Need ideas for suspension lift

[crazy4yachts]

Hey guys I'm in the process of building my first custom rig,and I need some advice, I want to lift it so I can use some big off road super single tires that are about 4" in tall. Can anyone give me some ideas.



Thanks
crazy4yachts:confused:

[russisloud]

lets see some pictures of the rig your working with, even if its just a mock up :p

[crazy4yachts]

There really isn't much to see all I have is the Tamiya frame with the front axle turned upside down ? at this point I'm just trying to get some ideas, one of the problems I see right now is the rear axles are to close together for tires that big I might try making some shims to pull the axles further apart ? but like I said this all new to me but at least I'm having fun.



Thanks
crazy4yachts :o

[russisloud]

how big are you tires?

[elephants14]

One thing I'm gonna have to do, I've got some 2.2" tires, and they just don't make it for the rear suspension. What I'm having to do is use the "front leaf springs" and get 2 sets, one for each axle. Another might be to make your own leafs for the rear, to use the same middle holder.

THanks
Cody

[crazy4yachts]

Hey Cody What does that mean 2.2 tires is that the wheel size that fits on the tire you are referring too ?:confused:





Thanks
Crazy4yachts

[crazy4yachts]

Ok I think I have the rear suspension worked out. I 'll try and put some pictures up. Now for the front suspension which is starting to wear me out trying to get it level from front to rear. I have spent about 4 hrs today trying to figure it out.:confused:




crazy4yachts

[crazy4yachts]

Ok so I don't have the rear suspension worked out like I thought. I have to start over .I'm trying different size tires right now. I bought some 1.7, 1.9, and 2.2 trying to get an idea of how they look, and how high I have to go with the lift on the rear. The front is fairly easy but the rear has me puzzled trying figure all the problems out. Any help would be appreciated.




Thanks
crazy4yachts

[Espeefan]

What I would do is ditch the stock leaf spring pack, and build a new one. Or replace it with a solid piece of bar stock to act as an equalizing bar. 4 link the axles in place, and then you can make the links longer to get the spread you need between the axles, in order to run larger tires. If you're not sure what 4 link suspensions are, check out some rock crawlers on the internet.

[crazy4yachts]

Here's what I have so far just trying to get it right ?

[crazy4yachts]

Sorry here's some more.





crazy4yachts

[crazy4yachts]

Well I ran into another problem with my suspension set up , How to run oversize tires with the stock Tamiya rear axle set up. I've come up with a solution I made small stainless steel brackets that go on top of the axles so I can use 1.9 4" super singles. I have about an inch clearance between the tires.



crazy4yachts

[crazy4yachts]

Here's what I've come up with so far

[plow jockey]

Looks good so far.Keeping it simple is the way to go.

[crazy4yachts]

Thanks Plow Jockey man this a real challenge but fun at the same time trying to figure it all out.

[crazy4yachts]

Here's some more progress on the front set up.

[crawler07]

its looking good! i would maybe try to tie in some kind of bracing for the front leaf hangers,you could make a brace go from the right leaf mount to the left spring mount one for the front and one for the rear . if you dont i would say any real offroading might cause the mounts to fold up on a side hill..keep up the good work and remember the fun is in the build..

[crazy4yachts]

Thanks I'm working on cross braces for it I'm trying to get the drop angle right!

[crazy4yachts]

I had to remake the rear suspension brackets to have it sit level here's some up date pictures. I'm thinking about using different shocks not really sure yet ?






Crazy4yachts

[crazy4yachts]

I'm working on the front bumper mod I want to add a winch later.

[crazy4yachts]

Here's a shot from the bottom side

[crazy4yachts]

Ok guy's

Here is the project I'm working on . I have worked most of the suspension problems out . I have a name for it, I'm thinking of calling it the BEAST! it's going to be 14x14 wheel drive with a sliding adjustable frame.I'm still coming up with different ideas for it ? here's some pictures of the mock up but like I said I still have a long way to go. Any imput would be appreciated




Thanks

[crazy4yachts]

Here's some pictures of it with the frame extended some of the way out.

[crazy4yachts]

I just got my Beadlock wheels delivered , I have a question about them, is there a trick to puting them together because I can't get the bead of the tire to stay under the metal ring . I've tried taking the two pieces apart and just loosened them either way they don't stay under the bead. Here's some pictures !



Thanks
Crazy4yachts

[scalelover]

I had similar issues with my militants, pretty much everyone says they are pain. Patience is key, worst case throw them in the freezer for a bit. It will shrink the ring a bit. I'll see if I can find my thread which talked about it.

Here it is. http://rctruckandconstruction.com/showthread.php?t=3010

--Dan

[crazy4yachts]

Hey Dan Thanks for the advice I'll give that a try. I have to do 14 of them ( we're having fun now ).





Thanks
John

[crazy4yachts]

Hey Dan

Thanks for the tip that really works I left them in the freezer for about two days and they went right together no problem.



Thanks
John

[crazy4yachts]

Hey guy's I'm trying to decide which tires to use 1.9 or 2.2 which I have pictured here. 1st set of pictures are 1.9 and the 2nd set of pictures are the is 2.2 which look better to you ?




Thanks
John

[crazy4yachts]

Here's some pictures of the front axle I just built.

[elephants14]

Looking pretty cool.. I think that the 2.2's fill the wells more, :D

Interesting. What's your goal for this monster, I have a feeling it's going to go in one direction. Straight.... with Any weight on rear, It'll be pretty good traction wise, if axles locked... :D

Thanks
Cody

[crazy4yachts]

Hey Cody

Thanks for the compliment , I'm not sure about the back half of the Beast it is going to be a military set up that I know. Maybe some sort of special vehicle, But beyound that I'm not sure yet. I have a long way to go.



Thanks
John

[crazy4yachts]

Well finally all of my Military wheels and tires are here so I can now start to build them up Yea ?






John

[Goose19]

never seen anyone haul a tank on a straight truck before.......lol! bet this one could!


gnarly truck!

[crazy4yachts]

Thanks Goose19


I appreciate the comment how did you know ,that is exactly what I'm thinking about making the Beast into I've already started making the flatbed trailer?



Thanks
John

[crazy4yachts]

I've decided to go with the 2.2 Militant wheels and the 2.2 Mil-spec ZXL tires for the Beast I'm making .I like the way the tires fill in the wheel wells plus it will raise the whole truck up .





crazy4yachts

[scalelover]

That's is a lot of beads to set. I'm glad to see that the freezer tip worked out for you. Now here's hoping that you don't have to do that on every single one of these..... And I thought the 7 that I had to do was a pain, that is going to be alot of small hardware to keep track of....lol. Keep the updates going on this monster.

--Dan

[crazy4yachts]

Ok so I've come to realize that my 14X14 wheel beast is going to need a lot of power , so I'm looking for one of these RC4WD V2 Heavy Duty (HD) Twin 540 Motor Transmission TRUCK CRAWLER txt Z-U0007. Does anyone know where I can find one or can someone sell me one , I don't think that one 540 will do the trick ?



Help Please
John

[crazy4yachts]

Hey guys does anyone know how to connect a TLT axle to the leaf springs on the front of the Beast I'm building ?






Thanks
John

[crazy4yachts]

Well I final got my 2.2 Militant beadlock wheels from RC4WD Today and man they are quite a bit larger then the 1.9s I had before, also got a set of Rock Crushers X/T 2.2 offroad tires with them to try out. I like the tread pattern better on these then I do the Mil-spec ZXL tires. Heres a few pictures to compare them side by side.




John

[crazy4yachts]

Well I started the work on my new lift set up, because of my much bigger wheels and tires I have the front almost finished . I just have to get longer shocks and figure how to attach me TLT axle ? Heres a few pictures of the new front lift .





John

[crazy4yachts]

I started building up my 2.2 beadlocks and tires . and I thought that the 1.9 beadlock wheels were a pain in the A#% man was I wrong these are 10 times harder for some strange reason ?. I'm trying all kinds of ways but still isn't working. Just think I only have to do this 14X, well no one ever accused me of being a Brain stergeon ? Having fun now :confused:




John

[crazy4yachts]

Well I finally have made my mind up with the front and rear lift .I'm using these wheels and tires but I made the new lift parts Today at work . It's quite a bit taller now. Heres some pictures of the final mockup.

[crazy4yachts]

Heres some more pictures of the lift I'm working on

[scalelover]

Is that aluminum stiff enough so that your not getting side movement in the axles or axle wrap? It looks like you still need to do the links to the supports right and this should help with some of the axle walk? Every time I see this thing it seems like its getting bigger and longer.lol

--Dan

[crazy4yachts]

Hi Dan


I'm using .120 T6 aluminum on the back supports and .100 T6 on the front brackets. I plan on making side braces for the front and I have some round aluminum stock I'll put between the rear back supports. But I have the basic lift finally done I just have to tweek it , but still having a ball building this Beast.


John

[crazy4yachts]

Here's some pictures of the progress on the rear suspension braces to raise the truck up to fit the new tires and wheels. I like these bigger wheels and tires better.





John

[Espeefan]

John, interesting set-up you have there. I'd like to offer some constructive criticism. I would really try to add some more bracing to your chassis. Especially to the long side plates you have bolted to the c-channel frame. Even something so simple as to run a piece of aluminum plate, or channel, at an angle, down from the main frame rails, to the extension plates you have the suspension bits bolted to would be a big help. You really need to tie those side plate extensions into the chassis rails better and sort of gusset them in, fore and aft, of the axles. Some cross members parallel with the axles, would also stiffen things up a bit, but I'd be mostly worried about the forces exerted on the plates, parallel to the chassis, when the wheels bind up and the torque will want to pull the plates forward or backward. The axles have a lot of leverage.

I think ideally I would build a whole new chassis, and cut it from aluminum sheet, making it a stiffer one piece ladder type chassis, but you could probably stiffen things up without doing that too.

[crazy4yachts]

Thanks for the advice I'm planning on laterial braces along with fore and Aft braces as well. This Beast I'm building is really getting heavy with all this stuff I'm adding to it. I'm thinking about two frame set up right now, I can get all the Aluminum channel I want , not sure yet just thinking about it.



John:confused:

[crazy4yachts]

I think I have found what the Beast is going to be as far as the Chassis goes. Here's my idea, tell me what you guys think ?

[crazy4yachts]

Here's some other version I like better.

[crazy4yachts]

Ok so I got my RC4WD 6x6 Beast and I'm thinking about buying those scale axles for this build, instead of using the Tamiya rears I have now . These are really scale looking axles and they are not plastic. Plus I can make them all 4-link suspension that would be killer looking compaired to what I have going on now.




John

[WhiteWolf McBride]

John:

Just read thru the build, and I gotta agree, thing is gonna have chassis torque issues, you may wanna consult with some of the crawler guys on this.

I also saw that last set of pics with only the 6x6 setup, and the center of gravity looks ~really~ high... especially compared to how narrow it looks. You going to suspend the batteries under the frame?

And loved the pic of that Armored HEMTT cab in the last " Maybe this ? " post. I'm thinking of one of those, and with the armor panels, detailing of the cab is minimized compared to a stock Oshkosh HEMTT (and have you looked at the prices of the MAN KAT cabs from Germany? OW.

Something else I'd put to MilSpec builders: wheel covers (NOT hubcaps, fool!)
Think like the ones on the APC in aliens, or the HEMTT's and such. I can think of a few ways to make them - all involve attaching them to a fancy axle-bolt/cap. Ponder this - a bigger 'nut-head' that has 3-6 micro-bolt holes around the head, and you bolt the circular cover to this. How complicated, and how much a pair? They could be used to 'hide' any rims out there...

WhiteWolf, not aiming to thread-jack,
- so post a link to a new thread if you can make 'em...

[crazy4yachts]

I know I'm really thinking about doing a double frame set-up. I had to go tall to accommodate the oversize tires I'm using. I'm going to go with CTIS hubs on the wheels to make it more Military looking . Suspending the batteries is a good idea to keep down the CG. Right now this thing weights about 35 to 40 Lbs and I'm not even close to being done. I would like to either scratch build my own cab or maybe have someone build it for me no sure yet.




John

[nutmag]

If these are the tires you want to use, and you want a military truck style, I would suggest making a bigger frame. The problem with staking two frames is they won't be wide enough. So bigger more to scale c-channel aluminum would be better. And instead of lifting the frame to fit the wheels, I would lower the frame to fit the wheels. Like the trucks in the picture, the wheels should be about level with the frame, that would be a good suspension height. Hope that helps a little. And where do you buy your axles from?
-Craig

[Lmackattack]

Do you have trouble keeping the inter axel driveshaft intact....looks like you will have way more articulation than intended...I know my trucks have more travel and some bumps will let the driveshaft pop out. I run the metal rc4wd drivelines and only have issue with the inter axel driveline popping out sometimes..