Ford Fullsize Thread !!!!

[patoz]

2004 Ford F250 Super Duty 4x4, Super Cab

Here is my rig, it's a 2004 Ford F250 Super Duty 4WD PU, with the 6.8 L Triton V10 and the Super Cab.




I purchased it used with the A.R.E. camper shell in 2011, and added the wheels, new Michelin LT265/75R16 tires, running boards, and an aFe Power Magnum FORCE Performance Air Intake System. No matter what I do to it though, it still only gets 9 mph!




As a temporary measure, I installed a Draw-tite front receiver hitch in the stock bumper, so I can use a Warn XD9000i winch mounted in a cradle with it. This will eventually be replaced with a full size winch bumper and a 12,000 lb. - 15,000 lb. winch once I find the right deal. The smaller XD9000i winch will then be used for the rear bumper, or on the ambo/camper trailer I'm building. I will also be installing a dual battery system using the Blue Sea Systems ACR, as soon as I can find or build a place to carry the second battery. As you can see in the picture above, there is '0' space for another battery under the hood, so it's going to have to go down on the frame somewhere.






I also installed a DECKED Truck Bed Storage System, which the good people at DECKED sent me to test, evaluate and review.



The review is not complete yet, but you can read what I have so far here.

This vehicle is my daily driver, but I'm also building it out as a tow vehicle for the ambo/camper trailer I'm building. Eventually, I'll swap out the tires for something a little more aggressive like maybe some Toyo Open Country M/Ts or something. No rocks or mountains in the Florida panhandle, just sand and mud so I don't need anything too radical. Besides, I'm not going to get far dragging a 6,000 lb. trailer anyway.

 

[Betarocker]

 

[stingray1300]

D45, if you get a set of Deaver leaf springs, you won't need any traction bars...

 

[Betarocker]

D45, if you get a set of Deaver leaf springs, you won't need any traction bars...

I disagree. The softer the leafs, the greater the need for traction bars.

 

[tgreening]

Never been too crazy about the bolt on dual traction bar systems most folks put out. Seems like one bar too many and generally not very adaptable.

 

[Betarocker]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuQX_GDnU1g

 

[b9ev]

I weighed my F350 yesterday, myself and a full tank of diesel. It came in at 8920 lbs.

 

[b9ev]

Interesting video showing axle wrap. I have yet to experience the effects of axle wrap on my truck but I can only imagine there is some on the tune I use daily if I go full throttle.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuQX_GDnU1g

 

[stingray1300]

I disagree. The softer the leafs, the greater the need for traction bars.

Softer? Where do you get softer? The OEM springs for a 09-14 F150 are 2 main leafs with an overload flat bar. Axle wrap is almost a given. And I can tell you from personal experience, they wrap and cause wheel hop even when they're brand new.
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The Deavers, on the other hand, are 11 leafs with a substantial increase in support of the back end of the truck. I run a tuned EcoBoost F150. 440hp. I have experienced -0-/none/zilch wheel hop since putting on the Deavers. Add to that, they are more compliant when I'm off road. I can't say enough about them. They aren't cheap, but I'm glad I spent the money.
.
So, I'm not sure of the provenance of your comment...

 

[Betarocker]

I had Deavers on my last truck, and 800ft-lbs wrapped them badly.

 

[stingray1300]

Did you contact Deaver to have them fixed? Talk with Scott, he'll make them "right".

 

[Buliwyf]

I never use ladder bars. The few trucks we've tried them in, had issues with flex or worse. And then there was the ladder bar we had to cut off on the trail because it bent. Seems like brodozer parts to me. Waste of money. If the truck doesn't need them to tow, then it doesn't need them to cruise around. Lay off the loud pedal.

Wheel hop? Are we drag racing? In 30 years of log roads, powerline roads, wrenching, and towing, I've never had a wheel hop issue with anything except an Acura NSX and a '04 Mustang Cobra. Both were an easy fix.

I don't drive my truck like a momo, so whatever wrap is back there, is a complete non issue. I have a Mustang for stuff like that. Punishing a truck is like trying to bring a school buss to a track day.

 

[Betarocker]

Did you contact Deaver to have them fixed? Talk with Scott, he'll make them "right".

The Deavers, on the other hand, are 11 leafs with a substantial increase in support of the back end of the truck.

The nature of the springs make them wrap. Simple physics. Deaver and Icon use multiple thinner leafs which shorten in length as the move toward the axle from the main support springs for a more progressive rate, but ultimately they are there to thicken the pack to reduce the size of the block. The majority of the spring movement is from the two main leafs, which being thinner are softer. That is where the wrap will occur, and the rest of the shorter leafs will do NOTHING to control it. Your tuned 1/2 ton will have wrap, but its torque might not make it as prevalent, but a stock modern diesel with load certainly will.

 

[Betarocker]

I never use ladder bars. The few trucks we've tried them in, had issues with flex or worse. And then there was the ladder bar we had to cut off on the trail because it bent. Seems like brodozer parts to me. Waste of money. If the truck doesn't need them to tow, then it doesn't need them to cruise around. Lay off the loud pedal.

Wheel hop? Are we drag racing? In 30 years of log roads, powerline roads, wrenching, and towing, I've never had a wheel hop issue with anything except an Acura NSX and a '04 Mustang Cobra. Both were an easy fix.

I don't drive my truck like a momo, so whatever wrap is back there, is a complete non issue. I have a Mustang for stuff like that. Punishing a truck is like trying to bring a school buss to a track day.

Ladder bars will have a negative impact on suspension movement, as will poorly designed traction bars. Properly designed bars will have no negative impact and will control wrap, and will still allow all the flex provided by the suspension.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYm_k8lAHok

You not wanting bars is your prerogative. Just merging with traffic during acceleration, or using an exhaust brake to decelerate. will make the pinion misalign with the driveshaft. The more torque to the wheels and/or the more load being moved, the greater the effect.
1.5 ton and heavier have less of a need because the leafs are so stiff they barely move. Use a GoPro to record the pinion of your truck under normal driving.

 

[drewactual]

I'm laying over a grand of twisties to the terra- and axle wrap is real. the rig weighs over 11k#'s, and having that kind of stationary weight attached on by four shackles is asking quite a bit of it, no?

i run PMF traction bars. I don't heavily offroad. if i did I may look more toward OUO traction bars. I can tell you from first hand use- it's night and day. shifts are smoother- can only be felt by acceleration not by snap, and the pinion angle doesn't get slapped about.... < and that is the reason I did it. pinion angle. the integrated lift blocks are outstanding and far surpass those silly blocks and longer ubolts.

suspension travel is unaffected.