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If you guys were doing a ruf again would you strat with the NT or WT?
Grimbo I noticed that you said you had narrow track diffs with a large offset and this didn't cause any problems.
I want to do this conversion but would prefer to use a narrow track to keep cost down? I would consider changing to WT diffs later on if I did it this way.
[quote="STD CONSUMER"]haha, i'm tellin you, my camp was hard to find on Saturday night!
then i shared my bed with 2 second tom... [/quote]
DeWsE wrote:If you guys were doing a ruf again would you strat with the NT or WT?
Grimbo I noticed that you said you had narrow track diffs with a large offset and this didn't cause any problems.
I want to do this conversion but would prefer to use a narrow track to keep cost down? I would consider changing to WT diffs later on if I did it this way.
The best setup would be widetrack diffs, with the spring hangers mounted straight under the chassis (i.e. as per narrow track setup).
For a few reasons:
1. the hangers at the front are easier to build.
2. the back is easier to convert to 3/4 elyptic if you chose to do so later down the track.
3. the further inboard you run your springs, the more leverage you can place upon them - this equates to more flex
So you should either start with a widetrack sierra and move the spring hangers inboard. Or, start with a narrow track sierra, and swap the diffs over for some widetracks.
Note: Longer springs = more travel - so if you set it up to run something even longer than a sierra rear spring (so long as you can get the rate to be nice and soft), you will get more travel out of it.
I have wide tracks now. haven't used it much yet but I am getting more travel because
1. With the extra width of the diffs it is placing greater leverage on the springs making them flex better
2. the extra width gives more flex just because its wider, i can't be bothered with the full on tech response
3. My springs are still set as per a NT, ie under the frame whereas a WT has the springs outboard
Either setup (NT or WT) works just depends on what you have. If you have NTs then do it with them and offset your wheels. Down the track when you have some cash then get some WTs. The setup and process to do it is the same for both
" If governments are involved in the covering up the knowledge of aliens, Then they are doing a much better job of it than they do of everything else "
I have a 92 hardtop WT at the moment, but have the opputunity to pick up a softtop NT at a good price. My problem is the WT is in to good a nick to cut up and I want a soft top. So I think if I did a ruf it would be on the NT.
How did you engineers feel about you extending the chassis and ruf, from ppl i've talked to they said no way and they didn't want to know about it.
[quote="STD CONSUMER"]haha, i'm tellin you, my camp was hard to find on Saturday night!
then i shared my bed with 2 second tom... [/quote]
DeWsE wrote:How did you engineers feel about you extending the chassis and ruf, from ppl i've talked to they said no way and they didn't want to know about it.
I missed this bit before...
As yet i haven't had mine engieered... However, there is a fellow currently building a LWB with a chassis extension at the front here in melbourne... He has been in discussions with an engineer from day one regarding the mods being done and my understanding is that the will get past with the chassis extension in place.
However, there are a few things that he has to do in order to get it engineered - they were something like using a sleeve inside the chassis and new chassis bit and welding this in with puddle welds etc...
Christover took step by step pics of this - so he may be able to put some up to show you what i mean
All this talk and nothing happening, I better start saving and ordering gear. Don't think to many ppl would have done a ruf this end of the world, would love to see the faces of the hilux guys (seem to have a attitude where I live) if I drove pass on a set of 34's.
[quote="STD CONSUMER"]haha, i'm tellin you, my camp was hard to find on Saturday night!
then i shared my bed with 2 second tom... [/quote]
From what I've seen when the guys building a hot rod mahe cut it has to be "fish plated" and "gusseted". A sleeve would work quite well I would imagine.
I will have a chat to an engineer I know before I start, he usually does houses and stuff but he has designed truck traillers before. I call him Dangerous Dave, Coz I see a lot of his work and he signs off just about anything. (I'm a building surveyor)
But he is usually very helpfull and uses common sense. So he might be able to approve something like this without to much prob.
If this does go ahead I wouldn't drive it on the road that much, but I would think the cops wouldn't care to much...To busy busting the boy racers
[quote="STD CONSUMER"]haha, i'm tellin you, my camp was hard to find on Saturday night!
then i shared my bed with 2 second tom... [/quote]
I'll be the odd one out and support the addition of the fish plates/gussets etc.
I'f you didn't like the idea of big fish plates on the side's of the chassis rail/RHS, then as a minimum I would add either...
1. a piece if 50x6 plate to the underside of the RHS, 150mm long (75mm either side of join)
2. a 'extended copy' of the existing mount (the bit of tube the bushes go in is welded to a 'modified' piece/half of 40x40x3 rhs, this piece is extended such that it overlaps the join when welded in place, see next sketch)
The lower side of the chasis rail (in this area) is in tension, and the upper side in compression, so, structurally, if I was going to add steel/strength, I would be welding any form of assistance to the lower side.
Note: all welding is to the sides, and not directly across the tension member (see sketch again...)
This is what I'm doing on mine, plus I'll be adding a 6mm plate betweel the rails (with appropriate bracing) for the mount for the winch).
I trust this assists, rather than confuse, since the main point is to add strenght to the tension side, as this is where the join would probably fail first (ie where a crack would start...)
Thanks for that reply, not that hard to understand it was well written.
I beleive you are right in saying that you must support the area in tension, my only thought to that is that the load will change direction depending on what state the spring is in. When the spring is in full droop I would think that the tension is above the RHS. Don't quite know if that amount of load would bother the chassis rail though.
[quote="STD CONSUMER"]haha, i'm tellin you, my camp was hard to find on Saturday night!
then i shared my bed with 2 second tom... [/quote]
That looks pretty good .. The only thing I would add (besides another 25mm to make it an even 10 cm) would be an additional crossmember and a plate to ensure tension loads (like snatching and winching) are adaquately allowed for (as I am sure they are in the previous design)
Like this
" If governments are involved in the covering up the knowledge of aliens, Then they are doing a much better job of it than they do of everything else "
yep, that would work to, heaps of way's to make mouse traps.
Fortunately, the amount of leverage in this instance is very small.
Auto Engineers get nervous when we start hacking chassis rails in the middle of the rails (ie halfway between front and rear wheels).
Bottom line, heaps of ways to achieve the same end, most methods are strong enough for this particular application, just go with the way your 'preffered engineer' suggests, as he's the one who signs the bottom line.
Dozoor wrote:Can,t help myself , my sixpence says If your gunna run rears up front on an spring under , Add a steering box sector shaft to your spares kit.
Larry.
Say no To RUF (/).
why? I have been running this for at least 2 -3 years now and never had any problems