KW suspension question

[truckabilly]

Hi guys, I need a little help or advise on the old KW Bullnose COE. I´d like to build a work horse Bullnose coupled to a low boy. I guess tandem drives would be  the best option. But what suspension I should use? I´d like to have torsion bars on it but is that a good choice for a truck with a low boy? What do you suggest?

 

[Jim B]

I don't think the torsion bar would be a good choice with a low-boy.  The torsion bar is a lightweight suspension, so you're better off with a heavy duty spring suspension or a 6-rod.  So you know, the spring suspension in the KW kits is a 38000# suspension, and would probably be too light as well.

[mistermodel]

amt autocar dump  truck would be a good one.pretty much like a kw 6 rod that Jim mentioned.Any walking beam in most amt kits would do the trick,astro/titan is the nicest.I cant say if it any of those would be period correct if that the look you want.Lots of times these old trucks had mack rear diffs and suspension swapped in because they were pretty much bullet proof.if going for a restored truck in use today a pete air ride or kw 8 bag  would be ok

[10thumbs]

Hi Jaroslav,

I'm not a truck expert, but recently I bashed an AMT 359, and lowered the rig drastically.  The kit suspension will not work for lowering a rig this much.  Using kit parts, you would have to cheat by bending and cutting parts that would otherwise not look realistic.

I'd suggest, mount the wheels and tires to the axles you want to use, then match these up to the frame you plan to use.  You will see something drastic has to happen to make this work.

Consider a "C" cut in the frame rails to let the axles sit closer to the top of the frame rails.  This is done on 1:1 custom trucks, a good remedy.

Otherwise, you will have to make a more adjustable rear suspension from scratch.

As an example, if you don't mind, I chose the current and modern day axle setup from Volvo/Mack.  This allowed lots of room for lowering the rig to where I wanted the thing to sit;

It worked very well, but this setup was for a custom truck.  If you want a stock axle setup, I can't help you. 

Edited October 15, 2016 by 10thumbs