Im looking for new ideas for my 4x4 suspension and just want to see what all you guys have done with yours. Custom, Bolt-On, Homemade Tricks, Lifts, hell I even wouldnt mind the lowering kits on the 2wds. What can I say I like anything suspension related.


MY SETUP:
PO said 4in lift but im skeptical the rear blocks are only like 2.5in tall. Im not sure how to decipher whats stock and whats been changed all the parts are well weathered.

Heres my Current setup.....
Plain Jane Almost Stock Truck

 

 

Nice.....That is one thick a$$ plate welded to the frame under the steering box is that 1/2 inch

 

Are those pneumatic bumpstops?? thats awesome. I have dreams of my suspension looking like that one of these days....

 

heres mine, 4" skyjacker springs front and rear with custom 2" drop front spring mounts and shackles. frame is currently getting ready to be spayed with chassis saver.

 

Now that is SHOWING OFF !!! NICE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Here's the 6" on my shorty....

 

Got Any closeups underneath??? Is that all bolt on or did you modify anything? Looks **** by the way I like the blue

 

No close-ups right now. No mod's, just bolted it in. And tx for the compliment

 

75F350 i love looking at your trucks and the work you do!

 

Thanks fellas. My old junkers are fun to work on.

Yes, that is 1/2 inch plate welded to the frame, and it uses a similar piece, though not exact on the inside of the frame.

The bumps are actually hydraulic. Small shocks really. They do have a nitrogen over oil. They are a 2.25" type hydraulic unit.

Fun old trucks Though.

Both trucks might get some paint and new sheetmetal real soon. Might be time to really make them look nice.
I am jealous of some of the super nice rigs on this site.
Gotta step up my game a little, lol.

 

Why so much bulk, are the frames prone to spliting under extreme conditions....Just wondering Im building a offroader and pondering doing some plating myself. I was thinking more like 1/4 or 3/16

 

Ive used 3/16" plate before, and have had no problems. Matter of fact, Ive scaled stuff down quite a bit since some early builds.
Ive learned how to shape the metal to maximize strength so that I no longer have to rely on sheer mass to provide the strength.
Good buddy of mine (ChaseTruck 754) a desert racer and bad **** fabricator has taught me quite a bit.
Doing any of this again, I would do things in a very different way.
Sure the steering sees some severe loads, and the box takes most of it, but in the future, I should, or will take the lad off even further by installing a hydraulic assist type system, and by doing this, I will remove just about all of the load from the frame rails.
At the time, this giant hunk of steel is what was something that a previous owner installed.
This truck is really a bunch of trucks pieced together, but thats no excuse. It should, or at least could be re-done in a far better fashion.
These straight cut plates are not what the future holds for this truck
Now depending upon the design of the plate, a much smaller section as well as a much thinner piece could be used.

 

Thanks for the info.....I will have to look into it a little further

 

Thanks for the kind words Ed!

Now this thread is something I can get into!!!!!!

I am sad to admit that as much as I love suspensions, NONE of my trucks really have one as of yet.
Too many ideas, too little time....

The crew cab is magically hovering above the shop floor like this right now as I am waiting on some parts to get back from plating. (no the chair is not holding it up - it's magic!)


It will be on stock leaves, but the hangers/shackles are the "cool" parts.

Here is the front hanger mount I built in it's almost done state


crazy shackles for those front leafs





And then we get to my true joy - the 2wd stuff...


"Look Ma - no springs!"



The supercab only has an autofab kit (lift coil, bent beams and extended radius arms) as of now. That is just a placeholder.



I will be building front shock hoops here in a bit to hold my 12" stroke bypass shocks, but again those will only be temporary.

The supercab will look something like this when done...


The plan is for bent and extended I-beams (SCS beams) with a heim or uniball as the beam pivot. The radius arms will also be extended and will mount off a custom tranny mount. The shocks will be a 2.5" coilover and 3.0", 3 tube bypass. I will be converting to a swing set style steering system = front steer.

I am currently trying to figure out my snout/hub combo so as to use a 5.5" lug pattern with the larger, 1" kingpin beams off the F-350 SCS. I'm looking at d60 hubs, and that is where the 4x4 guru 75F350 is teaching me stuff. I'm an absolute dunce with 4wd suspensions and parts compared to him!