Towing with traction bars

Blackdog

Blackdog

Hillbilly Deluxe
Joined
Jan 31, 2008
Messages
801
Who tows with traction bars and what style do you use and have you had any problems with them?

Style A- Triangulated with a swing shackle on the frame

Style B- Single bar mounted to the axle and frame.

I have single bars now but I am thinking that they cause the suspension to bind under load but they don't allow axle wrap but triangulated bars with a shackle will allow for the suspension to move freely but the axle will also move forward and aft. Correct me if I'm wrong because I want to build the right bars for my dedicated hauler.
 
i tow with mine a couple times a week and never had a problem, i have a single bar
 
I also have a single bar and have had no problems. I have pulled horse trailors to a gooseneck with a super farm tractor. I also pulled a 30'dull tandum 7hr with about 10ton on it.
 
I have single bars at 84" long. The traction bars help alot when towing [18k#.]
 
im using single bars. i think its a great idea, it really helped mine out! the ride is way better with them on then before.
 
I guess I will stick with my single bars but I'm going to build a heavier set with better mounts.
 
I havent had any problems running a single bar on mine and towing. Seems to work just fine and I have had them on for a while now.
 

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i use to run single bars homade 8ft long and it rode like crap and when i towed. so took them off and bought a set of caltracs. i have old pics of mine and i posted new ones up on the thread "lets see ur tracion bars" my new ones work great
 
I use One Up Offroad single tube traction bars and often tow around 10,000lbs without issue. No difference in ride.

Even have driven around with 2200lbs in the bed an no air in my load assist bags to see if I could notice a difference but it road great.

But the One Up Offroad bars are engineered not to bind.

Best part is I got rid of that wrap I would get when backing heavy trailers on uneven ground and/or uphill and the pinion would want to dive downward.
 
my single bars got rid of my wrap too.. but noticed when going over uneven ground towing(slow) they will pop a bit...
 
but noticed when going over uneven ground towing(slow) they will pop a bit...
Click to expand...

Mine are popping all the time, to the point that it's becoming quite annoying. What brand are you running?

--Eric
 
Mine also make a little noise when my truck is flexing a lot. It takes a pretty good flex for them to start making noise though. I also made mine myself.

Eric
 
If you make them the correct length the suspention won't bind. My suspention will cycle fully until the shock limits the compression or droop. I lifted the back of the truck with a forklift to cycle the suspention and used a string line to determine the correct length. For my truck with approximately 4" of lift, that length was 68" from pivot point to pivot point.


The only difference I've noticed with mine towing is that there's no more shudder when I take off with a heavy trailer.
 
I guess i'll stick with the single bar but make the bars and the mounts stronger. I also need to make my bars 1' longer and then run out the heims to connect.
 
my bars are 69" long.
i agree, they took out the shudder of taking off with the trailer attached... especially when backing up!
 
I took mine off from all the popping noise while towing.I ran mine with a slight preload but after hooking to the trailer they needed to be readjusted from the suspension sag.I plan on making a set of triangulated bars that pivot at the front.
 
My bars make no noise at all. I've loaded my truck to the point it was hitting the suspension stops in the full up position when I hit a bump. I built my brackets to fit tight against both sides of the heim joints...I actually have to beat my traction bars into the brackets because they fit so tight to the heim joints. When I tighten the bolts, they squeeze the heim joint tight, no rattling side to side.
 
cummins724 said:
My bars make no noise at all. I've loaded my truck to the point it was hitting the suspension stops in the full up position when I hit a bump. I built my brackets to fit tight against both sides of the heim joints...I actually have to beat my traction bars into the brackets because they fit so tight to the heim joints. When I tighten the bolts, they squeeze the heim joint tight, no rattling side to side.
Click to expand...

I'm using Lazarsmith bars and my experience is the same as above, including the tightness on the brackets.

My handling and ride while towing a trailer has improved using the bars.
 
does anybody have pics of a 4 link set up. with some good flexable joints it would be much better.
 
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