This guy used to haul wood and treat it just like any other truck. Back in those days they used to put real springs in trucks and they were made to be used for more than picking up the kids from soccer practice :)
I think you misunderstood my "spinning helplessly" comment. Spinning helplessly does not automatically mean spinning at an uncontrolled / high speed, the tires may well be spinning at the same controlled speed as the front tires, but with no traction they are still spinning helplessly and all the traction load is on the weaker front axle. Indeed with no load in back and no high speed spinning, the rear tires are that much more likely to cake up with packed snow and have zero traction. At least the occasional high speed spin may clear the packed snow from the tires.
The front axle is virtually always weaker than the rear due to the additional universal joint required on the steer axle. Having all the traction load on the front axle due to snow pack and insufficient weight on the rear axle, combined with intermittent traction shock loading greatly increases the probability of damage to the front drive train, be it to the hubs, universal joint, CV joints, axle shafts, differential, etc.
If you only have one set of chains, put them on the rear. Get some weight on the rear as well, even if you have to just shovel snow in the bed, anything will help.
Pete C.
After many hours using chains only on the front of my '81 VW diesel pickup (front wheel drive only), I can say I've never "spun around". Not on snow or ice on the 3000' pass between here and "civilization", nor on slimy mud on the 25% grade up to my house. And there probably isn't any truck lighter in the rear than the little VW.
What it does have is an active (front to rear) brake proportioning valve, which seems to work much better than a fixed division of force. It has no differential locking that I know of, but strangely enough it rarely gets into a situation where one front wheel is spinning helplessly and progress stops. I can feel the force move side to side through the steering wheel, but it just keeps clawing its way forward, throwing piles of mud or slush up onto its roof...
Loren
It lets 'em know they have yer permission to steal body parts to sell on th' black market?
Actually, it sez "Take that f***in' tag off my toe" on th' sole of m' right foot . Figure I'll get a laugh outta someone even after I croak.
Snarl
Hi Pete,
There are only two weak points on a Dana 44 axle (that doesn't have a problem to begin with) to worry about. One is the tie rod, they can actually be bent from the traction the wheels get. Once they start going it happens too fast to react. The wheels will toe-in and you will most likely snap something on the long axle side (u-joint, axle or a combination. They used to be ~$15 from a junkyard). Jumbo tires or competition pulling (+500hp engine, oversize pulling tires on clay track) would be the only time I would worry about beefing up the tie rod. The other problem is bending the long side upwards (axle tube) which can pretty much be stopped with an aftermarket bolt on brace. This usually happens from jumping the truck, like in the old Stuntman show with Lee Majors. The axle bottoms out on the frame stops and something just has to give. The opening scene to that show used have a slow-mo sequence that showed the axle folding up before they cut to another sequence. They finally got wise after totaling a good many trucks and built a special mid-engine jumper with just 2WD. I heard it was just stuffed full of bracing under the hood to keep the front end together. If you looked close in the later shows you could see some of this.
I've never heard of anyone busting a Dana 44 with chains in the winter time. There maybe some issue to putting chains on the front, but tearing up the axle isn't it. Not on solid front axle trucks anyway...
Hi Roy,
I've got the NP 208 case which is chain drive too, but a bit heavier than the NP 231 (I'm not familiar with this case) I think. My Brother-in-law had the same case in his K-20 and I use to help him plow snow commercially using that truck when it already had over 100,000 miles on it. AFAIK he never had any problems with the transfer case and I haven't had any with mine. My truck has had an easy life though so it doesn't really say much. OP should have at least this good of a case and at least a Dana 44 sized front axle in that Dodge 2500. Chains shouldn't be any problem for that.
The old NP 203 was a full-time case with chain drive to the front and they took a lot of abuse. I think all the mid-70's full-time 4WD rigs used that same case in one form or another. If it would fit this would probably be a really solid case in your setup. Of course if you could find an old NP 205 gear case and that would fit... When we first started pulling modified 4WD's we were using a divorced NP 205 case. We never broke that part while it was still being used :)
What if they don't find your other foot?
Thats why you put dog tags in the laces of BOTH boots.
Gunner
Political Correctness
A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical liberal minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end.
On Sat, 30 Dec 2006 18:47:01 GMT, with neither quill nor qualm, "Michael A. Terrell" quickly quoth:
If that happens, he's already footloose and fancy free.
So, you're saying that there is something "Afoot"? ;-)
Just for combat, or for riding a motorcycle, too?
Combat. Motorcycles..they can usually find at least finger tips or jaw fragments. Not so with high explosives in tropical climes. Sometimes the fauna eats the bits before graves registration gets around to bagging them.
Gunner
"Aren't cats Libertarian? They just want to be left alone. I think our dog is a Democrat, as he is always looking for a handout" Unknown Usnet Poster
Heh, heh, I'm pretty sure my dog is a liberal - he has no balls. Keyton
On Thu, 04 Jan 2007 16:51:42 GMT, with neither quill nor qualm, "Michael A. Terrell" quickly quoth:
I don't mean to be callous, but I'd bet my sole on it.
Hi Roy,
I see... According to this page the NP203 had either a 2-1/2 or 2-3/8 inch wide chain:
This page has a nice comparison/description of all the different cases we've been babbling about:
Is there anyway you can adapt a NP203 to fit your rig or maybe better yet the NP205? Even the NP208 would be an improvement. They should be a lot more solid (and heavier weight wise) than the NP231. I googled on conversions for a little bit but didn't seeing anything simple jump out at me.
I think that the "Pun Police" are closing in on us.
That wouldn't surprise me, after living in Florida for so long. If the fauna doesn't get it down here, the gators or other animals will.
Graves Registration has to be one of the toughest jobs in the military. I knew a guy that had that duty in Korea and it really messed him up, mentally.
Had an uncle, got a bit messed up after Chosen Res..so they stuck him on GR duty. He was in and out of mental homes until he finally drank himself to death one -20 night in his car/home.
GUnner
"Deep in her heart, every moslem woman yearns to show us her t*ts" John Griffin
I can believe it. Some types of duty is just too much for a lot of people to put up with, but they do it anyway. I'm sorry to hear about your uncle.
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