who made their own trac bars

[Dzchey21]

Is their a specific formula for how long they need to be? My friend wants to build a set for his megacab and I want to build a set for my CCLB dually... Most sets I see look to follow the angle of the driveshaft should I make it long enough where I stops at the carrier bearing or longer? I remember seeing a thread a while back where there was a lot of good info but I searched and couldn't find it


Also i would to make it a totally bolt on affair so some ideas for Making it bolt to the axle instead of welding would be great

Generally making them.follow drivine angle is a good reference

Mine are a bit short but still.seamed to.work just fine

 

[8luggin]

imo they should be atleast 5 to 6 feet long

 

[Dzchey21]

Mine are 68 inches long and aren't long enoigh for my truck

 

[Lowdown89]

Generally making them.follow drivine angle is a good reference

Mine are a bit short but still.seamed to.work just fine

Ok that's kinda what I was thinking, what size rod ends did you use? Also did you mount them with the truck suspension loaded or up off the ground? I don't have use of a drive on lift and I don't want to jack it up in the air and mount then when it gets back on the ground be pre loaded or something and not work as effective.....

 

[8luggin]

i just rememberd my old truck was a ext cab short bed lol had the fabritech bars then now got the 08 ccsb

 

[SPE]

Here are a few pics of an 2011 with some of the ones we have fabbed.

 

[Lowdown89]

Any issues just running the bushing like that instead of a heim joint style end? Those do look pretty beefy... Have you had any twisting on the mount where it mounts to the frame? I do like the way you have those mounted to the axle tho!

 

[Zmann]

Any issues just running the bushing like that instead of a heim joint style end? Those do look pretty beefy... Have you had any twisting on the mount where it mounts to the frame? !

:whs: looks to rigid to accommodate any articulation?

 

[Rene G]

I have OUO track bars with frame mounts like Dustin's and the articulate LOTS, I'd say it's the way to go.

 

[Dzchey21]

Ok that's kinda what I was thinking, what size rod ends did you use? Also did you mount them with the truck suspension loaded or up off the ground? I don't have use of a drive on lift and I don't want to jack it up in the air and mount then when it gets back on the ground be pre loaded or something and not work as effective.....

I.mounted mine full dressed weight on the ground and drillee the mounts in a natural position.

I have OUO track bars with frame mounts like Dustin's and the articulate LOTS, I'd say it's the way to go.

I agree. Quiet and simple. Bushings are cheap.

Mine are just 1990 f150 radius arm bushings fwiw

 

[Worstenemy453]

Ill be making my own for my F150 using Schedule 40 1.5" tubing and 1 1/4 Rod ends with 1" bolts holes.

 

[SSpeeDEMONSS]

I don't think 1.5" schedule 40 is going to be big enough.

Garrett

Probably getting paid at work to post this from my D1

 

[Worstenemy453]

I don't think 1.5" schedule 40 is going to be big enough.

Garrett

Probably getting paid at work to post this from my D1

Not for a 6.4 lol, I might go 1.5" DOM. But if the Sch. 40 is free, im not complaining, whihc it might be.

Point is, trac bars are pretty easy to make if you dont let it intimidate you. :rockon:

 

[Lowdown89]

I.mounted mine full dressed weight on the ground and drillee the mounts in a natural position.







I agree. Quiet and simple. Bushings are cheap.

Mine are just 1990 f150 radius arm bushings fwiw

Ok thanks for the help I have a few sets of radius arm bushings for a ranger which will pretty much the same thing and I was assuming you mounted on the ground just making sure like I said thanks again for the help hopefully soon I will be posting pics of some bars we build!

 

[SSpeeDEMONSS]

Not for a 6.4 lol, I might go 1.5" DOM. But if the Sch. 40 is free, im not complaining, whihc it might be.

Point is, trac bars are pretty easy to make if you dont let it intimidate you. :rockon:

Good luck. I've made some before and aafter bending some I would jusst prefer to overbuild them.

Garrett

Probably getting paid at work to post this from my D1

 

[Zmann]

yes this ORU mount will allow a full articulation because it can spin inside the bushing

but this will only articulate as far as the bolt can contort the bushing latterly IMHO ? maybe thats enough for this trucks use?
not hating just discussing and the workmanship is awesome !!

 

[Lowdown89]

My truck being a 2wd crew cab dually that will be lowered soon I wouldn't need a huge amount of articulation my thing was as beefy as they are look like they might twist with that much hanging off the side of the frame.... I'm not hating by any means because I think they look nice just throwing out some questions and figure things out

 

[WoodBoy]

I have to agree with Zmann on the trac bars. I can see where they are good for shifts and towing, but you better cross a ditch straight on and not at a 45" or there will be some binding/ breaking issues. And the angle looks greatly different than the driveshaft angle

 

[Charles]

Maybe it would be best to simply list the most common ways that people butcher this subject...

1. By producing a link whose combination of length and angle make it fight the arc-path that the axle naturally takes when cycling. The VAST majority of people error here by making links way too long, which makes it impossible to give the link the necessary angle, leaving the link to follow an arc with a much longer radus than that of the leafspring hanger the axle is pivoting on.

2. By thinking ______ length works on every truck with _____ wheelbase. Wrong. The determining factor is one thing..... height. Because unless you people are cutting the hangers off the frame and ordering special long or shorter than stock springs.... then the only thing effecting the arc the axle will take is the arch of the spring... which is directly related to the resting height, aka lift amount. Doesn't make one *** whether or not the truck is a reg cab, extended cab, crew cab, longbed, shortbed, doesn't make one bit of a ***. Only thing that matters is the angle formed between the bottom of the spring where it rests on the axle perch, and the hanger. That is what determines the radius of the arc the axle will travel in. The only modifier is in the elongation of the leaves as the spring is flattened out, with lift springs encountering far, far, FAR more rearward travel relative to the horizon as they compress vs a stock spring. So if your buddy had good luck with stock springs and a block with _____ length bars, and you've got 8" deavers on the rear of your truck, get ready to make a wooden cart if you build an identical set just because both of your trucks happen to be the same cab/bed configuration.

3. End hardware. People like to try and use standard spherical rod ends (heims) for a daily driven application on 7+ thousand pound vehicles that often tack on ANOTHER 15,000 or so lbs with a trailer and then don't understand why rod ends that race teams regularly throw away and replace on a sub 3000lb vehicle with service lives in the sub 1000 mile range didn't last on your daily driver. There are two viable options when it comes to a daily driven vehicle, poly joints and rebuildable spherical joints with replaceable poly cups like the jonny joint, Ballistic joints and the like. That's it. End of story. Everything else is for the confused.

4. Materials selection. This one is a combo... DUE TO the proliference of people that like to make mile long bars that fight their own suspension to the death on every bump and hump in the road, these same people have very long, unsupported bars that are binding the sh*t out of everything and encountering multiple times the stress they should. So they fold... These same people then usually grab the biggest, DOM piece they can and succeed in locking the suspension pretty much the rest of the way out and then tell everybody else how DOM is the only way because of how they destroyed other materials before. Well..... ah, yeah. If you always hit it with a 10lb hammer before putting it in your mouth you'd need a chromoly soup spoon too, lol. You can run regular old HREW tubing in an 1-5/8 to 2" varieties with great sucess if the geometry is acceptable and the subsequent length of the bar does not kill the slenderness ratio to the point of bar instability. If the damn thing bolts on somewhere near your front bumper, then no.... a HREW 1-5/8 pipe is not going to be sufficient. In that case maybe a chromo DOM 4" tube would be sufficient to lock out your suspension without failing. However, if the link is positioned like you have some sense, then more times than not, the link is relatively short in length, and does not warrant large or expensive materials.

 

[8luggin]

Maybe it would be best to simply list the most common ways that people butcher this subject...

1. By producing a link whose combination of length and angle make it fight the arc-path that the axle naturally takes when cycling. The VAST majority of people error here by making links way too long, which makes it impossible to give the link the necessary angle, leaving the link to follow an arc with a much longer radus than that of the leafspring hanger the axle is pivoting on.

2. By thinking ______ length works on every truck with _____ wheelbase. Wrong. The determining factor is one thing..... height. Because unless you people are cutting the hangers off the frame and ordering special long or shorter than stock springs.... then the only thing effecting the arc the axle will take is the arch of the spring... which is directly related to the resting height, aka lift amount. Doesn't make one *** whether or not the truck is a reg cab, extended cab, crew cab, longbed, shortbed, doesn't make one bit of a ***. Only thing that matters is the angle formed between the bottom of the spring where it rests on the axle perch, and the hanger. That is what determines the radius of the arc the axle will travel in. The only modifier is in the elongation of the leaves as the spring is flattened out, with lift springs encountering far, far, FAR more rearward travel relative to the horizon as they compress vs a stock spring. So if your buddy had good luck with stock springs and a block with _____ length bars, and you've got 8" deavers on the rear of your truck, get ready to make a wooden cart if you build an identical set just because both of your trucks happen to be the same cab/bed configuration.

3. End hardware. People like to try and use standard spherical rod ends (heims) for a daily driven application on 7+ thousand pound vehicles that often tack on ANOTHER 15,000 or so lbs with a trailer and then don't understand why rod ends that race teams regularly throw away and replace on a sub 3000lb vehicle with service lives in the sub 1000 mile range didn't last on your daily driver. There are two viable options when it comes to a daily driven vehicle, poly joints and rebuildable spherical joints with replaceable poly cups like the jonny joint, Ballistic joints and the like. That's it. End of story. Everything else is for the confused.

4. Materials selection. This one is a combo... DUE TO the proliference of people that like to make mile long bars that fight their own suspension to the death on every bump and hump in the road, these same people have very long, unsupported bars that are binding the sh*t out of everything and encountering multiple times the stress they should. So they fold... These same people then usually grab the biggest, DOM piece they can and succeed in locking the suspension pretty much the rest of the way out and then tell everybody else how DOM is the only way because of how they destroyed other materials before. Well..... ah, yeah. If you always hit it with a 10lb hammer before putting it in your mouth you'd need a chromoly soup spoon too, lol. You can run regular old HREW tubing in an 1-5/8 to 2" varieties with great sucess if the geometry is acceptable and the subsequent length of the bar does not kill the slenderness ratio to the point of bar instability. If the damn thing bolts on somewhere near your front bumper, then no.... a HREW 1-5/8 pipe is not going to be sufficient. In that case maybe a chromo DOM 4" tube would be sufficient to lock out your suspension without failing. However, if the link is positioned like you have some sense, then more times than not, the link is relatively short in length, and does not warrant large or expensive materials.[/QUOte

Holy paragraphs