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Another Highboy Fuel Tank Relocation Thread: Frame Stre
Thought I had the dreaded fuel tank mod in the bag, but now I’m having second thoughts.
I finally have the bed taken off and it is apparent that the offending crossmember directly ties the rear spring hangers together.
The rear spring hangers must take the bulk of the load when hauling, so it seems unwise to re[move] this.
Would this cause the frame to flex and crack over time?
I actually use this truck to haul, concrete, blocks, gravel and occasional towing.
My initial plan was to remove the two original crossmembers and simply install a new 5”
C-channel fore and aft of the Bronco II tank.
Now I am having second thoughts.
my truck in stock configuration, note the crossmember and it’s triangular bracing. Not my truck, but what I was planning to do. Note the lack of tying between the two rear spring mounts…
I do agree that it is not an ideal design but I tow around a decent sized pintle hook trailer regularly and have not had a problem yet. I did the same thing but with a JAZ fuel cell. You could put something across the top to stiffen it a little but I think since it will be "boxed" you will be fine.
Not my truck, but what I was planning to do. Note the lack of tying between the two rear spring mounts…
Ideally you'd want crossmembers inline with the spring hangers to stop the frame from twisting there under heavy loads, but it's not absolutely necessary. Alot of cab and chassis trucks aren't set up that way, so it's not detrimental to weight capacity, as long as the rails can take the load. The way it's pictured here should work fine because the length of fame between the crossmembers is so short it should be pretty stiff. You could always bolt a short length of fish mouthed C channel inside the frame behind the spring mounts to add a little more support.
On my '79 frame the rear shackles don't have a crossmember between them. There's about 8" between the center of the rear crossmember forward to the center of the shackle mount and about 20" from the center of the front tank support/crossmember back to the center of the shackle mount.
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