Shackle Reversal on Surburbans ,Ford,Dodge Trucks

[Brody]

We are trying to get some feedback here on doing a shackle reversal on Andrew's big Dodge. What we are looking for are:

Does it affect on road driving very much?
How would it affect towing or carrying heavy loads?
Any other pros and cons are welcome.

Please respond only if you have personal experience with doing a shackle reversal on a heavier rig such as a Chevy Surburban, Dodge or Ford truck. Do not use this for a "gee, I read about it in MAD magazine" or "I heard that doing a shackle reversal gave you hemorrhoids on pirate4x4" discussions. We are looking for direct personal experience, not theoretical BS.

Thanks

[scout man]

how much does that thing weigh? Does my scout count in this category? If so I will chime in, if not I will refrain. (I am about 5,500 right now)

[Brody]

I would say it does, though it is slightly less than the Dodge. The Dodge weighs around 6800. Adrian had done the shackle reversal on his Bronco and that isn't a lightweight either. Ideally input from heavier rigs would be best, but input from lighter rigs would would be helpful too. Your input would help, I am sure.

[scout man]

I enjoy the shackle reversal on mine, but not sure I would enjoy it so much if it was a daily driver. My front end dives really hard when I stop, and I get a ton of body roll when turning. The worst case would be having to turn on a hard stop. It is great off road, and I love it, but could get really old if it saw a ton more road time than trail time. If you can retain the factory sway bar (or a new setup of course) on the setup I think he would be a ton happier. My opinion on towing would be that it could be helpful when pulling a heavy load, but stopping a very heavy load would be a much bigger concern, especially without trailer brakes. The trailer will be pushing your rig forward, and the axle will be slowing down which will cause it to dive a ton. Make sure if you do this and intend to tow that you have strong, well placed bumpstops. I would hate to think you have to slam on your brakes going down vail pass with a heavy trailer and it compresses them enough to perminantly invert them or something. Of course I am sure this is no news to you, but with a reverse shackle on that rig I am sure body trimming is inevitable. I am a fan of the performance gains off road, but it will definitely be noticable on road. I am not sure how much a sway bar would help, but I am sure it would. And chances are you wouldnt be quite as soft and squishy as my rig as I am sure you have much stronger springs, even compared to the weight ratio, so you might not notice it as much as I do, but will be noticeable and in my opinion will prolly make you feel as though you cant stop as fast, whether it is true or just perceived. thats my $.02

[scout man]

also keep in mind with the longer wheel base you probably notice the effects on road less. I am about 100" wheel base. If my bumper drops x amount when stopping and his drops the same amount, but say he has a 110" wheel base, the angle of the frame on his is much flatter than mine, leaving him not noticing the effects near as much on pavement. So that could be a plus for you.

[Swat]

I run one, Fullsize Bronco at 6,000lbs. The first thing I noticed was that the shackle has leverage on the spring which effectively lowered the spring rate. It flexes better there is more body roll. I don't run sway bars. I towed a 3,500lb boat/trailer with my rig on 37's, no problem but the boat trailer did have surge brakes. I went to a stronger shackle too, since the stock Ford shackles tend to fold. The stock shackles were made to be in tension not compression.

Shackle angle is critical to good performance. I researched that a 45 to 50 degree angle to the rear works best for wheeling.

Here is a couple of illustrations that may help:

http://www.supermotors.net/getfile/662753/fullsize/leaf-spring-shackle-angle.gif

http://www.supermotors.net/getfile/663430/fullsize/leaf_4.gif

[scout man]

well, theres the answer on towing I guess. I was just thinking through it and thought it might be a problem, but i guess not. Good info swat!

[Medic-5150]

Thanks for the info so far guys. Sounds like it will be tolerable on the road.

[Swat]

I don't know if I got this right. I run a shackle flip on the rear of my rig. I got new mounts that give lift by placing the shackle under the mount vs the stock configuration with the shackle above the mount. If you mean moving the shackle on the front axle to the rear of the leafs then I blew this?

[Brody]

I don't know if I got this right. I run a shackle flip on the rear of my rig. I got new mounts that give lift by placing the shackle under the mount vs the stock configuration with the shackle above the mount. If you mean moving the shackle on the front axle to the rear of the leafs then I blew this?

Nope, this is concerned with doing a standard shackle reversal on the Ford, Chevy, Dodge rear axle configuration where the stock shackle is simply reversed so that the pivot point is now under rather than over the plane of the rear frame rails. There are after market shackle flip kits and there are ways to economize and do the flip using the stock shackles. The after market kits are designed with additional bracing as you build in an inherent weak point moving the shackles under the frame plane. One of the more common mistakes made using the stock shackles is to not brace this weak point and simply reverse the shackles getting the 4" or so of lift that this does.

Lifting the front is much more straight forward and isn't the concern here as Andrew has an IFS front on the Dodge. Most of the lifts for the Dodge (and other makes) include a new set of springs using the stock shackle location. We are trying to get the lift in the rear using the stock springs (nothing wrong with them as they are both long and flexy) without paying for the extra $400-500 for the new springs, which I don't feel are a necessary expense.

Your input is appreciated.

[WINKY]

i plan to do this to my truck, as long as the shackle is bolted+ welded or just welded it really doesnt do too much to the dynamics of the rig.

[tonkatoy]

I did it on my suburban and it rides great. much smother ride .

[southpaws3]

andrew i also did this to my sub the ride is softer i replaced all the bushings too . as for pulling once i had to pull (tow) tonkatoy back to the lab where it was created. top speed was only 25 mph it was ok but i was so max out w/ the weight -we were just stupid but safely made it . tonkatoy weights 8000-9000pds . he also had to tow me same thing i weight9000pds hope that helps

[Brody]

For anyone contemplating doing this on their rig and not wanting to do this themselves, Sean and I would be happy to talk to you about doing it for you. You can PM us (Brody and 1freaky1), contact us via email: peterbrody4@gmail.com or scwinddancers@hotmail.com or phone : Pete: 303-507-3066 or Sean: 303-519-3538

[southpaws3]

hey brody call bill i think he still has the old spring brace he used to fab the shackle bracket it is off a dodge or ford (ithink )but it is the front bracket off the rear springs

[Brody]

Cool1 Thanks Ed!

I hear that you are going to camping in the China Wall area. Be sure to check out the spots down by the river. They may be a little cold this time of year, but are worth checking out for future reference. There is a ton of good camp spots in that area....

[southpaws3]

:thunb:THANKS BRODY !!!!!!

[traliduster2]

http://www.offroadexchange.com/shackle_flip.htm This is one of the best I have found. I did this on my old Dodge Prospector that I had when I lived in Arizona. I donw that It works because I did it. I also wint with the monster rear lift I am curten that You will like it.
Marc

[southpaws3]

ooooOOOOOOhhhhHHHHHH!!!!!! very nice