s cesnick

I live up a long mountain road that I have to maintain. It is usually snowcovered this time of year. it seems that everytime my wheels start to slip (spin) I get severe tire hop. Not just once in a while either. Pretty much every single time. It feels like the driveshaft and tranny is gonna fly apart. It makes getting home in the snow pretty hard.
I know I need balljoints on the front. maybe (hopefully) this is the reason for the tire hop. I also just put new tires on it a few months ago and they are pretty aggressive treads which I bought for the purpose of making it home in the snow. They are the Hankook Dyna Pro MT's and they are one size larger than stock 285's.
Anyone have any ideas how to eliminate the tire hop?

johnh

just a thought... new shocks?

klx650a2

Good stiff shocks all the way around and ladder bars on the rear. My 07 hops like a bugger compared to my 2000 that I had. Mind you the 07 rides like a caddy compared to the 2000 also...

Robert373

Here is a good website that explains your problem.

http://www.4x4wire.com/jeep/tech/susp/axlewrap/

A good set of traction/ladder bars are the best solution. The above article also explains what to look for in a set.

pronstar

I was thinking about ladder bars, but don't need them with my Carli setup. No hop at all. I think the stronger shocks are able to control the spring better.

This is for normal driving/losing traction in dirt and sand - low-traction surfaces. I don't do smoky burnouts on asphalt so I don't know if they're an improvement in that situation.

AKMooseMan

I think Carli is the answer, but since that was WAY out of my price range...for now - 800 lbs of sandbags (secured so they don't become missiles in a sudden stop!) cured it for me...for winter anyway.

Lost Lake

Don't you want maximum movement in a truck suspension (articulation) and doesn't a ladder bar severely limit this?

We used to put them on 68 Camaros and Chevelles, but never off-road vehicles.

Just wondering.

nwflyoda

i have that same problem. i've noticed that its more of an issue w/ standard trucks than autos. i guess it has something to do w/ all the torque getting sent to the rear end fairly quickly compared to be slowy send back there w/ an auto. i will be getting some traction bars to help take care of that (cal trac bars).

annabelle

My auto will do it in a heart beat. I haven't used Ladder bars due to the limited amount of articulation they allow.

Dodgezilla

For those with 2500s and on a tight budget, you could try a set of Tuff Country Traction bars. They are MUCH cheaper than any ladder bars and have worked for lots of guys. JC Whitney sells them. They will NOT work on 3500s though....

mitternocht

I bought a set of those Tuff Country bars when I first experienced “the hop”. They do help some, but don’t come close to eliminating the problem. You do have to drill ~7/8” hole in your front spring perch too. I don’t think the Tuff Country bars would last forever for they are thin and would rust out in a few years.

I added a set of those JCW helper springs as well, they clamp to the front top of the leaf pack. These help because they help clamp the spring pack to the overload spring adding a smidge of stiffness.

I considered the above a temp solution.

When Glacier Diesel started making his traction bars again I ordered a set. I installed those, removed the Tuff Country bars, JCW helpers and added 2” blocks for to make up some ground clearance. (Blocks increase the leverage on the spring, potentially increasing the hop problem).

With all this global warming snow I was able to run this configuration in various conditions. The Glacier bars are better than what I had before, but I could still get some hop under the right snow conditions. (Which we had a lot of) My Subaru will embarrass a stock CTD in some snow conditions.

High traction tires don’t help either. The stocker slicks would just spin, (IMHO). My STT’s dig down into and try to grab whatever you are on.

Here is what I did next: I picked up a set of stock leaf springs from a salvage yard. I tore down the salvage springs and the stockers from my truck and built my own spring pack from the stock components.

I ended up with 6 leafs, rather than the stock 4; (I don’t count the overload as a spring). I now have 2 of the 2nd spring down in the pack. I also cut the eye bolt ends off the salvage top spring and put it on top of my stock top spring. I used a U-bolt to clamp this spring in the front of the pack. I’ve heard this called an “anti-wrap spring.”

I haven’t had a good chance to really test it yet--my new Frankenstein leaf pack with the Glacier bars-- however, it gave me a slight lift and stiffened up the rear a bit. I did get in a little snow with it, and it seemed the best setup to date, however not enough for a definitive conclusion.

Dodgezilla

My 03 and 07 trucks had terrible wheel hop. My 08 did fine and my current truck had absolutely no wheel hop issues even in the 2'+ of snow we just got. I guess it's just luck of the draw as to if your truck will do this or not. Kind of like how I got stuck with one of those trucks with the lopey high idle...

ColdCase

Poorly designed ladder bars may limit articulation, but is max articulation suspensions that great on the highway and for towing or hauling? I wouldn't have thought the large RAM would be that great of an off road platform to begin with, just way too big. It does tow well.

Anyway, there was some decent write ups and reviews two or three years ago. Search on ladder bars and perhaps traction bars.

I ended up with the glacier ladder bars on my 06 which cured the forward hop, but there is still a bit of hop in reverse on steep grades. They also improve highway handling significantly, much more solid feel. They do reduce ground clearance a bit... and are expensive. If I recall correctly, there were other less expensive solutions but none that worked as well as the ladder bar.

The GDP ladder bar has a flexible front mounting to the frame, which allows the entire bar to move forward and backward with suspension movement, eliminating the binding of some designs. It does not allow axle wrap, however.

pronstar

The Carli setup is great on the highway.

For towing or hauling heavy loads, you're gonna want airbags.
But IMHO you're always gonna want airbags if you tow/haul heavy, even with a stock suspension.

There are definitely better off-road platforms, but it's all relative and really is about going out and having fun with your truck. My Rhino goes anywhere, and it's far from an ideal off-road platform...but it sure is fun.

Skyd Ram

Dp you have the full leafs or the mini-packs?

They both help with wheelhop in loose conditions like snow and sand because they are a pregoressive spring setup to helps fight axle wrap. The stock spring in these trucks will twist pretty good until the bottom overload leaf hits the springs pack and then it abruptly stops an unloads the spring only to start the whole process over again. The progressive nature of a mini-pack or Carli full progressive leaf springs doesn't stop the twist but it limits the twist/stop/twist/stop process that happens with the stock leafs.