tc

Fixed it for ya.



Seriously, Isaac, when ya finally gonna get this thing on a trail! Spring Creek on the 19th ...

Lysmachia

Spring creek is a must Isaac!!!! I mean after all the work you put into this (and Troy has a vested interest too) you just gotta go if you can!

AxleIke

Ardy har har.

Yes, its been out on the trail.

Here was the first trail run:





Unfortunately, it broke here. When I put together the lower mounts, when the suspension was originally just the radius arms, I plated the frame with 3/8". When I added the 3rd, upper link, I didn't plate, and only used scab plates.

Good news: My welding was certainly good. Bad news: inner frame rail is only 1/16" thick. So, it tore.

AxleIke

Here are some shots of the problem:

Ripped frame:



Some shots of the bending/warpage that occurred before the rip, and note my booger welding...I've gotten better, but its still a struggle:

AxleIke

The solution! My pops decided to get one of these....I love my old man





Problem section GONE!



The best part about plasma. This cut is straight off the cutter with just knocking it with a chisel, no hammer, just holding the chisel in my hand. Perfectly straight and clean.



That is my replacement piece. It's 5"x4"x.25 wall rectangular tube cut so it has a 5" face plus 2, 1.5" legs.

Replacement piece all cut out. Also my first shot at a circle...Close to round, but not quite. Practice will make perfect I hope.



Replacement all welded in:





Some of those welds were solid, but ugly. I'm starting to get better. I had a couple come out like this...Slowly getting better at upside down welding (also after I figured out that you have to rocket the gas pressure up to get clean welds, since CO2/Ar is heavier than air, welding upside down keeps gas from getting to the weld at the normal 20psi...35 works much better.

One of the better ones, I'd say all but about 4 welds turned out like this. Those 4 were before the gas revelation:



And, after quite a bit of work, the finished product:





I welded in that 1/4" thick replacement piece, then scab plated the bracket and brace with 3/16" plate. Then, I put two 3/16" gussets toward the back of the truck to help brace for the tension forces when the axle is in forward motion. I also added in a second brace going back to the horseshoe crossmember, a 1" square tube by 1/8" wall, and a 1/8" scab plate. This should add yet another counter force, which will get pulled on in tension, but just gives another surface to distribute the force.

Lastly, I decided to beef up the axle side mount too, mostly just because I could cut anything out I wanted with ease.

I took a piece of 3/16" plate, and sectioned it so it would fit inside the axle bracket. I then welded it in place, and, using a BFH, I massaged it around the axle and welded it to the tube. This, coupled with the gussets I already installed, should keep the axle side mount stationary as well:



I then painted everything, and put it back together. All fixed and ready for some trails.

AxleIke

Next step is to move the axle side lower mounts down on the tube so I have better vertical separation.

AxleIke

Ran another test run this past weekend to shake down the new repair.

This time, things went flawless. The flat belly is awesome. It just slides over stuff. It will take some practice, as, it seems new techniques will be needed. In the past, I've gone 10.7 up stuff, and, if it bottomed out, I'd just back off and try another line.

Yesterday, however, I found that, I'd bottom out, and not be able to go anywhere in 10.7. But, by backing up about 6", and shifting to 4.7, I was able to bump it, and crawl right up.

A couple pics:

Lysmachia

Sexy....

The plasma cutter, the new plate, and the trial run! :thumbs:

AxleIke

Pics from this past weekend at Holy Cross. Truck worked well, Tires did not:






I love that flat belly!







And finally, raking the hell out of the passenger slider, and denting the passenger fender by leaning over so far. Tube fenders are in short order.

AxleIke

Here's me being a total weiner in French Creek. I should've just driven through it, but as the front tire kept lifting, it just felt wrong. Ah well, next time I'll know better!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2rR3waQ2A0

Matt16

What's the issue with the tire? I am thinking of pulling the trigger on a set of 33x9.5 ta/ko's.

AxleIke

Deficient Traction.

Don't get me wrong. I've been running the BFG AT's for 9 years now and couldn't be happier with them. They are a GREAT tire and I recommend them for anyone who has a DD that sees lots of moderate to difficult trails.

Now that the truck is built and no longer a DD, the AT's just don't cut it in the rocks and wheeling. I find that, when aired down, they tend to "close tread" when flexing over a rock, meaning the the tread closes when inverted. This doesn't help.

Also, in any sort of mud, like they saw this past weekend from rain, they fill with muck and don't clean out, making them next to useless on rocks.

Its time for something with a more aggressive tread pattern. I'm looking to borrow a set of LTB's from a fellow RS member, and am going to try them out on the road.

tc

Have you forgotten about my experiences with biasply super swampers already?

K

M

2

AxleIke

No, but...

3

5

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1

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5

Matt16

As long as it is not an issue of tire sizing. I've heard it said that the 33x9.5s dont air down as nicely as the 33x10.5s but I wasn't happy with 31x10.5s and felt they were a little wide for what i wanted them to do.

I put a lot of miles on my truck and in slick road conditions and more aggressive tires aren't really appropriate for my needs.

AxleIke

My 33x9.5's air down great.

As long as you are running a 6-7" rim. I have lost a couple beads, but one was becasue I went down to 10psi, and the other because it was just gnarly.

I reseated them within 5 mins, and was happily back on my way.

Lysmachia

Who'd you run HC with? Great pics BTW.

You gonna make spring creek with us? I am limmiting rigs so it isn't a cluster and I really want you there

tc

LTB's come in a 34x10.50 - reports of their true diameter vary wildly from about 32" to almost 35".

I think the 35x10.50 SSR would be a big step up in "livability" over the LTB.

dannomite

I recently looked at a set of almost new LTB's in 34 10.5 and they measured at 32 inches

AxleIke

HMMM...We'll I'll have to check into that.

Molly, I've posted quite a few times in the thread on ttora. I'm coming, bringing two friends, one of which has a jeep. The other is riding with me.