...simple -'cause a deuce ain't a Dodge

      ....or a crewcab .

doesn't Roger-Xtremetownie, run rocks under his rig? You know with the extendable front end and all?

- well bring on the suck  - I just got off the phone with the folks at Mickey Thompson, and I just learned that the tire size I want to use, the 46x19.5/16 baja claws.....are being discontinued...or are soon to be.  Plus, I asked them about the drive-to-the-trails-and-back-ability of a big bias tire, and their recommendation was both good and bad.  First, they didn't recommend a tire that big - the bias plys - for any length of highway use, but for off-road there isn't much better.  Sooooo....

.......so that means my decision to go BIG may have just been derailed.  It has boiled down to this - if I want to haul my truck everywhere I want to use it, big rockwell axles and big bias ply tires would be perfect.  But if I want to drive it around on a paved street.....pretty much at all........ya wanna keep a good radial tire.  Now, this isn't news...at least the radial tire part, but the discontinuation of my favorite tire size.....well that just about sealed it.

So, if I want to drive Bud to the trails and back, the smart approach is to keep what I have and keep my sweet 36" MTZ radial tires, which so far have done everything I have wanted them to do.  Bud won't be much different than Nacho other than longer and a bit wider, and with a lot more 'gear'.

In fact...as I'm typing this I've decided that despite how much I want to do rocks and hook up Bud with some major meats, I simply just can't justify it.  I wasn't too concerned about brakes on deuce axles - those can be had and when coupled with hydroboost they work pretty dern'd good.  I'd have had to do a 20-inch diameter x about 14-inch wide wheel to clear the calipers and keep the backspacing I'd have needed - that was okay too.  But not being able to reliably drive the dude 3-hours to and from our local trails....well that is a show-stopper.

Sure there are other tire options other than the claws, but the bias ply issue will still be prevalent, and I'd have to do at least a 44" tire to get any kind of speed - just too many negatives.

So, there it is - it'll be big beefy dana axles for Bud and he'll just have to like it.  Aww darn...  

 
 

that's basically what I'm going to do - stay under 40" tires, but doing that means I need nothing more than danas.  I have 36s now, and I'll keep those until I need a fresh set, and then I'll go up to the 38" MTZ's - absolutely fantastic tire, and direct from the horses mouth there's no end of those in sight.

So, I'll keep/build/use what I have now - Bud'll ride on solid danas and (eventually) 38's, and I'm certain I'll be quite content with that .

Sorry Steve - looks like I'll have to keep drooling on your stuff instead of my own

I feel like I'm going to enjoy watching this as much as the nacho build. Good luck with the build. I'll be following.

And that is with the aftermarket brakes? That is really too big. 4.90 gears would be a little too low. Sad to say but I agree Rockwell's are just to much overkill I guess. Sure would look nice under there though.

It's too bad on the tires. There's no way you could pick up like six of them for the time being and then shop around for a different brand when the need arises?

And I was never really trying to dissuade you from anything, just making the observation that with the Rockwells and the huge tires you seemed to be halfway to a deuce anyways!

I just figured 4 for under the truck, one spare, and one to keep in the garage 'cause they're discontinued. At least that's one way to justify it...   

It's not like the Danas are exactly "wimpy"

Yes please, although I am currently looking for a CTD donor as well. would like to find a 4WD one so it would be one stop shopping but that will depend on finances. So if I have to do it one piece at a time a 3.55 D60 front would be a good start. Sorry that your project didn't work out. It would have been a fun one.

I should have mine under the truck by this time next year Sam, then you'll be ready to put a set under Bud.. LOL

Have you looked at the 41" Irok radials for use with the Rocks?

 

That truck in the above pic looks like it needs to come down 8" for the type of wheelin you do.  I would think you want less lift and more trimming if you are going to be off camber.  That rig above "Florida Mud Truck Style" which is great for flat mud, but not scaling mountains.

and this is a repost from earlier in this thread, but it applies now so here is what I found out with Nacho and the 56" mock up, and with a fully assembled rig with a Cummins stuffed in -

The big difference is...the pinion angle.  Blasphemous' righ looks right, and its front mount is lots lower than my mockup - keep that in mind -

First, the stock 56" pack did in fact 'fit' - here it is simple shoved under the frame, not mounted to shackles, etc - this is roughly how it will look fully extended (again this is just WAG'ing) -



and here is what it looks like with full weight - it compressed pretty well but not as much as I thought it would -



...so I'm looking at it and I was surprised it didn't compress further than this and I wondered how it would react with less leafs (remember this is the standard 5-leaf ProComp 4" lift rear spring for a Chevy - they're cheap and 'available'), so I pulled off the lower two leafs, and reinstalled it -

yeah...it lost 1 inch of overall lift - that's it.  This 3-leaf, 56" spring is fully suspending Nacho's weight easily - easily doing the same job as the uber 7-leaf short pack that was in there.  And oh by the way, I tested the gushiness of the suspension by pushing down on the front bumper - yeahhhh it fealt GREAT - plenty of nice 'give', good and bouncy - plenty capable for suspending this much truck and it's nicely 'in' the spring - not 'on' it like a buck-board ride we're all used to.



and to show what would need to be done for the rear shackle, here's the basic idea -



I'm moving the body mount up, probably making one from scratch and mounting it upward so as to eliminate the 3-inch lift block all together, and that should make plenty of room for the shackles to do their thing.  Here's what it looks like under weight with a 36" tire - not a bad lift at all



If I need more lift I still have those two bottom leafs that I can reinstall.  Good discussion points...

- Sam

no worries - the basic idea is I want longer leaf springs under my truck, period.  Front and rear.  But doing that means looking at different leaf springs (non-Dodge), because there isn't much avaialble for a Dodge other than stock replacements, and nothing at all is available for a modified Dodge spring - there basically isn't any such thing.  Stock replacement is fine, but the longer springs offer much to be desired over the stock Dodge springs.

A leaf spring is a leaf spring - they all do a specific job, and if I want a longer spring I have to look at other applications for leaf springs, which means Chevy or Ford.  I also wanted to find a spring that I could replace easily (nothing custom in nature), quickly (available locally or quickly by ordering), and as inexpensive as possible - and that means picking something that they make a lot of, and that means Chevy.  So I'll make my frame modifications once, and never have to do them again.  

So, I (and many others) started looking at other leaf springs on the market that met those criteria, and there are a lot of Chevy springs to choose from and they are very affordable, and they are usually either in stock or a day away from my local 4-wheel Parts store.

I also went to the JYs to look at what Ma Mopar did on the 2nd gen trucks (94-up), and I discovered the leafs under the back of those trucks is 63" long, meaning the factory finally made a chassis upgrade with these newer models, and a longer rear leaf is one of those upgrades.  

In general, the longer the leaf is the better the ride tends to be.  Springs will carry weight, and a 56" Chevy rear leaf pack will carry the same weight as a stock Dodge front leaf pack.  So, I wanted the better ride quality while carrying the same weight, and I wanted to be able to replace the springs when necessary with something easy to get another of, and so I'm modifying my frame mounts so all I will have to do is 30 minutes of unbolting and rebolting a leaf spring pack, and I'm done.  No custom leafs to be made, no long wait times, and no mortgages to be taken out to afford them.

In the end I'll have a big truck that will have a very simple, strong, and 'inexpensive' leaf spring suspension system that is easy to maintain with no custom fabrication requirements, and I'll also gain the added bonus of better off-road flexibility as is common with a longer leaf spring.  Bonus .  

 depends on how much torque you have and how many leafs are in the pack itself.  A 3-leaf pack will 'wrap' (torque flex) worse than a 6-leaf pack, etc.  In my case, I'm certain I'll have enough torque to twist an axle clean out from under a leaf spring unless the u-joints explode first, so I'll certainly need something designed to counter that. 
I'm planning to have just enough leafs to support my trucks' weight, and that will likely mean I'll pull at least one leaf out per corner, maybe more, but I won't know the exact specs until the truck is nearly done.  But to compensate for wrap I'll very likely have to fabricate anti-wrap rodsat each corner that will ride with the leaf pack but also prevent wrap at the same time.  I haven't designed those yet but I've seen several versions on the market.  Since nothing exists for a Dodge, let alone a Dodge with non-Dodge springs, I'm certain whatever I go with will need to be fabricated.

Longer leafs will add to flex, if that wasn't already mentioned.

I like low and big tires.  I think the next truck I build will have maybe 6" of lift and 44's.  Something I have always wanted to try was use stock longer springs and get a little lift from hangers and have alot of drop but limit the up travel.  Major cutting and run big tires.

Sam, being the truck driver I am, if I'm not mistaken the legal max width can be no more than 102" (8'6").. But when I put my rocks under mine I'll keep it no more than 96 inches wide..  Steve

that's two doses of good news - excellent fellas, thanks!

Sam, have you been looking for a high pinion front D60? i think finding one or saving for a new custom one might be a big headache saver. that's unless you have gone back to the idea of Rocks. i know you have gone back and forth on that, hard to decide on i know. 

I can list you many highways, both US, and Interstates, that 102's are not allowed.

no worries about hijacks fellas - this is all good, need-to-know info for anyone wanting to go BIG.  Bring it on .

That's a good idea on the leaf springs Brian. Seeing the pics of Swamp Donkey has really got me thinking - I'll be looking for yours too.

I called Pro Comp and they do not make a 'flat' 56" leaf spring...which naturally poses the question of who does?  The answer to that question is my current research project.  I'd be happy with a stock replacement but so far most seem to only offer lifted springs.

I have had Saint Louis spring do a couple sets of leaf springs for me, great prices and even better service

I'll look into that Ken, thanks for the tip.  They may be just the ticket


without a doubt!

Sounds like a good plan to me.

I can see your avatar, must be on Pat's end..