U-Turns/Turning radius!!!

[flareside_thun]

If you want a sharper turn in a 4x4 then how about a trick the off road guys use. A twin stick NP205 transfercase and independent rear e-brakes. Just lock up the rear tire on the side you want to turn towards, shift the rear wheels into neutral and engage the front wheels. Pivot around the locked up rear wheel and presto sharper turn. Nothing to it.

Yup, just like tractors......

Why not convert to coil sprung fronts? Would that not give a bit better turning radius AND a better ride.( even though it IS a truck and not a cadillac)

 

[Dieselcrawler]

i used to have the 205/cutting brakes on mine. then when i welded up the rear, the cutting brakes were pointless.

shorting it does work. i am amazed some spots i can get my truck into. even with the 40's the tires dont rub and i never adjusted the stops.

 

[oldmisterbill]

I never though of taking a corner in my CC as "turning" -to me it was more like having the front end slightly angle sideways around a corner.That feeling always amazed me ,I never felt like that in a Mack. But -NO WAY!- would I ever own anything but a CC again.

 

[burtcheca]

That's why I don't complain about dirt roads. I can make a U turn at any time in our roads. Not only they are wider but you have also the grass area. A little more complicated when you are towing the trailer with the tractor on top. Need to watch for sugar sand or mud every time.
Burt

 

[ghunt]

What's sad is that at my work we have a '97 Ford F800 with 22.5" wheels and a 16' flatbed, and I think it will make a tighter turn than my truck will

I have a regular cab and even on a good day, with the front hubs unlocked it still needs about half an acre to turn around.

 

[Diesel_brad]

You get very little from adjusting the steering stops. Then the tires hit the leaf springs. It is just nature of front leaf springs

 

[FORDF250HDXLT]

i gained a tighter turning radius when i put the front arrowcraft adapters and dually rims on..........unless its just in my head lol.
i should turn in a circle and measure it,and have someone else with a 9th gen single cab do the same.
i noticed it right off after the conversion i could turn the corner at the local dunkin donuts.i was totally floored!!!
i always had to stop and back up,to turn the tight corner.not anymore.it shocked the hell out of me,cus my wheel kept turning haha.i dunno how that worked out,but i swear i can turn sharper now.

 

[bobbywalter]

You get very little from adjusting the steering stops. Then the tires hit the leaf springs. It is just nature of front leaf springs

on the later trucks the leafs can be an issue depending on wheel offset and actual tire size, the older the 70's style had narrower pad spacing.


one bad thing about installing the dana 60's, my ranger turns like a fullsize now

with the newer bj setups or hybrid knuckle setups and some cv joint axles, 50 degrees on a street truck is easy to accomplish.

just need about 5 grand

i advise against tweaking the stops, its easy to screw up when you know about it let alone if the truck is piloted by someone borrowing it.

 

[bobbywalter]

i used to have the 205/cutting brakes on mine. then when i welded up the rear, the cutting brakes were pointless.

shorting it does work. i am amazed some spots i can get my truck into. even with the 40's the tires dont rub and i never adjusted the stops.

i run up to 44 in tires and dont have rub issues either on the springs.


but, a trick i been doing for years is to modify the brake controllers on abs systems to manually control the brakes. i usually do this for guys just for doing burnouts.

with my previous axles the fulltime(drop in style) locker in the dana 35 was a almost instant shaft killer with my gt40 engine so i went to brake bias.

if you have selectable lockers it makes for some fun maneuvering, especially pushing snow. but in your case being welded, just being able to lock one front wheel, will allow you to spin around pretty good, that is as long as you have the power to bust the tires loose.

i am looking at modding a 4 wh gm traction control setup this winter for simple push button lock up capacity. it would be cool to just push a button instead of two pedaling and isolating needed wheel manually. with a stick it would really help.

 

[nyteshades]

These trucks can make U-Turns?....

 

[Fordman75]

Only if you are going really fast, slam on the e-brake and turn the wheel hard. It's also quite entertaining to watch!

 

[MidnightBlade]

apply lots of fuel and turn really sharp, some brakes may need to be used to perform this manuver...many tires were harmed in the making of this thread

 

[Dieselcrawler]

apply lots of fuel and turn really sharp, some brakes may need to be used to perform this manuver...many tires were harmed in the making of this thread

weld the rear up also. makes it better. goes aroumd much quicker. i surprise alot of people when my ford starts whipping donuts. lol

 

[david85]

Posi works just as well on wet pavemnt I found

I can't really complain that much with my turning radius. Truth is I learned to drive in my F150 and rarely drive anything smaller so maybe I'm just used to it. Admittedly it can be a real treat to drive the saturn!

My tires tend to swing so tight that for a really sharp turn I have to slow way down to prevent the front tires from skidding forward. Even a slight amount of sand or dust on the pavement will increase me turning circle. I can usually take advantage of any side street intersection, or small 4 way stop without issues. Cu ldu sacs are a breeze with me using only the center.

I don't think the GM solution is any better either - at least not for 87-97 trucks like my dad's truck. Horrible turning circle in his rig and the only real complaint he has about it.

Want something that turns really tight? get an original body style ranger (Not sure if the later A arm front end versions are better or worse).

Is there really that big a difference between 4x4s and 2wd for our trucks? I remember test driving a couple 4x4s before getting mine and they didn't seem too bad.

 

[Fordsandguns]

I have watched big trucks with trailers turn tighter than I can in the same spot and mine is 2wd. But I guess that comes with driving a crew cab.

David85, I have a 99 ranger that was my DD before the crew, and I always thought that for a small truck the turning radius sucked. It was better than the crew but I still think it could/should have been better.