Why ladder bars

The traction bar still triangulates with the axle and the spring, creating a non-complicated axle wrap stopping system. How to make a ladder leveler. These bars provided limited articulation since the bar and spring pairing swings through different arcs, causing binding oftentimes.

However, traction bars could work as long as articulation is not an important consideration like in drag racing. That said, the best way to stop axle wrap for trucks with more horsepower and way big tires is with a well-engineered link based suspension.

Heavy duty pontoon ladders. The primary aspect which makes the traction bars unique from the ladder ones is the way they connect. Essentially, in order for traction bars to function, they need to be installed only to one point on both ends. In comparison, the ladder bars do not impact the suspension softness as much — this feature can only be important if you also consider to go on the more off-roady trails.

Cutting half-moons with a hole saw is tough on the car. The cuts were dressed with a grinder. We used a special adjustable rear-end to set the height of the car. We measured both the vertical wheel centerline and the ride height.

More on the adjustable rear in a future article. This unique device allowed us to mount the wheels and set the width of the rear end so we could narrow our 9-inch housing. Once the rear end had been built, the rear work could begin. The ladder bar crossmember was held in the car with jack stands and the position of the mounts were set. We measured 2 inches from the inner side of the subframe connectors to the outer mount.

The ladder bar rod ends were bolted in place to keep everything lined up. The mounts were tacked in place under the car. Only one side, the other side must match, and that comes later.

The entire crossmember was removed and the brackets were fully welded. The outside and inside edges of the brackets should be welded up.

Next, the mounts for the other bar were assembled in the same manner and the entire assembly placed on the floor. The fully welded side ensures the correct geometry for the unwelded side. We measured each side to ensure the opposite mounts were in the right place. Nice and simple. Then the crossmember was reset into the car and welded in place. The rod ends were reinstalled into the bars with anti-sieze and bolted in place.

We set the ride height to the center position, so we had some adjustment room. Then the rear end mounts were installed and placed up to the rear housing. The optimum position for the rear end is degrees down angle to the front of the car.

This provides the right geometry for the driveshaft rotation. A magnetic angle protractor is really helpful for this project. The ladder bar mounts were tack welded in place only tack welds at this point , as well as the shock mounts. You can put the shock mounts anywhere, but the further apart, the better.

We kept it simple and placed them between the ladder bar mounts. The shocks no springs yet were assembled and bolted to the lower mount.

A ladder bar is a suspension component used to prevent wheel hop on coil spring equipped vehicles. The ladder bar attaches to the rear end at the spring perch and is connected to the chassis ahead of the rear tires. When the accelerator is pushed suddenly and the tires begin to get traction, the bar prevents the rear end from wrapping up and allowing the rear tires to hop off of the pavement. Wheel hop can seriously damage the rear end, axles, body and chassis of a vehicle if allowed to occur unabated.

A ladder bar suspension can also be used on drag racing vehicles. This system uses a ladder bar that is connected to the rear end and mounted to a cross member, typically at the rear of the driver's seat.