Rear drop shackles

[yrik]

I just lowered the rear of my 81 1/2 ton with hangers and shackles.  This is the first step side I have done and it looks like if I notch the bed support for the shackles it is going to take to much integrity away.  When I dropped my last fleetside truck it didn't seem like that big of a deal.  I was just wondering what some of you guys have done on the stepsides?  Thanks, Mike

[VileZambonie]

I would either do an axle flip or remove a few leaves and use shackles.

[Chevalade]

How many springs normally come in a pack on an 81?....mine currently has 8.

[Captkaos]

Normally depends on how the truck is optioned.  Your have a HD setup with 56" spring as opposed to the standard 52" springs.
If you plan to use them you really have no choice other than notching it ( you can reinforce it with a plate), you can get it down about 1-1.5" buy removing 4 of the leafs

[yrik]

I only had 4 leaves to start with and I had the shackles and hangers, so that is what I went with.  I am just concerned about cutting up that brace now.  I will probably cut it and lay a piece of flat stock in there to re-enforce it.

[got2haul]

If you're talking about the brace that runs the width of the bed behind the rear tire, and not the truck's frame, you won't really lose any structural intergrity by notching it for shackle clearance.  For my stepside, I marked the brace where it needed the trimming, then removed the brace from the bed and cut it.  Here are a couple of pictures I took while the bed was off the truck, after I trimmed the brace and reinstalled it.

[got2haul]

(Sorry, I was trying to modify my post, and lost this picture while trying to do so.)

[yrik]

Thanks those are the pictures I wanted to see.  I know that it is not part of the frame I was just unsure with the stepside if that brace was more important than a fleetside.  I don't have any wood in my bed floor right now so I removed the whole brace to cut it and maybe re-enforce it.

[got2haul]

One thing I thought I'd better point out.  I am using the shorter Belltech shackles (part number 6700, rather than part number 6400).  These shackles are not quite as long as the standard 2-inch drop shackles that are so common.  The 6700's are sold as 1-inch drop shackles rather than 2-inch, but are actually more like 1-1/2 inch.  I bring this up because in using these shackles, it wasn't necessary to make the notch in the bed support quite as deep as would be needed for 2-inch drop shackles. 

[yrik]

I have the 2" Belltech shackles so my notch has to go right to the bend, that is why I would like to re-enforce it.

[got2haul]

I found some pictures I had taken a while back that show the differences between the factory shackles and the Belltech shackles.  In these photos, the shackles are arranged as such:

Left = factory shackle
Center = Belltech 6700
Right = Belltech 6400

[JRConnieK10]

I gotta a question, if on a 4wd could you put a reverse shackle hanger in the rear and use those lowered shackles for more lift looks like it might work. Any opinions?

[HAULIN IT]

Jr, Like this? This is on my 2wd with the axle on top of the springs, but the idea is the same. A friend of mine used those hangers & shackles on the front doing a straight axle conversion on a '88-up truck. No reason you couldn't. One thing to keep in mind is the pinion angle while doing this. Have Fun, Lorne

[yrik]

This is what it looked like before

This is what it turned out like. 3" summit coils and Belltech" hangers and shackles.  Pay no attention to the wheels. those are just rollers while I paint my ralleys