim joints and a length of chromemoly tubing.
You would have to be accurate on the placement so you would keep the geometry straight and not bind the springs.

Here some links I have visited and have come away with lots of information. I do not endorse or sell any of their stuff.

Some people have way too much time on their hands. Wonder if this would lift our Cummins?
http://www.easystreetair.com/index.a...TS&Category=59

This is a nice system but nothing for out trucks.
http://www.talon-usa.com/

Lots of nice systems out there and costly but you get the idea. I have seen some on custom hot rods.
There is a shop I have found near my where all they do is build custom suspensions for rods and big SUV’s you can walk under. Not my thing but the engineering in these is extensive.
http://www.stengelbros.com/

Parts to build your own.
http://www.airbagit.com/

4 link suspensions.
http://www.truckshop.com/home.php?cat=648

http://www.industrialoffroad.com/gee...php?page=4link
Jim

 

that dmax has 60+ inches from eye to eye on the rear leafs. a foot longer than our 87 gmc 6.2 pickup. to much car llike ride. nice for driving but not for working. in first and second the gear shift in the cab would wobble six inches back and forth with a big load on. all because of the pinion angle. i strapped our old vidio camera under the pickup to film it so i could shove it down gm throat . they would not believe me. sure had alot of long faces when i said i should post the vidio on u tube. should still do it . ride is just alittle stiffer , no noise and still lets suspension do alot of work with out bothering factory settings. i was also looking at new cab mounts out of a newer rig . the rubber is alot softer and they are larger around .

 

I'd love to see that video.

 

late model chevy springs are 67" long from eye to eye. Gives a much nicer ride than the ones in our trucks that are barely over 50" IIRC.

I had considered going to a chevy leaf setup with traction bar, but I just load it up with weight from the trailer and go.

On the subject of 4 link I don't know that I would go that far. Since I don't offroad it I would just do a two link with a panhard for simplicity.

 

I have plans for making my oun just like the air leaf on a Peterbilt.

 

Looks like a hybrib overload spring/slapper bar. Great idea, but may only be effective under load when the snubber is very near or in contact with the spring eye. Is there any weight on the suspension in that pic?

 

i set that spring snubber up so it looks like that unloaded. like i said you may notice alittle more spring in the ride , but if you hadn't road in the pickup before you wouldn't ever notice. what would have helped , and i suggested it to the gm expert engineer, was to also have a constant velocity ujoint at the rear of the driveline to take up the extreme angles. they said no way never happen. now gm has a bulleton on it for some models.

 

In reference to Jim's setup, could you safely remove more springs for a softer ride? I am very interested in giving this a shot, as any improvement in ride quality would be a big improvement.

I mostly drive my truck unloaded. Occasionally I’ll tow about 4500 lbs but only short distances (less than 20 miles).

If I ever haul, it would be nothing greater than 3000 lbs in the bed, short distances as well.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

 

Would it be possible to use a spring pack from a 1/2 dodge, and use the air bag to supplement the springs when carrying a load?

 

dude, that is insane. i love it. that looks like something i would do

 

You can get a 4 link setup for the rear minus bags for $600 from truckinsuspension.com.

 

Sorry for taking a bit to answer,
I had checked with Dodge for this same Idea and the springs could probably be made to work however the bushings are different between the ½ ton and the ¾ and 1 ton springs.
The
D-150 have a 1/2" bolt,
D-250, & D-350 have a 3/4” bolt,
D-450 have a 5/8” bolt.
The OD of the bushings are also of different sizes although nothing says you could not find other bushings that would fit.






I am going to remove 1 more leaf #6 from the bottom of the pack and see how it rides.
I have not experienced any excessive spring wrap as of yet but I have an idea I am going to play with, My idea is a bracket that will mount to the flange of the carrier with a triangle shaped strut leading forward to the carrier bearing area.
Adjustable Heim joints front and rear so I can set my pinion angle and it should keep it constant regardless of the torque applied.
Along the idea of the old Torque tube rear axles of the 60’s or picture a single ladder bar mounted onto the diff and pivot at the carrier.
It is just an idea.

So far the truck rides so much better and quieter but I want more.

BTW I should probably add some kind of a disclaimer:
You are modifying your suspension,
There is always some remote possibility something could break or malfunction and cause loss of control of your vehicle and result in great bodily injury or death or destruction of property to you, your occupants or to other innocent victims.

If you do any of these modifications, do so only if you feel you are competent enough to perform the task and have the proper tools.
Please CHECK, TORQUE, & RECHECK all of the mounting hardware.
All of this being said, It was a simple modification and I still feel very safe when my family is in my truck.
Jim

 

OK, guys, just use the 3/4 ton & up main leaf with a half ton leaf pack under it. Assuming that you can do that, it will solve the spring eye bushing problem.