I'm actually pretty seriously thinking of replacing the front upper arms with a wishbone design similar to the rear, and it'll need a JJoint too.


Well, here's what I've gleaned from the short time driving the truck:
First off, bump steer is pretty bad.  Reason, the track bar is too short and therefore the arc is too great.  Solution, wishbone 3-link.  I'd redo the track bar but there is just not enough room, and I need this truck to handle at speed very well, and right now it's a bit scary over 55 mph.  A 3-link will guarantee no body distortion when the suspension compresses, but the steering will also need to be addressed.

Steering also arcs too dramatically and is accentuated by the track bar issue.  Solution, convert to high-steer and raise the steering arm to attach above the p-side high steer arm.  As well, replace tie rods with heims.  Doing so looks to virtually eliminate any possibility of bump steer, and should make the truck very steady at speed.  Off road is no problem - the speeds are slow enough that any combination will work well enough. 

Front axle:  The problem with the front axle is actually not a problem at all...just the wrong choice as a result of bad info.  I came to realize that the Eaton E-locker is actually a limited slip with a full lock-up capability.  IOW, it's a limited slip when unlocked and a spool when locked.  Now, I want it to be fully open when unlocked and a spool when locked, and the only locker that does exactly that is an ARB.  So, that's on the X-mas list.

Power steering.  Stock pumps, at least the very old-but-rebuilt big block pump I'm using doesn't have the power or reservoir capacity to power both the factory system and a ram assist.  Solution.....still digging on that one.

Air bags:  Fantastic ride and control - not changing a thing.

Air controls:  Really beginning to be a pain in the arse.  I'm fighting leaks through the servo valves from the tank to the left front bag.  So I come out and the left front is high and it's pushing the r-rear down.  The in-cab adjustability is unnecessary.  I think I'm actually going to remove all the air controls completely and set the bags manually.  Once they're set (just like a semi), they don't need to be adjusted at all unless you add a trailer or something similar, and that is very rarely.  Manually adjusting the bags is exactly the same principle as checking the air in the tires...so I think I'll remove all the pneumatic lines throughout the chassis, eliminate all that fuss, and keep it a bit simpler.  Same for the shocks, by the way.  Leaks suck, and I'm fighting way more leaks than I need to, and removing the lines and adjusting things manually is a LOT simpler, and it removes all the potential for leaks.

EFI:  Nice.  I bit of a pain to 'learn', but the features far outweight the carbs.  Only problem is you can't really limp an EFI-equipped truck home - it's either working, or not.  Super nice perk - starting the truck and having it purrrr at extreme angles...at those times when you're going down Lyons Back and you absolutely mustmustmust have power brakes and steering.  Stalling on hills and steep angles sucks, and EFI cures ALL of that.

Gears:  My advice to anyone looking at gears verses tires is this.  35" or taller needs 4.10's or higher.  I'm going with 4.30's.  I know I won't go taller than 35's, but I will be going wider than 12.5".  My big 452 is tapped pretty hard getting this heavy beast rolling.  It does it no problem, but it has lots of useable RPM that it never sees.

Brakes:  Stock front discs are great, and rear discs are better.

Interior:  Places to put 'stuff' is huge.  The more storage spaces in your interior the happier you'll be off-road.

Seats:  Caravan seats do not suck.

Roofs:  Hardtops = good, hardtops without the side glass = better.  Shade = good.  Shade for you, your wife, and dog = better. 

Tires:  Nitto Terra Grapplers on rock are fantastic.  Great in snow too.

Alternators:  Big amp (95~ish) alternators = good, but require really good 'grip' on the pulleys.  V-betls just barely do it, but mine ran all day no sweat.  Adjusting the belts to keep them tight is super important.

What else.....er ummmm....shoot that's all I can think of now.  So a little tweaking of the front end and 90% of my frustration will be gone.  Gears and the right front locker and I'll be a real happy camper next year.  We'll be out there wheeling for sure  .

- Sam

i agree and the rig has come together very nicely

+1 i was going to suggest that when i saw you wanting arb. a little more money but a lot more simple and reliable. plus if the cable breaks you can always gerry rig it easyier then a air powered one. im hoping to get a set for my truck when it comes time .....

I've heard the exact opposite about the OX, the original production run had shifter and cable problems. Then the company was sold once or twice, that made getting one ordered or getting replacement parts a pain. They may have their act together now but at one time there were many complaints.

The ARB's that have problems that I've read about or been around have all been because of a bad install IIRC. They aren't the easiest things to install, it is easy to screw up the copper air line inside the diff housing. I had my ARB installed by Boyce where I bought my D60 front for my old RC and never had a problem with the locker or airline.

Maybe its just the terms your using, but Tractor trailers air bags are not set manually they use a height control valve. the body is mounted to the frame, and the control rod is mounted to the axle. they adjust the air so that the suspension is at the same height regardless of the load. some have capability to override the air (dump valve ) to lower the suspension to aid in coupling the trailer.


I'd consider your current system as more of a manual system, and the big trucks as an automatic.  Bendix used to have a good catalog, that showed diagrams of how the components worked.

I bet you could design an ingenious system, so that you have three positions: 1. normal ride, 2. max height, to raise the body to avoid dragging the frame. 3. drop to lower the suspension to the bump stops.

Love the flex shots Sam!--truck looks great!!

Yup, but I'm not planning to pull it out until I do the gears in both axles and that's not until at least after Christmas...so it'll be a while yet.
- M2

...'Sam has more projects....Sam has more projects...Sam has more projects.....'

yeah....the megacab is on deck...and that's gonna be a ton of fun too...actually, er '4' tons of fun is probably more accurate.  It'll be simpler than the RC, stronger, longer, wider...but not much (if any) taller.  First the RC will get as finished as possible, with the front suspension and steering adjustments being the only big stuff.  Otherwise it's getting ready for winter.

- M2

Just getting red x's for all the pics on the last page.

so the air bags provide the spring action? instead of coil overs or leafs correct?

Your power steering problems will end using

http://www.howeperformance.com/offroad.html

these would be the parts i would choose
http://www.howeperformance.com/desertracing-playcars.htm

hey man, i haven't been around for awhile so i'll just repeat what you've been hearing.....the truck looks awsome!!! sick flex pics dude! it really came together great, big thumbs up 

Mad Max just an idea have ya thought about puttin nacho in top truck challenge from four wheeler mag? i think i would be purdy kick arse to see nacho on there!

i ran into those guys on the ultimate adventure when they where near elko nevada. they where out doing their prescouting in that toyota fj cruiser they built up. not my style but a nice rig anyway. we bs'ed about 1/2 an hour at a gas station in elko.  a bunch of those guys love older full size trucks but can only run so many stories about them before they get yelled at by corprate. they were practically rebuilding my truck in their heads right there as we talked. too funny.

so are you leaving the setup as is or remodifing as you mentioned before? that 3 link idea is something that i've seen on a couple of trucks before. those guys seem pretty happy with it. they had coil springs, i'm not sure if that is a huge factor or not.

Max the TTC competitors are voted in out of 50 or so rigs that the mag picks to run a article on. Whoever wants to try sends a pic and description and the mag  picks  50 to run a description of .Then the readers vote for their favorite 10.  The top 10 vote getters  plus 2 alternates get to go.The TTC is really cool and I have almost every video since they have been filming it ,but I don't like the 4-6 foot deep water holes that they have in the tank trap. I love mudrunning but I hate water in my engine and electrics you know!. I mean it does prove that a rig has to be bullet proof but it takes a lot of water proofing of electrical and engine components by far. Anyway the  Ultimate Adventure is picked by sending in a photo/description of your ride and yourself and if they think you could put up with them for a week in the dirt they invite you to go.I like the idea of the UA by far.

Yeah,that was kinda my point also.The TTC truck has to be built with one thing in mind if you want to survive..TTC.To me a truck is never gonna be the same after TTC.I think if he wanted to to do a magazine deal he should try the UA which is something I think we could all enjoy with out completely destroying our vehicles.Good point Greg.

And we all know it would be KILLER.

Yeah that sounds cool and I agree with the part about not having to be super trick,just reliable and capable oh ....and yeah like you said submersible! What a great word...I'm losin it here....Later!

The only thing that really sucks about TTc and UA are that when they first started you could see someones daily driver, so to speak, in there. They had to be able to be driven on the streets "legally". You can't tell me that any of those trucks that are in any of those competions now are street legal. No Way! When these first started it basically showcased who had the best built vehicle. To me now it showcases who has the deepest pockets.most of the trucks now, at least in the UA, are company built. While I enjoy reading aboutthem and drooling over them, I'd rather see something that was built in a driveway or someone's own garage. The magazines and companies get paid to do this type of thing. While most of us get paid to do something else and  this is just a hobby for most of us. While MM has built himself a very sweet ride, I don't believe it's up to this type of stuff. I'm not saying it couldn't do it, I'm just saying thatit was built for a totally differnt type of wheeling and differnt reason. Nacho is the type of truck that I would love to see in either of these competitions because it's something that wasn't funded by a corporation. Just one man with the talent and the drive tio build a kick ass truck. If you were to do the UA thing Max then we would all be right here behind you. Keep up the good workand keep up with the pics on the updates and progression ofthe baddset RC around.

good answer! karma for ya!

Y'all's replies make a guy feel good - thanks for the props  .  I do hope we get the opportunity to grab a brew or two together - one RamJam or another .
There's not much I tried to do that hasn't been done in some way or another in some other project...and I wanted to put a bunch of it in a Ramcharger  . 

For sure this is my 'ultimate off-roader' - the one off-road rig I've always wanted to build...and it has taken nearly 16 years of waiting and watching to do it.  Never give up on a dream no matter how big.  After owning three RC's this '78 is by far my favorite.  Last of the big blocks, great grille, pop top...and a real tailgate - my personal fav's.  All the custom work is really my version of having fun - making something unique...and I think my biggest theme is 'functional'.  If it doesn't function in some way better than factory I usually won't do it.  Throw in a fondness for gauges and ya get one ridiculous dash!  But hey, if ya ain't having fun then why bother? 
For me, driving has always been theraputic - any kind, even to work and back.  Driving something that I get to 'personalize', made my way, is just that much more fun...tho sometimes it's also like waiting for something to break down 
I sure am glad the rig did well at Moab - I wasn't going to validate anything, especially the suspension, until after a good thrashing, and Moab was it.  Now it's all about the fine tuning - getting it really dialed in.  You all are correct - I don't want to bash it, but I sure do want to 'wheel it.

I have several Letters of Appreciation going out to the local shops that have really helped with the build - lots of smart people out there that have given their advice and recommendations willingly, and it sure did work out.  I guess if I have any single character trait it's that I'll try stuff that only a crazy dude would try - not necessarily dangerous, just not typical or normal......guess that's how I got my call sign  .  Hell I dunno - I just enjoy the hobby.  Now if I can get the bump steer issue solved I'll actually get this thing out on the road and get some miles on it!

Later amigos -

- M2

Looks really cool! 

ha haa - thanks Jungle!  - the temptation is rough huh?!!  I want to get back in there and keep jammin' but I'm trying to throttle back a bit lately.  On the suspension, really the biggest reason for the rear 3-link was to avoid the need for a panhard bar (track bar) completely.  On a high lifted vehicle it's real tough to get a solid mount for a track bar without really long extensions both down from the frame and up from the axle.  Without them there can be a lot of arch travel and that'll add up to a lot of sideways movement when the suspension travels.  That was the biggest problem with the front 4-link, but since you mention it, here's my solution to the front problems.

Just finished modifying the front track bar and steering cross link hoping to cure the bump steer problem.  I really wanted to keep the 4-link system, and after the test drive a few moments ago I'm nearly certain we got it !

First, the problem was that the steering cross link and track bar had too much drop angle at rest, which meant a lot of upward and outward arch travel at the axle and corresponding upward and inward travel at the frame.  The result was lane-changing bump steer  - I near soiled my shorts the first time it happened. 
So, after much deliberation I decided I wanted to get both the track bar and steering cross link as level as possible with the axle so that when a good dip or bump in the road came along, at speed, the suspension compress/extend movement would equate to nearly zero angle change during articulation.  To do that, I had to extend the frame mount downward and the axle mount upward.  These aren't finished but they are good enough for a couple test drives :





The result is nearly equal height mounting points for the track bar, meaning nearly zero angle during bumps.

That was only half of the problem.  I tried that setup without changing the steering and all it did was make it worse.  The chassis didn't have a bad angle any more but the steering did, so, during bumps the chassis would react opposite of the steering - yeah, you expect it to veer one way and it goes the other - nearly soiled my shorts again.  But, I hadn't changed the steering and I knew it, so, limped back to the shop and took apart the steering. 
After payday, ordered a 6" drop pitman arm from Skyjacker and a couple heim joints (a.k.a. - rod ends), some tubing, tubing ends, jam nuts, and a couple spacers.

Here is the pitman arm, #DA600, which decodes to a '94-up Dodge Ram arm.  While Skyjacker doesn't list it, these do fit our '93 and older Ram and Power Wagon steering boxes...but only for a 1/2 ton.  Details below.



The upper half of the DA600 fits '93 and older gear boxes because it's currently bolted to my '78 box  .  The only thing is, the lower half of the DA600 is apparantly drilled for a '94 TRE, which seems to be the same size as a 1/2-ton '93 and older TRE.  The big beefy 7/8" TRE's on the 3/4 and 1-ton '93-older Power Wagons and Rams will not fit the DA600, but it will fit the DA40 (4" drop pitman arm).  Why they don't make a 6" drop arm for a 3/4-ton pre-'94 Ram, I dunno, but there it is. 
So, in order to use the 6" drop arm on an older 3/4-ton Dodge you'd have to open the hole, or, use 1/2-ton TRE's.  I haven't actually tested that theory because I didn't have any 1/2-ton TRE's laying around, but, I know it will not fit the 3/4-ton TRE's that I already on my RC.
But, in my case I was using heim joints  , which are a bolt-in design, so, I only had to open up the hole on the DA600 arm to 3/4", and bam, done.



The steering needed heims because with the extreme drop potential of the bags I think I nearly broke the tie rod end (TRE) at the pitman arm - certainly didn't look good in the pic.  So, needed better articulation and big strength.

Next, I had to open up the hole on the high-steer arm too, and I added two more mounting locations to try to tighten up the steering response, which ended up a very good call.



Once that was done, I cut the DOM tubing to size, chamferred the ends, popped in the tubing inserts, welded it all up, threaded the heim joints, and installed the new steering cross link.







The result - sweeeet.  After a decent test drive I feel a lot better about the steering.  Bump steer now is difficult to detect - feels real good .  And that was this afternoons adventure.  So, no 3-link - I will keep the good strong 4-link up front.  Next I will go back in and beef up all the new mounting points.  But for now, time for a celebratory beer or two...or three  .

- M2

 
Good to hear you got it ironed out.

How come you didn't get a pic into the pic of the year?