WILD YOTE said:
Has anyone put the shackles up front? I think a revolver shackle set on the front would be pretty bad-ass.
Are you talking about putting shackles on both ends or just the front?
you would get some radical flex either way. But the down sides, I think outweight the benefits.
you would loose your stable road manors and when approaching an obsticle, your axle would be pushed "away" from the obsticle much more than it would want to climb over it. and that is just with one shackle in the front.
Plus I would suspect that you would get some really funky feelings similar to axle wrap everytime you get on the gas.
Plus you would actually be adding more stress on a weaker "link" I would be worried about the suspension folding down on itself in those extreme situations of hard gas and unmovable obsticles meeting.
For more flex, you can do orbit eyes between the leafs and hangers/shackles and between the shackle and frame. Or you could do a "door hinge" type shackle. Regardless, I think it is best to leave the front leafs in a "standard" configuration. You want some stiffness up front for a stable ride, unless the truck is going to be a dedicated rock crawler or trail vehicle.