Best Way To Test Flex In Diveway

[flyingwil]

What's the best way to test your vehicle's flex in your diveway to monitor the brake lines, tire clearance, and so on prior to hitting the trails?

Lately I have debated moving my giant rock in the back yard and placing it in the driveway. It would at lease keep the wife's Lexus out of my spot in the garage! :hehe:

What do you guys do?

 

[cshontz]

What's the best way to test your vehicle's flex in your diveway to monitor the brake lines, tire clearance, and so on prior to hitting the trails?

That is a good question. While it is feasible to test flex in one's driveway using a combination of sketchy, and potentially dangerous techniques - I'm not sure there is "safe" way to do it without welding together a ramp, or pouring a mound of concrete on your driveway. :Wow1:

You could feasibly use a pair of portable service ramps - put one under the front tire, and one under the opposing back tire. This might not be enough to test the vehicle's limits, however.

You could probably use ratchet straps between the frame and the axle to test compression. Although I don't necessarily think this would be an accurate indication of normal operating characteristics.

Otherwise, don a full set of riot gear, make sure nobody is around, and get crazy with the Hi-Lift jack, come-along, rusty old wheels, wooden blocks, and stack some old kitchen appliances under there.

 

[UncleChris]

What's the best way to test your vehicle's flex in your diveway to monitor the brake lines, tire clearance, and so on prior to hitting the trails?

Lately I have debated moving my giant rock in the back yard and placing it in the driveway. It would at lease keep the wife's Lexus out of my spot in the garage! :hehe:

What do you guys do?

This is a good question.

With the XJ, I used a jack under the axle and/or a a jack on the frame.

With the Taco, it is not quite that easy. I am currently trying to figure out how difficult it would be to fit 33s. Every time I try the jack thing, it works on the rear, but never on the front, the springs seem to be too stiff. If I lift one side, it tries to lift both, there doesn't seem to have adefined pivot points like the XJ.

We took a run to Hollister a few weeks ago and spent about an hour consiously trying to see the flex limits, in a controlled environment(the base of Truck Hill )

Th XJ was easy because of the solid axles, but I am still trying to figure out the subtleties (or lack thereof) of IFS.

Maybe the best thing to do is to rent a forklift

 

[flyingwil]

Yeah it hard to figure out, while yet a not so legal option is 1 block away! The grocery store down the road has a perfect loading ramp, that would act as a reverse RTI Ramp.

 

[Brian McVickers]

If you want to check the travel and monitor the brake lines as you mentioned I would suggest using your Hi-Lift. I did the same thing one time wanting to learn more about operating the Hi-LIft in a controlled situation as seeing what the travel was really like. I placed the jack under some jack points I have connected to the frame and lifted the truck up until the wheel came off the ground = fully extended. This will allow you to see the extension of the brake line on the up hill corner and also allow you to take a look at the resulting compression at the downhill corner.

Another way to test the compression could be to use the Hi-Lift wheel lifter adapter that hooks onto the wheel and lifts it directly.

I dunno, but I'd give it a shot and see how it works for what you want.

 

[Scott Brady]

Lately I have debated moving my giant rock in the back yard and placing it in the driveway.

I used that technique for 8 years in Casa Grande. Now I am in this gated fru-fru community, and they would likely frown on that. I do have big rocks just down the road though.

 

[asteffes]

I had an idea involving your wife's Lexus, but that would be... sub-optimal.

 

[flyingwil]

I had an idea involving your wife's Lexus, but that would be... sub-optimal.

:clapsmile Now that's funny right there! "Hey honey.... Ummm I borrowed the Lexus and.... Ummm..."

 

[goodtimes]

I had an idea involving your wife's Lexus, but that would be... sub-optimal.

:luxhello:

********...."sub-optimal".......

I have several larg~ish rock in my front yard, but not big enough to test out much...particularly when the neighbors start complaining (they probably think it is bad enough I mount the tube bender to the driveway....). I'm with Scott...I use the big rocks down the street.

 

[HongerVenture]

Yeah it hard to figure out, while yet a not so legal option is 1 block away! The grocery store down the road has a perfect loading ramp, that would act as a reverse RTI Ramp.

This really isn't a bad idea IMO. If they chase you off then just leave... but I would imagine for the most part you would just get curious looks. If you don't spend hours there then I don't see why this would be a problem.

On the other hand, they would probably not like the possibility of you hurting yourself...