Panhard bar

[linesplice]

I've read about these trucks having problems at speed, and someone indicating the axle jumps a few inches over bumps. Has anyone thought about isntalling panhard bars on the axles? I don't know how a panhard would stand up to off-road use though?

 

[Twinpinion]

Nah, not needed. The suspension has no flexible bushings (they are metal) if there is slop to move side to side they are worn and should be replaced. Also, a panhard up front makes no sense. The main reason for one would be to help eliminate bumpsteer. This only works for vehicles with a crossover-style steering. The Deuce has a push-pull system on the driver side like most 18-wheelers.

In the rear? I can't even imagine the binding that would go on back there considering the axles are located by bearings and inverted leaf packs. There really is a lot of travel when you consider the center pivot.

The truck isn't designed to be a high-speed handler. To do that you'd pretty much need to redesign everything.

 

[Djfreema]

I drove around with my bed off for a while and you could see the axles moving side to side when going over bumps then they would re center. There are rods to control the side to side movement of the rear axles that have replaceable rubber bushings. I think they need some slop to flex when going over rough terrain. It is scary going over big bumps in the road at speed while cornering as the rear axles bounce around and loose traction momentarily.

 

[Twinpinion]

Yeah, I could see the rear axles moving a little because the leafs actually hold the axles in place side to side. Notice that the packs feed into a steel box. (see pic). There are no rods that control side to side movement. The six arms you might be talking about locate the pinion angle and the axles front to back.

With the boggie setup a panhard bar would bind. You would tear it off pretty quickly, even over rough paved roads. But in the grand scheme of things, look at it like this. You don't even have rear shocks on a deuce. It's not that complicated.

 

[Djfreema]

Youre right, I must have been laying sideways looking under the truck thinking the top dogbones were side to side not front to back, I was going off of memory, sorry to have doubted you.

 

[hot rod deuce]

Hey, im with you on the bar idea, It would make it a much better set up at higher speeds. Just cut the little box off that the leaf spring is stuck in so the leaf spring sets on the axle, vwala no problems just 5 min with a cut off wheel.

 

[Stretch44875]

With how far the axles move when off-road, not sure limiting the side to side movement would be good for the springs. If you watch the video "stretch's deuce in creekbed"(in video section), you can see that I tend to move the axles around. When traveling at higher speed, most roads are smooth enough that the rear end stays put.

Dennis

 

[devilman96]

I've been thinking about sway bars for the past few weeks... I can do a off road type link which is removable for on /off highway driving... Trying to find a down fall other than having to buy the 1.25 chrome molly tubing and a new die size for my tubing bender...

Should make a hell of a difference in handling!!

 

[hot rod deuce]

what affect would it have on the spring if you cut the top and sides off the box they are stuck in? I would proably just make the thing twice as wide so the axle couldnt fall when your air born. move the bottoming stop a little to make room. All of the fancey off road suspensions run either triangulated 4 link or 4/3 link with panhard bar.

I had our W900 KW in for some waranty work and the had a fleet of new ready mix trucks. They use the sametheory BUT they have 4 links rather than three, the top two triangulated and rather than springs they have a fabricated beam with a huge rubber block. I say ditch the boaring beam and slap in four air bags. Add one more bag to each axle to lift, through in some lock outs and a remco. pick up the front or back one depending on what your doing, short wheel base or long.

Up here interstate 35W is as smooth of a road as you get and at 75 MPh them springs jump arond like jack rabits

Ahh.. sway bars, i have been thinkin about those as well, I was thinkin about using lock out hubs on one side for a disconect. You can buy blank torsion springs in various length/splines

 

[linesplice]

I'd be interested in seeing a sway bar setup. It does sound a lot more complex than a panhard bar (or three). Would you have a single way bar for the rear suspension or one for each axle? Where would you mount it to the axle?

You could always take a torch and put a california rake on those springs to soften them up a bit.

 

[devilman96]

ah... the advantages of 2 axles vs. 3... lol glad I whacked it up!!! All though I don't know why you could not cross axle to axle corner to corner for the same effect on bogies. At a minimum you could do the front and control at least some of the pitch and roll to the trucks cornering.

You don't need torsion spring for a sway bar... DOM works fine because it has poor memory and the flex is where you get the spring from... Other than bending it I think it would be quite simple to install... The mounting would only take an afternoon at worse.

 

[hot rod deuce]

advantages? One mans garbage is another mans gold.

Hmm that is a good idea but wouldnt you want "good" memory? like so it comes back?

 

[rmgill]

What exactly is a Panhard bar. The only panhard I know of are the French Made Armored Cars (perhaps they came up with the idea?). I guess it's some kind of side to side link for controlling suspension chatter?

For this application, why not airbags between the axles and the frame? You could lower the pressure for offroad use and raise it for on the highway. We've got an airsource after all.

 

[clinto]

What exactly is a Panhard bar. The only panhard I know of are the French Made Armored Cars (perhaps they came up with the idea?). I guess it's some kind of side to side link for controlling suspension chatter?

Panhard bars are used to help locate a solid rear axle under a vehicle. The bar is mounted across the vehicle, with one end connected to the rear axle housing and the other end connected to the body. During cornering or sideways movements of the vehicle, the bar keeps the axle located laterally under the body. Panhard bars should be as long as possible for the best handling.



Courtesy of:

http://www.canadiandriver.com/articles/jk/020911.htm

 

[linesplice]

Here is a link to a panhard bar diagram that is a good visual aid. It's for racing, but the principal is the same.
http://www.afcoracing.com/tech_pages/panhard.shtml