I'm in the process of doing bigger injectors on my 99 f250, I use my truck to tow my 2 5100lb empty dump trailers I do roofing for a living and that stuff is heavy I think heaviest load I have pulled is around 26500 lbs gross. I was wondering what are some good traction bars that will hold up to the abuse I will put them through.

 

Give OUO a call.
great guys to deal with, their bar kits are outstanding.

 

Also available from RiffRaff. Very well made unit.

 

Welcome to the FTE!

As the fellas said above, Dave at OUO is a great person to deal with. I bought mine through Riffraff since Clay is the only authorized dealer that I know of and a FTE site sponsor.

I used the bolt on method since I don't have a welder or welding skills. I later installed air bags and between the two the power from the engine to the ground is instantons with no hesitation. I met Mark (mecdac) just up the road since we live near each other one day as he was curios about the OUO bars. He was impressed with them and ended up getting a set for his Excursion. Many FTE'rs have them installed and none of them have been unhappy with them.

There are other options out there as well, I almost decided on PMF, but when I spoke to them on the phone or via email, it seemed they were not interested in answering questions or my business. There are other FTE'rs with PMF bars that are happy as well, but I went with OUO due to the conversations I had with Dave, Clay and the fact that the OUO bars are adjustable in length. They are pricey, but I needed a good solution that worked the first time around.

OUO has a bunch of videos, or at least they used to.

I created a video on the installation process of my OUO traction bars, which I have linked below. This was my first attempt at creating a video, so it is not very good. Maybe you can glean some information from it that will be useful to you.

 

I went with PMF on my farm truck to save a little money and am satisfied with them. I tow a hay trailer that is anywhere between 12K and 20K lbs. and used to feel the axle wrap before installing the bars and a set of air bags, now I don't notice a thing. I called PMF before buying them and it was a bad conversation, I got the impression that my business meant nothing to them. I ended up going through a vendor who offered a better price and guaranteed a retund or replacement if the bars didn't work for me.
I've seen Sous set and like the way they mount better than my PMF bars. The OUO mounts straighter without the side loading of the bars that is necessary with the PMF system, both our systems are bolt on. If I wasn't as cheap I probably would have gone with the OUO system but as I said the PMF cured my problems and makes pulling a heavy load much easier. If you decide on PMF and you might want to add air bags in the future they offer an air bag mounting plate that is incorporated into their system for a nominal price of ~$50, something that might make your life a bit easier in the future.

 

I went even cheaper with ProComp bars. I only tow a 12,500# 5th wheel tho, not crazy heavy loads like you n Lewis50

 

There are many options available to you if you dig deep enough. The only ones I would reccomend against strongly are Tuff Country.

If/when you install a set, you will most likely wonder why you didn't do it sooner. They are not right for every application, but I have not met or spoken with anyone that regretted the decision to install them.

FTE'r Brokestroke has a good homebrew design as well if you have that sort if skill and tools.

 

Wes444 do you have a lift kit? I called about those traction bars and was told they were for lifted trucks. I just found your thread so I will begin reading it now.

 

Another vote for OUO bars. They are freakin bomb proof!

 

PMF stage 2 traction bars on mine, I have been very happy with them and they made a huge improvement. Before I couldn't even back up a hill in 2wd without getting axle hop.
https://www.pmfsuspension.com/1999-1...-Kit_p_21.html

 

Does anyone make a bolt on or weld together 3 point (top and bottom
of axle) mount bar with either a slip at top or shackle?