Need some opinions TTB unloading problems

[Northidahotrailblazer]

So just a refresher on my 89 B2, d35/d44 hybrid, duff long arms, wild horse 3.5 EB coils, sky jacket drip brackets, EB 9” with sky jacker 6.5 lift springs with bell tech 6400 springs. I have an unloading problem. The EB coils are way better than the BDS coils I had last year. But at this point I don’t know what to do. I don’t know if I’m just dealing with what is just the evils of a TTB and a heavy Bronco II is just going to have to deal with. I know I need to do a torque arm on the rear axle. I can do can almost lift the front tires off the ground since I did the V8 swap I can feel the rear leafs flexing light crazy under power. But I feel this is a separate issue kinda, maybe stiffer leafs would help to keep the front more planted when going up hill climbs or just more planted on the front end. It’s almost like I need to put more weight in the front, but idk I thought I’d ask here.

I love the way the TTB rides and I’m not easy on it, with the V8 my crawl box, and tcase low and my 513 gears this thing puts down some torque. It cracks, pops and does TTB things but it keeps fighting. Like everyone always comments on that front in movement is wild.

I know I have a lot of weight in the back, between my tire/bumper and everything else but idk I really thought I’d get some opinions here.

Everything I did this winter I feel helped, I don’t think putting shorter limit straps is the right answer, I put 4 inch longer ones for this trip and the suspension will travel that far why limit it and I had shorter ones last year and it was even worse with out as much travel.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

I remember reading @4x4junkie has a line running from the end of the one axle up, across the rad and down to the end of the other axle. I believe that acts like limit straps but also allows full articulation. Not sure if this would help your unloading problems, I don't have a lot of off road rock climbing experience.

 

[scotts90ranger]

Yeah, I was just going to mention exactly that... with soft springs up front they apparently get kinda wild, mine are pretty stiff which works good for me doing go fast stuff but I think Junkie has it figured out... the short wheelbase likely isn't helping anything.

 

[Jim Oaks]

When you say "unloading problem" and you referring to the front tires wanting to come off the ground when climbing hills? That seems to be a common Bronco II problem. I've seen it happen many times. The Bronco II's 84-inch wheelbase doesn't help. @4x4junkie is definitely the person to get advice from when it comes to Bronco II's off-road. In addition to what's been mentioned, 4x4Junkie also stretched his wheelbase.

You have a lot of weight hanging off the back of your vehicle which is going to make it want to do wheel stands. I'd move the HiLift to your front bumper to help balance the weight. You probably don't want to lose the space, but moving your spare tire inside to the rear cargo area would both lower the weight and move it forward. You might want to consider leaving it on the trailer or getting a smaller spare tire just to get you back. Unless you tear a big hole in the sidewall, you should be able to plug your tire on the trail to get it back to your trailer. That big rack also raises your center of gravity, so as you go up hill, all that weight starts transferring and could make your vehicle fall backwards.

On solid front axle vehicles, I've seen people run a winch line down to their front axle when climbing steep obstacles to keep the front end from unloading. That would take some creativity on a TTB.

If I was building a Bronco II, I'd move the rear spring hangers back to stretch the wheelbase a few inches, try to keep the center of gravity low with less lift and fender trimming, and try to balance the weight as much as possible. A grill guard and winch on the front helps with that.

 

[Northidahotrailblazer]

I’m sure you’re right. It just sucks because I really like the look of the rear tire on the back but there isn’t anything light about this setup on the rear. I’m sure if I took some weight off it would help, probably a lot….. I mean the bumper is definitely heavy with everything on it… probably way more than I think. Having the RTT off it this time was a huge help. Haha if I do something better more light weight for the rear and then do a more stout front bumper with a winch that I’m sure would help, my front brush guard isn’t light, it’s hard for me to put on by myself but it’s got nothing on the rear.

I don’t have any of these problems with my ranger that is on a B2 frame but it’s stretched to 110” wheel base and I don’t have anything behind the rear axle besides a little bit of flat bed, the spare tire is technically infront of the rear axle but it’s SASd also. But man the TTB just rides so much nicer, I could see it, in the early broncos, especially when we opened it up on the dirt road back to camp, the TTB just soaks up the holes in the road. So I just don’t want to SAS it. I already have a SASd one and everything one I talk to always says they wish I they had given the TTB more work. Besides keeping the thing from eating tires it’s been great.

 

[Jim Oaks]

Man, you need a trailer. And I hate offroad trailers. LOL.

Build for function - Not looks.

 

[Curious Hound]

I wonder if different shocks would help. It would have to be some high end shocks where you get to determine valve settings for compression and extension.

 

[Jim Oaks]

Putting stiffer shocks on the rear may help some but will also affect the ride.

I think the issue here is weight and center of gravity. Starting with the shocks may be as effective as giving a fat person a Diet Coke.

 

[SenorNoob]

We could use some numbers. Got a CAT scale nearby? Might be eye opening.

 

[Curious Hound]

Not a bad idea.

We could use some numbers. Got a CAT scale nearby? Might be eye opening.

I was surprised when I weighed mine on the way home from a camping trip. Never expected a Ranger to weigh in at 5600lbs.