I cringed when i saw the pinching of a structural member! :-P

Why did you opt for 2" instead of the norm 1.5" .120 wall?

Im sure all will be fine but the less amount of seams on a load bearing tube the better. Cant wait to see it on it's own weight! I suppose i should probably start my build thread too ;-)

 

I cringed when I cut the strut mount off the frame! #committed

2" because i wanted to overbuild, to compensate for any welding flaws, extra seams, and peace of mind. Mostly, I needed to accommodate the huge shank (I wanted 1 1/4") on the forged bushings. 2" also allowed me to be more liberal with the lower shock mount. It uses a nut slotted into the tube to receive the shock bolt, which compromises strength. Not a lot of room for that CO with the 4x4. Amazingly it is still a few pounds lighter than the original LCA.

The rear will stay for a while; i'm tapped. Probably go with a nice spring pack and some longer shocks--but i have not given it a lot of thought yet. I doubt it will be COs through the bed or anything.

I put weight on it to determine the squish on a known rate spring at ride height and figure my new rates. Going with a 750x10 over a 900x12. Ended up lifting the front as high as I could. No bad noises or anything, but that is a fraction of the stress it will see in real application.

 

BTW, how big a job is swapping the fenders? Down time is stacking up.

 

Yes show us some teaser pics. I need some ideas to steal!

 

CO's through the bed? You thinking about linking it? Dont need coilovers AND leaf springs. Thats over kill lol. Some deavers and resi shocks are all thats needed in the rear. Super nice ride on and off road.

Mounting fenders starts getting into the fine art category haha. Super easy. Compared to building LT. but getting them lined up looking good takes patience.

And i decided to ditch the ballistic joints on the uppers because they're thinking about discontinuing them. Id hate to not have parts in the future. Going 1" uniballs all around. Plentiful.

 

yeah thats what i meant, I am not going to link it, just a good leaf pack and some good shocks, its already getting 11+ inches. I need tires first though. and groceries haha

scary about those joints. I tried to get two more and they said 3 weeks cause they were waiting on the races. I am going to try to stock up on extra races and ***** and cross my fingers that the ones i welded up last. Grease and check adjustment often! I went with emf for the upper, they have an adjustable rebuildable greasable uni with the stud machined onto the ball and it gets almost 40 degrees. Not real impressed with ballistic's customer service, but there stuff is nice.

 

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12"+

 

Nice! Keep it bind free. The saying goes "a truck with a small amount of usable travel beats a truck with a large amount of binding (dirty) travel" lol

Not sure if that's a real saying. We say it around the pits.

 

Get ready to be bombarded with questions about specifics.

Did you go with 66mm over on everything or did you go with slightly longer UCAs to account for dynamic camber combined with non level ride height stance? (is ride height going be factory or will you have a little leveling going on?)

White kind of misalignment are UCA joints capable of handling? I noticed that on the previous two pictures the UCAs are not on so how will they affect travel. I'm assuming that either the UCAs or the CVs are the limiting factor. Also, are you strapping and bumping yet or will you just let the COs handle it?

What spring rate do you plan to use? Do you have a QC or a regular cab? Do you know the weight distribution because I don't and can't find it anywhere.

Do you already have the RAM 1500 CV axles or are you waiting?

What type of welder are you using? What are your qualifications to be doing the custom work (just curious as I have none but want to learn to do some minor fabrication)?

hmm...

What all have you trimmed from the fender and wheel well?

In hindsight, could you have avoided having to do all the grinding (I'm assuming you trimmed the knuckle with a angle grinder) on the knuckle?

Were you not concerned with the bearing cups warping when you did all that welding?

 

ill take some of the weight....:-P
No grinding on the uprights can be avoided while using uniballs. And yes they warp if you don't alternate welds. Not sure on his welder but a good 220v with gas is always recommended. Curb weights for front and rear can be found online. And unsprung weight is just wheel and tire plus upright and brake stuff added together. Weight distribution doesnt really matter. Your not competing against robby gordon.

Uniballs and heim joints with "mis spacers" take up all the misalignment. Thats why garage built long travel kits aren't actually that bad ;-) the hardware takes up all the human mistakes in measuring lol.

Hell have to chime in the rest...im just bored.