Competition ladder bars.

[Tcolesanti]

He also has no leaf springs just the custom four bar and air bags, so he really is'nt gaining that much weight.

 

[BigBadDodge]

I was told of some high horse power trucks back east were you could see 3/8" wall thickness bars begining to bend while sled pulling, I went one step farther with the 1/2" and you won't see those bend, even at east coast power, wich who knows I might achieve some day :-laf fabricate it once, and forget about it :-laf the bags make the ride sweet !!! and adjustable up to 5"



BBD

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

I'm pretty sure Rob Thomas is not selling the traction bars anymore.

I think Rob was having some challenges with building the bars because when I stopped by there in September his guy who was building them had just hurt his back and was out of commission. We were running all over the place too, from Clarkston to Pontiac to Auburn Hills and so forth going to the shop, the powder coaters, etc. , and the road constructon & traffic is pretty bad. I bought a set of bars there but the brackets weren't ready, but Rob shipped them to me later and they arrived soon after I got home. Evidently he wasn't able to get things worked out or felt building them wasn't worth his time and trouble, especially having to drive so far to put them together.



I do have a concern though. . . . I know one guy on NW Bombers participated in the GP a couple months ago and never got his brackets, and we've been unable to get a hold of Rob to work something out. The set was paid for and now he has a set of bars with no way to mount them.



If anyone had any ideas or suggestions as to what to do it would be greatly appreciated.



Vaughn

 

[Hammer]

Yes my bars are powdercoated

Greg. .

Then why when I had inquired about them did you tell me you only could paint them or ship them to me raw?.



Vaughn. .

I just chatted with Rob last week and he is not hard to get ahold of. Call him and he will get back in touch or let me know and I will call him. I do know he has a major headache with Fex-Ex Ground trying to recoup what he has lost due to them. Last I heard there is still a owner out there who is missing one bar due to them,go figure. he did say with the problems he is having with the welder and the outrageous cost of steel his desire to make them has wained a bit. He has also gone back to work for a local diesel shop and is very busy... ... Andy

 

[Turbo Thom]

The cost of steel is a fact. It will stop anybody. Even an old man like me.



. . Preston. .

 

[Tcolesanti]

I finished my second set of bars out of 1 3/4" DOM tubing and I hav'nt bent bent them yet! They are the same length and everything but are a whole lot stiffer than the last set. I towed about 9500 lbs and hammered on it pretty good, and nothing yet. Hope this set lasts.

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

Greg. .

Then why when I had inquired about them did you tell me you only could paint them or ship them to me raw?.



Vaughn. .

I just chatted with Rob last week and he is not hard to get ahold of. Call him and he will get back in touch or let me know and I will call him. I do know he has a major headache with Fex-Ex Ground trying to recoup what he has lost due to them. Last I heard there is still a owner out there who is missing one bar due to them,go figure. he did say with the problems he is having with the welder and the outrageous cost of steel his desire to make them has wained a bit. He has also gone back to work for a local diesel shop and is very busy... ... Andy

Thanks for the updated Hammer, we'll keep trying. Vaughn

 

[bgilbert]

I hate to be the cheapscape of the group, but does it cost $600 for the materials and to bolt them together or build them yourself? Also where is my spell check .

 

[drrhoades]

If you build your own set how do you go about loading them correctly and getting the angles right?

 

[Greg Boardman-RIP]

I have thought about building ladderbars. The amount of material is close to 20 feet in tubing alone. Then some plate, and urathane bushings for one end and a 35$ Hiem joint on the other end. Mounting brackets, and powdercoating. Then figure in the time of a welder.



The chromoly I use in my bumpers jumped from $5 a foot when I started to $10 a foot now. Price of bumper is still the same. Powedercoating is around $75 and Busings are 20 each. Add all that up and $5-600 is not bad!



Greg

 

[Lsfarm]

Powdercoating

Andy, you inquired about a set of bars about two years ago. At that time my powdercoater was only doing Black. You wanted a set in Red, and were inquiring about the quality of the powdercoating, it's gloss, durabliity and color match etc.



I suggested that I make a set and ship them bare to you, and you find a powdercoater in your area, or have them painted to match your truck. That way you could be sure the finish and color met your standards. You never got back with me.



I now have a different powdercoating guy who keeps lots of colors in stock. Although I still can't promise a color match between the bars and a Dodge paint color.



bgilbert, if you can bandsaw, drill and tap, arc weld, and enjoy doing metalfabrication, then by all means make your own! Go to a sled pull and take a look at different designs and make one that you like.



These kits are made for a virtual bolt-on install, by a truck owner with limited tools. They were not intended for someone with fabrication skills and tools to save money on instead of making them themselves. Everyone wants to get paid for their time, tools, and materials.



Greg L

 

[drrhoades]

How do you load the bars during install?



Thanks

 

[Lsfarm]

preloading

The preload is to shorten the bar, or pull the axle forward. This accomplishes two things, one is to reduce the pinion to driveshaft angle to near zero. and the second is to pull the spring forward into it's front rubber bushing.



This preloading of the bushing takes even more slop and give out of the rear suspension. Reducing the pinion angle makes the U-joint last longer, and have more strength. Sometimes on some trucks with too much pinion angle this eliminates an annoying vibration.



The usual amount of forward movement of the bottom of the axle when preloading is between 3/8" and 1/2". As the front rubber bushing relaxes sometimes an additional adjustment is needed after a few months. So make sure you allow for this when mounting the front bracket on the frame.



Hope this answers your question Greg L

 

[drrhoades]

Thanks for the reply. Is this slack taken up by moving the bracket or by moving the heim joint in the tube?



Doug

 

[I-6DZL]

You take up the slack by tightening the heim joint in the tube. When you go to install the bars you have to allow enough threads (but not too many) to allow for 2 adjustments. The 1'st adjustment is when you put the bars on. The 2nd adjustment is after the first adjustment has taken a "set", you just tighten again the same way you adjusted the 1'st time ( if needed).



If you need specific directions or just a clarification on the directions give greg a call so he can explain completely.



Good Luck

Curtis

 

[Lsfarm]

One end of the tube has a right-hand thread and the other a left-hand thread. So the bar itself acts like a huge turnbuckle. Turn it one way, and it lengthens the other way and it shortens. Once installed the front and rear mounts never have to be removed, just checked once in a while for security.



BTW, the DHRA requires some form of retainer on the front of any traction bar, as well as any driveshaft. A large 3/8" wide black zip-tie looped around the bar near the front joint and through an exixting hole in the frame does the job. This retainer is a good idea even if you never plan on drag racing. Just added security so the bar can't drop down and cause the truck to 'pole-vault'.



One of the expenses of making these is the $65 left hand tap, the right hand tap is available everywhere for $10 or so. The left hand jamb nuts have to be special ordered too, at four times the price of right hand ones. The laws of supply and demand!!



Greg L

 

[willyslover]

Greg... you don't have to defend the prices... just let the naysayers go do the footwork and parts hunting. . not to mention locating a DOM tubing supplier and a qualified welder. . and on and on... doing a part to market always finds a few who don't want to pay fair market value. .



some are able to do it and will spend 2/3/4 times that in time and energy. . bless them as they are the ones who come up with good new items . .