i know i know, go back to where i came from, but dodge and GM frames have similar construction and since the dodge board moves as fast as 80/90 oil in the winter i thought i would ask it here. i'm planning on boxing my frame, using 3/16 plate and was just wondering, box it from bumper to bumper, or just in vital areas? :D

Im not talking from experiance but, think about what will happen if you only box it in a few places. There will be parts that will flex, and parts that wont. I beleive this will cause cracking. I think it could be done if you cut very long U shapes on the ends of each piece of plate to allow for the flex to stop gradually.

Try it and tell me how it works. :D


Brook

i'm probably gonna box it bumper to bumper. then my cage will tie in to the frame via 2x2x1/4 rocker guards and quarter panel guards in 8 spots. that should stiffen the chassis a little ;) i was just curious because i've heard through some old timers that if you make it to stiff it will crack also.

From the title of your thread I thought you were going to ask about chrome plating.

Originally posted by Paul Gagnon
From the title of your thread I thought you were going to ask about chrome plating.

Those Dodge guys are all about the Bling Bling. LOL

polished diamond plate baby, bling bling! :D

WOW! this board is slow too!:flipoff2:

not much to fix on a chev :flipoff2:
we just have to stave off the jeep and toyota guys from stealing our running gear.

Yea,

The Dodge Board is slow to say the least....

Here's what I'm doing on mine:

Putting a custom crossmember where the factory one originally was. It will bolt in on both sides and I'm also hooking in my steering box to this. It will also serve as the mounting point for my winch, which will mount under the core support. I will probably use some tubing that I will weld to the crossmember and will go thru the frame. (You might want to check out what they did on the Ramcharger in 4 Wheel and Off Road last month. The frame is the same as ours)

Along with this I'll be running a rock ram to further alleviate pressure on the frame. Between these two mods - rock ram, and crossmember - distributes force from box to both frame rails, I shouldn't have a lot of problems with cracking the steering box area.

Hope this helps.

Ryan

i was gonna box the frame on my power wagon, but i figure, when the cage goes in, it will be stiff enough.. plus, there are alot of x-members that mount on the inside of the frame, and those would all have to be re-made if you want to have things like a TC x-member that unbolts and lowers (which i do). Other than that, if i were to do it, i woudl do it with some sort of u-shaped place that fits into the current frame, kinda like how they do it on the new dodges.. or ya know, just buy a new dodge frame... but wheres the fun in that :p

I think boxing in the front section, back to about mid-point of the trans is the way to go. It would stiffen up the front-end, and keep it solid and square. In my way of thinking, the weak link in the frame would be just after the front shackles, where the frame flattens out and runns under passanger compartment.

The center section and rear section are just not under the same amount of stress as the front, so it really does not need to be boxed.

Check out most of the newer style trucks. They box the front section, C-channel the mid section, and rear section is the standerd U-chanel.

Lastly, but most important. Notch the trailing end of the boxed section. Meaning, where ever the added meterial ends, cut a V into it, so there are two leading edges that run along the frame.
This will help eliminate a sudden change in the stiffness of the frame, and make it more of a gradual change.