Saturday, September 17, 2011

Well, my truck finally went in to Outlaw Raptor for some long awaited work on the rear frame.  My truck suffered from a slightly bent rear frame, after hitting a high speed bump that was about 12" high, at about 55-60MPH.  This is caused by the rear bump stop being impacted at a high velocity, causing the frame to crease in the exact spot the bump stop is mounted.  My truck wasn't too badly affected, although it was noticeable enough visually, and would eventually get worse if not corrected.

Outlaw Raptor has a full reinforcement and supplemental bump stop kit that they have engineered, and my truck is one of the first to receive this new setup.  Before I get to that, here is a picture of the truck's bed and what it looked like after the frame was bent:


You can see that the rear of the bed is slightly angled down, from the frame being bent.   Not terrible, but enough where it was driving me a little crazy seeing it every day.  So the first step for Outlaw was to remove the rear bed to actually straighten the frame before reinforcing it.  Here is what the frame and rear end look like before the fix, with the bed removed:


Not a whole lot back there!  The following picture sets show you the frame reinforcement, as well as the additional supports installed by Outlaw across the rear frame.  Overall, a VERY beefy setup!





New Fox 2.0 hydraulic bump stops were added, to properly absorb rear axle impacts, and installed in a location that will not bend the frame!  This setup has been THOROUGHLY tested by Outlaw Raptor, and has been proven to take some serious abuse without any negative outcomes.

Next was the Deaver rear springs, which are a progressive spring designed to absorb impacts much better, as well as reduce the amount of "bounce" or "donkey kick" as they call it, after hitting a hard impact.  They actually have a rebound spring built in, to help manage the rear end much better:




You can see the amount of rear travel now... should be a very nice ride off road!  I'll be taking it off road very soon to test the new add-ons, and follow up shortly.

2 comments:

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  2. That is some impressive chassis work that you did. How did it effect your ride on the road? Did it stiffen it too much. I am planning to by a SCREW Raptor and want to use it as a daily driver. How much do these mods cost?

    Are you planning to do any modifications to the brakes? That is one of the big weaknesses that I see in the Raptor.

    Thanks for your feedback.

    Brad

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