Hello all.
I am looking to do a rear wheel steering conversion on my 79 pickup.
I've never had a chance to look at any rear wheel steering truck up close so I have no idea how to do this.
The suspension and such doesn't look like it will be too hard.
But the thing thats really getting me is the steering.
Is there a seperate wheel in the cab?
if so how do I do it so it will lock when I dont want the rear wheels to steer ?
Is there a steering transfer case to angle it to the rear ?
I can't find any products or information on the internet about this.
Any links, help, or advice is greatly appreciated
thanks !

 

-First you need a rear axle with steering knuckes (much like a front axle) + very $$$
-Also your framerail width may not even alow knuckes
-steering is all hydralic like farm tractors. However they can be rather clumsy at hiway speeds

-If you ask me it's not for the small of wallet, and is more moving parts- more to go wrong

 

Why don't you just Buy a Tractor ?

I think it would be a lot cheaper in the long run *grin*.

Dennis

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Josh, What are you trying to achieve? The only rear steer vehicles that I know of are very slow moving or parade use with two drivers for special effects.
You can put the front gear from a 4X4 with an attached steering wheel, but doubt that you could operate both at the same time.
Try going to a big field or empty parking lot and try driving your truck backwards just to see how bad it handles.
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Hrmm
yea..never really thought about that...
I remembered seeying a truck in a parade when i was a kid, it just kinda kicked out the back wheels and started driving down the road sideways.
I liked that, i wanna do it
But your right, it would probably perform horrible..
I also kinda thought it would give some advantage in rock crawling.
I figured I would basically take a front end , turn it around and mount in the back,(lameans terms of course And if I could put a lock on it , to keep it strait I figured it would be ok on the road.
What do you think ?

 

>Hrmm
>yea..never really thought about that...
>I remembered seeying a truck in a parade when i was a kid,
>it just kinda kicked out the back wheels and started driving
>down the road sideways.
>I liked that, i wanna do it
>But your right, it would probably perform horrible..
>I also kinda thought it would give some advantage in rock
>crawling.
>I figured I would basically take a front end , turn it
>around and mount in the back,(lameans terms of course And
>if I could put a lock on it , to keep it strait I figured it
>would be ok on the road.
>What do you think ?

I doubt that it would be D.O.T. legal. Some of the manufacturers put rear wheel steering on some sports cars but it was computer controlled, had limited travel and was designed to improving cornering performance.

The "monster truck" type 4 wheel steering I think you're talking about consists of a rear axle equipped with steering knuckles and a hydraulic ram system controlled by a joystick in the cab. It does not "self center" as is the case with most industrial ram type steering systems but I'm sure it could be modified to do so. Regardless, it's going to be very costly and require the services of some real "experts."

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 08-Dec-01 AT 06:50 PM (EST)]Probably the ugliest part of a 4 wheel or rear wheel steering set up is, if you do it all with hydraulics, there is no physical connection between what the wheels are doing and the steering wheel. What this means is, when you turn the wheel, the hydraulics have to kick in, move the wheels, then you see what is happening, and correct. All this takes time and can be VERY hairy.

On normal power steering, the wheel is still connected to the front wheels, it just has power assist.

I drove a combine at 22mph for 20 miles between two fields and I can tell you hydraulic rear wheel steering is really scarry. Even with the A/C on full blast, I was soaked with sweat by the time I got to the other field.

Now, if you could rig up a way to have a power steering box on the rear axle, and have it linked to the front box, it would be more doable. That way you'd have the physical link for all 4 wheels, and response would be much better.

Good luck!