Originally Posted by skipb88

And sorry to disappoint on the no-go of the coilover, I am kind of disappointed myself but hey I agree it will be a lot better than factory. or I will really regret it!!!


I am just looking for bags in the rear for a little better ride quality? and a little help if I ever do decide to hook to anything (although that's not really what I am building the truck for...


the one thing I seen is most bag setups mount on the outside of the frame to the top of the leafs. just so happens to be rite where my gooseneck plates are mounted! but I think I can work around that.


and I am debating building a set of traction bars, or maybe even buying a set. for what they cost I may just end up making my own set. if I decide to purchase, any input on the best bars? there is a lot of different styles out there (but all serving the same purpose) from what I came up with reading around people suggest staying away from heim ends?

Originally Posted by DIYMechanic

Well, regardless of what you decide to do, you need to do a build thread here so we can all see you put this thing together!

There are bag setups that will work with the plates for your goose neck hitch, you just have to tell them what you have.

I think the biggest beef with heim joints on the traction bars is that as they wear they get noisy. That being said, I know there are several guys on here that have built their own kits using heim joints from the top link of a tractor 3 point hitch and have had good success with them. I do think using some poly bushings would be the better way to go though, if you're building something from scrap and want it to be quiet.

If you're looking at buying, a lot of guys are really high on the "Traction Blocks" from One Up Offroad (OUO). Their design incorporates the mount for the traction bars into a lift block for the rear axle so you can achieve a small lift and the traction bars at the same time. Here, check it out. OUO doesn't mess around and they certainly do their homework so I wouldn't hesitate to say it's good stuff even though I haven't personally used the stuff myself.

Originally Posted by skipb88

I am aware that I am completely starting over on my entire drivetrain, fuel system, charger etc. like I said I want to talk to someone like swamps and see what is reasonable. by all means I realize everything I had done to the truck is no longer to the par I am looking to achieve. I am looking at something along the lines of swamps max street package. but at the same time I don't want to have to rebuild every 1000 miles. at the end of the day it still needs to be a streetable reliable truck. if I need to down my HP to do that, so be it. like I said when this is all done and the smoke clears, I still want a truck I can drive.