Homemade traction bars and drop shackles (pics)

[GeneralTJI]

Just finished building the trac bars... did the drop shackles a month or two back. Everything seems to be working real nicely! Fair amount of work but I have a total of $56 in the trac bars and $0 in the shackles

3/4 heim joints (higher quality of the ones they offered)

I machined up some nylon I had to make the rear joints. (used the same size pipe... 2.5" wide with nylon inside)

Wasn't orginally going to weld to the frame, but in the area where I welded, the frame is already boxed and welded, and I used some wire my dad recommended that may work out better on the frame. I cut the plates in a diamond shape and welded them to the frame first, then welded my mounts to those.

Shackles are at a 3" drop

Just thought I'd share!!

Take care guys,

Todd

 

[duramaxdiesel]

Looks good!

 

[Redbowties88]

looks nice...i would just maybe be worried about that angle a little bit...im pretty sure that you don't want it to be negative at all

 

[GeneralTJI]

That was a little worry... with the truck lowered it made this more of a problem. I could extend the mounting points on the rear end some to get them a little closer.. they are slightly off from level.... by the way, what is the issue here? I knew to try and keep them level with the frame but I honestly don't quite grasp why?

 

[Redbowties88]

That was a little worry... with the truck lowered it made this more of a problem. I could extend the mounting points on the rear end some to get them a little closer.. they are slightly off from level.... by the way, what is the issue here? I knew to try and keep them level with the frame but I honestly don't quite grasp why?

it has to do with the way the forces are exerted on the frame/axle if they're pointed up it will help with anti-squat. i can only assume that if they're pointed down the force pushing the frame down will be reversed at the other end of the bar in turn tying to lift the axle which would be bad for traction.


im no suspension expert but im slowly learning, hopefully someone who knows more will chime in

 

[GeneralTJI]

Any other info on this?

They are at a very slight downhill angle when compared to the frame... (to get them level with the grame I would have to extend the mounting point on the axle down about 1/2 to 1")

 

[07dirty]

well i just built mine but havnt installed them yet. i made my brackets to fit on the frame were it start to slope up behind the cab. and my bar will point downward to the axle. so this way it will push the force up to the frame and have a good angle to put the force into. i also made my brackets for the front in a diffrent way. i will take some pics tonight or tomorrow and show you all.

 

[juddski88]

if you search "caltrac setup" or "suspension setup" on here you will find a lot of useful info, mostly posted by Trent and JoshH.

 

[Big396]

Nice job!!:thumb:

 

[07dirty]

alright here are my pics of my custom trac bars. sorry it took so long.

 

[JD4440]

Just finished building the trac bars... did the drop shackles a month or two back. Everything seems to be working real nicely! Fair amount of work but I have a total of $56 in the trac bars and $0 in the shackles

3/4 heim joints (higher quality of the ones they offered)

I machined up some nylon I had to make the rear joints. (used the same size pipe... 2.5" wide with nylon inside)

Wasn't orginally going to weld to the frame, but in the area where I welded, the frame is already boxed and welded, and I used some wire my dad recommended that may work out better on the frame. I cut the plates in a diamond shape and welded them to the frame first, then welded my mounts to those.

Shackles are at a 3" drop

Just thought I'd share!!

Take care guys,

Todd

I'd check your pinion angle for sure with shackles that long.

alright here are my pics of my custom trac bars. sorry it took so long.

Nice setup, tried them yet ?

 

[07dirty]

yeah they work great, and they dont ride too rough either. i love them

 

[sddmax]

07dirty get those ends at TSC? Same ones i have had on mine for about a year. :thumb:

 

[07dirty]

the brackets my uncle water jet cutted for me. and the top links i got from tractor supply. then the bars my uncle got me from his pool supply place for free. overall it was a 50 dollar setup. just as good as the 800 dollar set

 

[offshoredes]

Hi......was looking at your traction bars...nice work. What did you build the bars out of, solid shaft or pipe? I pull a 40ft toyhauler through the bush, and I'm burning up rear u-jts. I'm assuming the torque is turning my pinion up and screwing up my angles........

 

[07dirty]

i used stainless steel type piping, but it was a really strong type of stainless, used for pools and stuff. then i made my own brackets using a laser cuter and 1/4" steel. i got 2 toplinks for a tractor from tractor supply and cut them in half, plus some pins to slide threw.

 

[skinnyk]

wat was the length of your shackles overall? Im wantin to do some for mine