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boxed frame question

Someone out there, maybe Eastwood, sells the wand thingy. It's part of an undercoating gun, which would be ideal for this application.

Short of building it from scratch and then pressure testing it with soapy water I don't think you'll ever get a boxed frame liquid tight.
 
if u are going to box the frame & u really want it painted on the inside, why not take the plate steel u are going to use & drill 2" holes w/ a hole saw every 2". this would lighten the steel & give u the speed hole look w/ out sacrificing much strength. then u could just paint it through the holes. it would also make it much easier to run wiring or whatever else through the frame.
 
I'm at the point of thinking about doing a fully boxed frame as well. I'm worried about paint but more so I have not motor or electrical stuff right now. All the fuel lines are there though. Should I wait to box it once the motor and fuel cell are in and then wire the rear of the truck--THEN box it or just do it now when everythings off it.
 
I would do it now, unless you are using stock hardlines, WHICH may make it harder to thread down through the frame once it is boxed.....

I think now that I have 90% of the stuff off of my frame that I am going to box it.....
 
54inches said:
I would do it now, unless you are using stock hardlines, WHICH may make it harder to thread down through the frame once it is boxed......
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Yeah I have the hard lines on there now. I had planned on using the stock lines...But what are my other options? Is there a way to run fuel lines and trans lines and wiring once it's boxed?


Sorry for the High-Jack
 
If you went with braided fuel lines then any of the aforementioned could be fed through the frame with an electrical snake....
 
Remember that F150 commercial that shows them heating the body structure and they had a foam stuff that would expand to help keep the cab quiet?> Do something like that. After drilling your drain holes in the bottom of the frame flip the frame upsidedown and fill it with "great stuff" the foam that expands.
 
mrdrinksalil said:
flip the frame upsidedown and fill it with "great stuff" the foam that expands.
Click to expand...

That stuff can get to be very expensive for the amount you would need for that task, and do you know how much all that would weight? just because it's a foam, doesn't mean it's light, that stuff is a "sealer foam" gets heavy with alot of it..

And i am kinda thinkin with everybody wanting "boxed" frames, maybe someone should pass on this helpfull information to the makers at Freightliner, Kenworth, Peterbuilt, Mack, and all those other big truck makers,,,tell them they may be doing something wrong with their C-channeled frames on their rigs that are capable of toting around 80+thousand pounds...:crazy:
 
4xcrazy said:
That stuff can get to be very expensive for the amount you would need for that task, and do you know how much all that would weight? just because it's a foam, doesn't mean it's light, that stuff is a "sealer foam" gets heavy with alot of it..

And i am kinda thinkin with everybody wanting "boxed" frames, maybe someone should pass on this helpfull information to the makers at Freightliner, Kenworth, Peterbuilt, Mack, and all those other big truck makers,,,tell them they may be doing something wrong with their C-channeled frames on their rigs that are capable of toting around 80+thousand pounds...:crazy:
Click to expand...

I dont think its that heavy, I've used it before. For the amount of weight you are adding with steel, even 15lbs of foam is nominal. It is kind of expensive though but if you are going to go through all the work to box a frame, even $50 for some foam is a small price to pay.

As for the Big Rigs using c-channel frames. C channel is cheaper to manufacture and have you ever seen how thick and big those frames are?>!?! They are fine for tensile pulling strength but they arn't flexing their 18 wheelers out over the rocks.
 
mrdrinksalil said:
and have you ever seen how thick and big those frames are?>!?! They are fine for tensile pulling strength but they arn't flexing their 18 wheelers out over the rocks.
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Yeah, i have, I have been driving them for the past 12 years now :D

They actually twist quite abit when fully loaded, designed to do that though,,,

I guess I see your point though with the rigidity aspect of it while flexing out over rocks and such, just seems like alot of extra work for something that doesn 't seem like much of a "profitable" gain in performance, i mean the frame is still going to twist and flex to a point, maybe not as much, but I think you are going to be moving the stress points to somewhere else, SOMETHING has to give alittle,,,,

was all that extra work REALLY worth it?

Maybe for some, I personally just don't see it:D

just my opinion :wink1:
 
If the goal is to make the frame rigid you're better off to put the extra weight into a well designed, triangulated bumper to bumper cage. Take that ladder frame & turn it into a space frame. There is absolutely no possible way to make a ladder frame as rigid as a space frame. Simply won't happen.

Bear in mind that a well triangulated cage isn't going to be fun to live with. There will be tubes in the way of most everything.
 
I agree with the cage part. Cage is a much better way to make the frame riged. Easier and it protects you. But if you wanna REALLY abuse your rig,... like JUMP it... then you gotta box it.
 
I have also been planning to add at least 4 more tubular crossmembers to the frame on my Suburban and just plating the areas where it comes through the frame on the inside.........

I bet you that would be better than plating the ENTIRE frame. If we plated our frames in certain areas, I bet it would be better than doing the whole thing.......plus adding a cage that is tied into the frame......
 
ntsqd said:
well designed, triangulated bumper to bumper cage. Take that ladder frame & turn it into a space frame.

a well triangulated cage isn't going to be fun to live with. There will be tubes in the way of most everything.
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Basically how I did mine. The frame is boxed. Cage is hard mounted to the frame and body and the body is hard mounted to the frame and cage and therefore the body is also now a structural component of the frame and don't kid yourself the body can be a very sturdy component. Engine, trans and tcases are also hard mounted to there crossmembers. Engine has a mid plate as well.

I can tell you this much. There are tubes all over the place and it is a pain sometimes. I have alot of interior space but it is difficult to use for much of anything really. Two seater is best I can squeeze out of it.

It is very solid though. You can feel how tight things are when you drive it. There is enough tire and suspension to soak up most of what would normally rattle your teeth out. All in all I'm pretty happy with it. The frame is something I just don't worry about anymore. That's a good thing.

This kind of construction allows you to cheat in some other areas as well. One in particular, my exhaust does not move in relation to anything around it. It's welded to the top side of the rock sliders. No need for hangers. I'm sure at some point it will need to be replace at which point I'll thin wheel it loose and move on. It's kinda funny to listen to the cooling of the exhaust throughout the rest of the cage, PING< POP< PUNG......

OH, and one other kinda slick aspect of it, I can throw a ground cable on just about anywhere and weld just about anywhere. Case in point, Broken shift linkage. Put the ground clamp on the bumper and welded it back together. Another one, the hydraulic ram mount on the axle. Ground on the bumper and weld.
 
mrdrinksalil said:
snip
But if you wanna REALLY abuse your rig,... like JUMP it... then you gotta box it.
Click to expand...
Um, no. The more you want to abuse something, the more you need to go in the direction of a well designed & built cage as structure and not just protection. Look at any of the short course (CORR) or desert (SCORE, BitD, MORE, MDR, etc.) race trucks. Some of those jump a little bit. :D
They don't even have a ladder frame, they're all about the cage as structure as that's all they've got.

cybrfire said:
some points snipped for comment......


..... and don't kid yourself the body can be a very sturdy component.

One in particular, my exhaust does not move in relation to anything around it. It's welded to the top side of the rock sliders. No need for hangers.
Click to expand...

Sheetmetal can take incrediable loads, but it won't be happy if they are point loads if where the load is applied wasn't designed for it. That is my reasoning behind my advice of sandwiching the body at the original body mount locations. The tub was designed to have loads applied there, what better place than there to attach the body/upper cage to the frame?

An electrical contractor friend of mine came up with the most indestructable exhaust hangers I've seen to date, 3 links of chain. One link weld/bolted to the frame, and the far opposite link attached to the exhaust. As long as you install them with the middle link tight they don't rattle, but they do let the exhaust move around as needed.
 
mrdrinksalil said:
Kurt, do you get lots of vibrations in the body and what not having all the drivetrain hard mounted?
Click to expand...

Not much really. I expected more but its actually pretty tame in that regard.

NTSQD,

I like that idea for a hanger. Might put that to use on the crew cab. Simple and solid.

HIJACK OFF>
 
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