I am looking for information on ISAS running gear.

[mudseeker]

Originally Posted by Lonesome7.3

I forgot to mention that I do have an idea involving that. But it is still in its infancy and I doubt it will be realized any time in the near future.

But it is a very cool idea none the less.

turn it into a 6x6!!

[Lonesome7.3]

Originally Posted by mudseeker

turn it into a 6x6!!

It is funny you mention that.

[mudseeker]

oooo do it do it

[junior3382]

YES!!!! and then lift it and run the niggest tires you can before they preven eachother from turning! LOL...... J/K Is that a real truck mud? or was that picture phtoshopped? It looks edited. I have seen them for real though.....



Hehehehe.....

[75K30]

Lonesome7.3

Is this gona be an all wheel drive system?
Will this be street driven?
Do you intend on going with full hydraulic steering, and have you looked into orbital valves for this steering system yet?
Getting a full hydro system to return to center is pretty difficult to accomplish, and makes it real difficult to drive on the street.
All wheel steering makes this a real problem since the rear wheels will have to find perfect center when this is driven on the street. It will also have to be disabled when driven on the streets to prevent the truck from just flipping right over with little steering input.
I have built rock crawlers with rear steer, and I have even given the old college try at programing a logic controller to assist with the steering. WHile it did work, it was limited by slow processing, and limited logic. Variable speed steering was the idea, and turning the rear wheels in the same direction as the fronts at higher speeds really got interesting, yes I did flip it over during some testing, lol.

At any rate, you proposal to use these heavy independant suspension systems, is interesting.
This is for your 5 ton project using the IH DT466 engine?
I might be a little concerned about the smaller truck frame, but perhaps you wil be using the larger frame from the International.
Mounting that cradle assembly is probably gonna be pretty easy, but I am wondering about the type of suspension that it uses.
Does this use large coil springs?
Any ideas of what this assembly weighs?
How large of a tire do you intend to run, and what types of ratios are available for that diff?
While I am sure these are not terribly supported by too much aftermarket, my concern is that you will really be limited by available parts, but it sounds like a real cool idea.

[Lonesome7.3]

Originally Posted by 75K30

Lonesome7.3

Is this gona be an all wheel drive system?
Will this be street driven?
Do you intend on going with full hydraulic steering, and have you looked into orbital valves for this steering system yet?
Getting a full hydro system to return to center is pretty difficult to accomplish, and makes it real difficult to drive on the street.
All wheel steering makes this a real problem since the rear wheels will have to find perfect center when this is driven on the street. It will also have to be disabled when driven on the streets to prevent the truck from just flipping right over with little steering input.
I have built rock crawlers with rear steer, and I have even given the old college try at programing a logic controller to assist with the steering. WHile it did work, it was limited by slow processing, and limited logic. Variable speed steering was the idea, and turning the rear wheels in the same direction as the fronts at higher speeds really got interesting, yes I did flip it over during some testing, lol.

At any rate, you proposal to use these heavy independant suspension systems, is interesting.
This is for your 5 ton project using the IH DT466 engine?
I might be a little concerned about the smaller truck frame, but perhaps you wil be using the larger frame from the International.
Mounting that cradle assembly is probably gonna be pretty easy, but I am wondering about the type of suspension that it uses.
Does this use large coil springs?
Any ideas of what this assembly weighs?
How large of a tire do you intend to run, and what types of ratios are available for that diff?
While I am sure these are not terribly supported by too much aftermarket, my concern is that you will really be limited by available parts, but it sounds like a real cool idea.

Finally, some one who can see what I am thinking. No, I will have a selectable transfer case so I can in two wheel drive while on the street. The steering I am still thinking about. I like the full hydro set up, but, I like the mechanical rear steer set up I have seen on some f the military equipment out here. It is simple and very functionable.

Yes, this is for the five ton I was planning on building. I DO NOT plan to use the pick up truck frame. I have an international bus frame or an old Pete frame available to me. The system in question runs very tall and stout coil springs. If I can find coil springs tall enough with the right spring rate I would prefer to use them. But, airbags may have to be considered. I plan to run 52’s, I have no idea what gear ratios are available for the three ton variant I am considering. That is one reason for this thread. I am hoping to learn some more about it.

[75K30]

52 inch rubber? I am assuming you willrun Michelin XZL's?
Pretty heavy tire, but for this rig, probably a decent choice. Now is the desire for independant suspension more for the cool factor, or is there another desire here?
I am not trying to be critical, just trying to understand which direction you are trying to go with this build.
The frames you mentioned will be just fine for whatever you are doing. Both frames are pretty straight sticks of steel, and should be real easy to fabricate body mounts and such.
Obtaining springs is easy to do, and air bags are another reasonable idea.
Do you intend to create a super large payload capacity, or are you just looking for strength?
I ask because the IFS, and IRS set-up you are looking for is probably going to be real expensive, and if cool factor is not super high on the priority list, you mifg be able to obtain some rockwell axles for dirt cheap, and use those.
I just picked up some 2.5 ton units in usable condition for 1000 bucks. It will not take too much dough to make them pretty bullet proof, and rear steer is also very easy to obtain.
It would take a bunch of horsepower to break a 2 inch axle, and the housings are strong as can be. 5 tons are also another option, and these already have both input and output flanges for the 6x6 alternative.
Plenty of guys running "rocks", and the aftermarket is going wild with parts to make them stronger and also make them lighter.
Disc brakes are not that expensive, and the rocks have 8 lug hubs available. This really helps with wheel selection, and though you are stck with 6.72:1 axle ratios, with 52 inch tires, you are right on the money.
Again, I am not being critical here, I am lookinf to see which direction you are intending to go with this.
I like the idea, and it apprears to be real strong, I would just be a little concerned with the overall weight of this thing.
It only brings a concern because you have a desire to make it 4wd, and this also brings its own problems. Heavy trucks are difficult to wheel off road, and have limited capabilities due to just being so massive and heavy.

[Lonesome7.3]

No worries about being critical. That is why I started this thread. I am looking for outside input. I can make any idea sound perfect as long as it is my own. My willingness to accept outside advice or criticism shows I am open to ideas and serious enough to make this work. Everything you have mentioned has already been a factor in my decision process with this build. Now allow me to see if I am up to the challenge of communicating it properly.


First I’ll address your comments on the running gear options. Originally this was going to be a 48 inch shoed 2 1/2 ton rig running a T444 from a bus. I wanted a simple big truck. But like many of my builds it has evolved. I have decided to build a bigger and stronger than average truck and I am going from the ground up on this one. I do have five ton running gear set aside for this truck. So if the ISAS does not work out, I have my back up. To answer your question, I want all three. I want strength, payload, and the cool factor. The expense is a factor I am not prepared for. However, I do have a source working on getting me a good used set. I do want this build to be a capable four wheel drive, but I do not plan use if for my more serious off road excersions. Remind me to tell you about my purpose built trial rigs later. Being since I want to open a shop when I get home I want an overly built truck to help promote that shop. I do plan to use this truck to trailer my trail rigs to events. (Yeah, I know that is going to have to be one **** of a drop hitch.) So that is where the pay load comes into play. With the running gear and tire combination I have no worries about highway use or longevity. The truck will be big, heavy, and to some maybe even an eye sore. But it will be my build and at the end I can tell all the nay sayers that I over came all the impossibilities they mentioned would stop me. The only boundaries we know are the ones that we do not overcome.

[Lonesome7.3]

Here is the best photograph I have in my stash from when I was on the road of the suspension of a SAV.

This is the view I had for quite a while over here. So I got a good idea of how the suspension cycles.

[75K30]

Still a very interesting concept, and should be quite a bit of fun to build.
I would still be pretty interested in learning more about these differential assemblies.

You also mentioned a little about mechanical rear steer. Do you have any info with regards to this?
I am very curious about this.