Deuce Bobbing Questions

[frankthetank15]

I plan on bobbing my deuce this coming summer but i do not want to shorten the frame as I eventually plan to crew cab it and add a 5 ton spare carrier. SO as far as placement of the rear axle i was thinking that the stock location of the back axle would be the best place to mount the lone axle but I wanted to get some opinions. I am not planning on running a trailer bed so locating the tires under the wheel wells are not really an issue. Also I have been reading the forums on 395's vs 16r20's. Some people say that the 53's are too tall and the truck cant pull them and that the brakes are too inefficient to stop them but some people say otherwise. I know that if I go with 16r20's ill have to fab up a lift either by lowering the spring perches or four linking it so I am OK with that. But what is the difference between the two tires on a bobbed deuce speed, power, and functionality wise? Also with the 53's mount on stock rims? I plan to be mostly on road with the occasional offroading. Any opinion will be appreciated and bear with me as I am extremely new to MV's. Thanks

 

[wilfreeman]

We bobbed ours last year. We cut 3' off of the bed and frame. We moved the FRONT axle back about 6". I have seen a couple of crew cab conversions on here where you can find the info you need. There was also one that was converted to a single axle by removing the FRONT axle.

Are you going to cut your stock bed, or no bed at all?

My personal opinion is that the 53s are too big. The 395s run about 46"and 11.00r20s run about 43". Both fit a stock rim, although the 395s don't look right on stock rims (again, only MY opinion). We went with the Goodyear G177s (11.00r20) because the size looked "right" to us. The only thing I don't like about them is the offset on the front tires. Remember, when you upgrade to radial tires, you might have to shim or grind your front spring perches to keep the truck from wandering all over the road (I will be doing this in a few weeks - after a year of driving it like a roller skate!).

 

[gimpyrobb]

All the guys I've talked to, that put 1600s on a deuce said they wouldn't do it again. Both tire sizes will rub on steering parts if you use the wrong rim(read that as stock rim). You can get 395s on mrap rims and all you need is an adapter to make them work on a deuce.

 

[greenjeepster]

How do you "bob" a deuce without cutting the frame? A "bob" means to make shorter. You can single out the tandems without bobbing, but than that isn't "bobbing". Also frames can be lengthened... it is frequently done in the commercial truck world when a truck gets reconfigured... like a tractor that a sleeper is added to or changed to a straight job flatbed.

 

[Floridianson]

Don't know where bob came from for us but to bob tail with a road tractor was to be running without a trailer.
Yes you could place the axle where ever you want but thought the drive line can be no longer then 60 or around 60 inches long before you need a carrier bearing off the frame. Think you will be over if you put the new single where the old rear is. Measure twice and in your case don't cut once.

 

[greenjeepster]

From Marriam-webster "bob": to cut shorter :crop<bob a horse's tail>

 

[frankthetank15]

We bobbed ours last year. We cut 3' off of the bed and frame. We moved the FRONT axle back about 6". I have seen a couple of crew cab conversions on here where you can find the info you need. There was also one that was converted to a single axle by removing the FRONT axle.

Are you going to cut your stock bed, or no bed at all?

My personal opinion is that the 53s are too big. The 395s run about 46"and 11.00r20s run about 43". Both fit a stock rim, although the 395s don't look right on stock rims (again, only MY opinion). We went with the Goodyear G177s (11.00r20) because the size looked "right" to us. The only thing I don't like about them is the offset on the front tires. Remember, when you upgrade to radial tires, you might have to shim or grind your front spring perches to keep the truck from wandering all over the road (I will be doing this in a few weeks - after a year of driving it like a roller skate!).

I plan of cutting the bed but thats most likely gonna happen next year. What do you mean by shimming the perches? If I ran with the 53's i was gonna weld my spring mounting brackets solid to the lifted perches but if shimming is gonna be an issues it looks like i would have to bolt them on.

 

[frankthetank15]

How bad do 395's rub on stock rims? I've read that you don't need a lift to run 395's but if it would prevent rubbing I would prefer to lift. I'd assume only a few inches, 4 or so would be necessary?

 

[frankthetank15]

How do you "bob" a deuce without cutting the frame? A "bob" means to make shorter. You can single out the tandems without bobbing, but than that isn't "bobbing". Also frames can be lengthened... it is frequently done in the commercial truck world when a truck gets reconfigured... like a tractor that a sleeper is added to or changed to a straight job flatbed.

I misspoke, I want to single the rear not bob it. Also I do not want to make the truck any longer as I would like to be able to at least make some turns haha.

 

[frankthetank15]

Don't know where bob came from for us but to bob tail with a road tractor was to be running without a trailer.
Yes you could place the axle where ever you want but thought the drive line can be no longer then 60 or around 60 inches long before you need a carrier bearing off the frame. Think you will be over if you put the new single where the old rear is. Measure twice and in your case don't cut once.

If I had to run a carrier bearing it would not be the end of the world. I would just have the drive line shop figure that out for me. I believe that I saw a SINGLED deuce with the rear axle in the stock location and it was running a carrier bearing.

 

[wilfreeman]

I plan of cutting the bed but thats most likely gonna happen next year. What do you mean by shimming the perches? If I ran with the 53's i was gonna weld my spring mounting brackets solid to the lifted perches but if shimming is gonna be an issues it looks like i would have to bolt them on.

Here's a nice, lengthy discussion on the subject - one of many:

http://www.steelsoldiers.com/showth...caster-angle-solved-problems-with-G-177-tires

Has nothing to do with the spring brackets - it is the angle on the spring perch (or block) that the axle sits on. They used a few different perches or blocks with different angles from the factory. The a3 blocks have a little lift built into them and supposedly have the correct angle for radial tires. Or you can grind material off of the stock one or add shims to produce the correct caster angle on the front end. You may or may not have to worry about this from what I have read - I guess I am just one of the unlucky ones!

 

[Floridianson]

The top perch when placed with the heavy wedge to the front will cock the axle down and keep you drive shaft at a better angle. Mine have come out almost straight.

 

[gimpyrobb]

How bad do 395's rub on stock rims? I've read that you don't need a lift to run 395's but if it would prevent rubbing I would prefer to lift. I'd assume only a few inches, 4 or so would be necessary?

Because the rims are wrong for the tire, they rub on steering components. No amount of lift will stop that from happening. You will need different rims.

 

[welldigger]

How bad do 395's rub on stock rims? I've read that you don't need a lift to run 395's but if it would prevent rubbing I would prefer to lift. I'd assume only a few inches, 4 or so would be necessary?

Stock rims aren't worth a crap for anything but 9.00-20s or 11.00-20s. Anything bigger or wider and the wheel offset is all wrong. Lift won't solve this. Actually it could make rubbing on steering parts worse.

To run 395s you should run the correct wheels.

 

[rustystud]

So basically you would have something like this (I know it's a 5 ton not a deuce). I always liked this look, plus you'll have easier turning (no skidding axles) and your towing ability is greatly increased. Just like the newer military trucks.

 

[greenjeepster]

Frank; I just mentioned lengthening as an option later on if you wanted to bob in now. I think singling out the rears is a great idea. Depending on how you set it up you may actually gain load capacity. I once put 5 ton of rock on one of my deuces and it had no suspension left. I see no reason other than the way the suspension was set up that it could not handle a lot more than that.

 

[frankthetank15]

OK, I understand what you are saying about the spring perches now. It sounds like I will have have to wait and see and go from there. When using the hemtt rims the rear hubs do not need to be flipped right? Also upon searching for tires I just stumbled upon 14r20's. The website says that they are 49" compared to the 395's 46". Are there any benefits to running the 14r20's over the 395's or are they to big/require a lift? Regardless of which tire I chose i want to put in a lift. I'm not sure what size yet but nothing ridiculous. I am leaning to a four link in the rear. I wanted to run coil springs but I could not find any info on what springs to use. I've seen that a lot of people use are bags. (I would prefer coil springs) I want to still be able to use the truck for what it was made for but also have an enjoyable ride. As far as airbags go I have no idea what size to get. Can the on board air system be used to inflate the bags? (Sorry for all of the questions)

 

[frankthetank15]

View attachment 545587 So basically you would have something like this (I know it's a 5 ton not a deuce). I always liked this look, plus you'll have easier turning (no skidding axles) and your towing ability is greatly increased. Just like the newer military trucks.

Yeah that is exactly what I want my deuce to look like and in the process make it more driveable and enjoyable.

 

[frankthetank15]

Frank; I just mentioned lengthening as an option later on if you wanted to bob in now. I think singling out the rears is a great idea. Depending on how you set it up you may actually gain load capacity. I once put 5 ton of rock on one of my deuces and it had no suspension left. I see no reason other than the way the suspension was set up that it could not handle a lot more than that.

I know that the 2.5 ton rockwell is a pretty stout axle and being that I have never worked on an axle this large I am unsure of the type of suspension I should create. Leaf's are the simplest but I've always been a fan of four links. If i was to go that route my biggest dilemma would be about coils vs. bags. I know that bags are often times used in dump trucks and vehicles of that sort but I like the simplicity of the coils.

 

[greenjeepster]

Extreme 4x4 did an episode where they bobbed a deuce and put airbags under it. If you can find that episode it will give you an idea on the parts you would need for the airbag system... and the onboard compressor is plenty to run it off of.