f150 rear bed cage ideas/pics

[awful_kanawful66]

I need ideas for a bed cage for my 98 f150. Nothing real fancy just shock mounting and spare tire mount. I have a 9 inch already so all i need is springs and shocks. Shock length???? Anybody tried mounting the leafs under the axle on one of these trucks???? Any and all ideas are welcome. Thanks in advance!

 

[Alex Paterson]

You can run a 16" shock and I would try using a bypass shock for ease of adjustment. You will also want to run limit straps and you will need to move the VSS from the axel to the slip yoke on the transmission, unless you have a manual tranmission. I believe Giant makes a spring under kit that gets you around 21" of travel. I ran Deavers and they were good for 17-18" of travel but the truck liked to buck pretty good.

Alex

 

[awful_kanawful66]

Thanks for the input. The spring under kit that giant has on there website is for 96 and older f150s as far as i could tell. Ill probably just go with the deavers and some fox bypasses. As far as mounting the shocks to the axel should i mount them directly to it or use a spring plate shock tab like the ones dixon bros makes? BTW Alex your truck is sick!!

 

[matt_helton]

 

[jason@gmachine]

matt,

what hubs and brakes are you running on that F1

jason

 

[matt_helton]

matt,

what hubs and brakes are you running on that F1

jason

this truck is running our 2.5" race hub package front and rear with willwood superlite brakes.

 

[awful_kanawful66]

Thanks Matt. Ill be giving you guys a call about some shackles soon! What Deaver pack is on that truck? Does it bounce around alot? Thanks again

 

[jason@gmachine]

dam cheif, that is gnar!

2.5 inches of fury = sexyness!


jason

 

[Zambo]

Did that truck do the Mint prerun, I thought maybe I saw it out there.

 

[matt_helton]

the springs are deaver f-49 packs and yes, rob has logged many prerun miles on the truck in the past year. mostly all the snore races.

 

[Alex Paterson]

Awful, thanks for the complement, the truck is a blast thats for sure.

This is the fisrtbed cage I had that H&M built for me in 2004,

I molested it into this over various stages,

And then H&M cut it all apart and built what I currently have...much better

Alex

 

[awful_kanawful66]

yeah thats sick! The second pic is pretty much what im gonna shoot for. Its simple but it looks like it does the job. Im gonna do all the fab myself so it might take me awhile lol. Thanks for all the input everybody this is a learning experience for me so expect a bunch of stupid noob questions. Thanks again everybody!

 

[MALIBLOC]

with just your rear end, how much did that cost you, (if you remember)

housing, axles, ring and pinion, third member?????

Im curious what that would run

 

[awful_kanawful66]

If your talking to me the truck already had the 9in on it. But ive been looking and found a few around my home town for around 200 bucks with everything.

 

[MALIBLOC]

ya I meant Alex , sorry man, Just wondering how big of a headache is it??

9in is a tough rear end anyways

 

[robjs111]

Alex, can u send some pics of your f150? also what mods did u do? thanks.
rob
robjs111@yahoo.com

 

[06dak287]

matt, does that bedcage tie into the frame or just mount to the floor of the bed using factory hardware?

 

[atomicjoe23]

Thanks for the input. The spring under kit that giant has on there website is for 96 and older f150s as far as i could tell. Ill probably just go with the deavers and some fox bypasses. As far as mounting the shocks to the axel should i mount them directly to it or use a spring plate shock tab like the ones dixon bros makes? BTW Alex your truck is sick!!

Are you ever planning on upgrading to a 4-link. . .or are you just gonna stick with the leafs?

If you are planning on upgrading I would suggesting mounting them directly to the axle. . .I say this because with some forethought and planning you could utilize the shock mounts as the LCA/trailing arm mounts when you do upgrade (this would require some serious thought and commitment to make a plan and stick with the original plan), but if you are planning on sticking with the leafs I would go with the spring plate shock mounts. . .I think the Ruff Stuff Specialties has some really nice ones. . .I have ordered quite a few things from them in the past and I am really impressed with their quick turn around and excellent customer service! They are really starting step into the desert world in a big way with their new offerings. . .they have ring rolled light bars and windshield bars for the Ranger that are ridiculously cheap considering how much a ring roller costs!!!

The one thing I can say about my above comments are that considering the relative low cost of shock/control arm mounting brackets it may not be worth your time and effort to plan a future 4-link that would utilize your current shock mounts. . .considering that you are probably only talking about a savings of under $50. . .but then I guess it depends on your now and future budget constraints.

Matt. . .the shock mounts on that cage look extremely well built, but I still have to ask a question and I mean no offense here and I am asking to learn. . .I am not critiquing BMS work. . .

. . .are you not concerned with the torque load placed on that type of shock mount (suspended in space) vs. a mount that utilizes a cross bar directly abover the shock mount??? I hope that makes sense. . .

. . .what diff housing is that?

. . .and finally, can those hubs work for front hubs in a 4WD application as well?

Thanks!

 

[matt_helton]

matt, does that bedcage tie into the frame or just mount to the floor of the bed using factory hardware?

the bed cage is 100% bolt on per the customers request....it uses all 6 bed bolts as well as 2 tube clamps under the spare tire carrier.

 

[matt_helton]

Matt. . .the shock mounts on that cage look extremely well built, but I still have to ask a question and I mean no offense here and I am asking to learn. . .I am not critiquing BMS work. . .

. . .are you not concerned with the torque load placed on that type of shock mount (suspended in space) vs. a mount that utilizes a cross bar directly abover the shock mount??? I hope that makes sense. . .

. . .what diff housing is that?

. . .and finally, can those hubs work for front hubs in a 4WD application as well?

Thanks!

i was not concerned then nor am i now almost 2 years later........those shock mounts are strong as hell. the customer wanted maximum bedspace so thats what i gave him.

and the housing is a 3.5" Blitzkrieg housing. customer did not want any trussing.

heres one with a backbrace.

and no, our hubs were not designed or intended for any kind of front wheel drive application.