RC / Barnes double shear track bar?

[Dylpickle200]

Just curious if anyone has used these combinations of parts for a double shear track bar set up and how they worked for you in relation to the factory drag link positioning. I’m aware that jeep west makes a track bar side bracket and are a fan of using the RC bar with moog bushings but at $25 vs I believe I was quoted $180 for the jeep west one if the Barnes will position it correctly it’s a no brainer in the cost department.

 

[kincaid.0678]

I’ve had the RC rear track bar on my TJ for a couple years now and it’s been fine. I don’t do any crazy wheeling or rock crawling but for daily use it’s been great for the price.

 

[Tob]

Beware of adding more leverage on the factory front frame side trackbar bracket. Its welds are known to crack under heavy duty conditions. You will also need a drop pitman arm to match however much you lower the trackbar mounting point to avoid bump steer.

If you’re set on going with a double-shear mount, I would advise replacing the factory one rather than adding a Rough Country bolt-on contraption. Just note that the factory single-shear setup performs just fine for the vast majority of applications.

 

[cmoore]

Just curious if anyone has used these combinations of parts for a double shear track bar set up and how they worked for you in relation to the factory drag link positioning. I’m aware that jeep west makes a track bar side bracket and are a fan of using the RC bar with moog bushings but at $25 vs I believe I was quoted $180 for the jeep west one if the Barnes will position it correctly it’s a no brainer in the cost department.

I run that Barnes trackbar bracket and JKS trackbar on my dynatrac HP60. That bracket is awesome but in case you didnt know, you have to weld all the pieces together (its just cut shapes and two bent pieces). There’s no reason that bracket cant work with stock locations (you can put it wherever you need to). GL

 

[Dylpickle200]

Beware of adding more leverage on the factory front frame side trackbar bracket. Its welds are known to crack under heavy duty conditions. You will also need a drop pitman arm to match however much you lower the trackbar mounting point to avoid bump steer.

If you’re set on going with a double-shear mount, I would advise replacing the factory one rather than adding a Rough Country bolt-on contraption. Just note that the factory single-shear setup performs just fine for the vast majority of applications.

I won’t be using the factory that’s why I included the picture of the Barnes bracket I’m planning on using…

 

[Dylpickle200]

I run that Barnes trackbar bracket and JKS trackbar on my dynatrac HP60. That bracket is awesome but in case you didnt know, you have to weld all the pieces together (its just cut shapes and two bent pieces). There’s no reason that bracket cant work with stock locations (you can put it wherever you need to). GL

Yea I’m aware it needs to be welded in that’s perfectly fine, I see it’s adjustable but it seems it’s more of a width adjustment than an up and down adjustment. My only concern is wether or not it maintains the factory height of the frame side mount location I don’t want to mess up my track bar / drag link locations.

 

[Dylpickle200]

I’ve had the RC rear track bar on my TJ for a couple years now and it’s been fine. I don’t do any crazy wheeling or rock crawling but for daily use it’s been great for the price.

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I will be doing crazy wheeling and have reached the point where I’m extending beyond the capabilities of the factory single shear mounting location and joint style. I will not be using the bolt on bracket that comes along with the RC bar. Heck I won’t even be using the bushings that come in the bar. More so asking from an angle relationship standpoint point on whether or not the Barnes bracket is proper height for factory drag link position. I don’t want to have to move my axle mount track bar bracket if I don’t have to and am just looking to find that info out before I order it.

 

[cmoore]

I

I will be doing crazy wheeling and have reached the point where I’m extending beyond the capabilities of the factory single shear mounting location and joint style. I will not be using the bolt on bracket that comes along with the RC bar. Heck I won’t even be using the bushings that come in the bar. More so asking from an angle relationship standpoint point on whether or not the Barnes bracket is proper height for factory drag link position. I don’t want to have to move my axle mount track bar bracket if I don’t have to and am just looking to find that info out before I order it.

Gotcha. Yeah you should be good. It's not a drop bracket. You'll need to completely remove the OEM bracket and then weld it in the same location. If you can weld, it's pretty easy and robust. The worst part is grinding/cutting off the OEM bracket.

 

[jjvw]

I will be doing crazy wheeling and have reached the point where I’m extending beyond the capabilities of the factory single shear mounting location and joint style. ...

How did you determine this? If this is true, why isn't hydro assist steering a high priority if you are so concerned about the track bar bracket?

 

[Dylpickle200]

How did you determine this? If this is true, why isn't hydro assist steering a high priority if you are so concerned about the track bar bracket?

How did I determine what? That my track bar is at the limit of its capabilities? Because with hi line fenders the next interference point is the bind that the single shear joint is placed in under full flex. I can remove a ton of bump stop going to a double shear set up as the singular joint can only move so far before it’s put into a bind and contacts the mount. Not sure what you’re getting at with hydro assist though? I mean it’s definitely in the plans but isn’t a necessity for the issue I’m trying to solve going double shear… I just don’t want to buy the bracket and waste time mocking it up if someone in the forum knows if it’s the proper length and won’t cause any bump steer..

 

[Dylpickle200]

I


Gotcha. Yeah you should be good. It's not a drop bracket. You'll need to completely remove the OEM bracket and then weld it in the same location. If you can weld, it's pretty easy and robust. The worst part is grinding/cutting off the OEM bracket.

Thanks! Talked to Barnes today and they gave me some measurements I can use to verify everything before I order. That was my concern if it dropped or raised in any way. The only time I’ve ever seen this bracket used was on systems that were completely custom track bars and steering set ups lol I only have a high pinion 30 in the front right now so I wouldn’t wanna waste all the time fabbing a steering / track bar set up when I’m likely going to axle swap in the future

 

[jjvw]

How did I determine what? That my track bar is at the limit of its capabilities? Because with hi line fenders the next interference point is the bind that the single shear joint is placed in under full flex. I can remove a ton of bump stop going to a double shear set up as the singular joint can only move so far before it’s put into a bind and contacts the mount. Not sure what you’re getting at with hydro assist though? I mean it’s definitely in the plans but isn’t a necessity for the issue I’m trying to solve going double shear… I just don’t want to buy the bracket and waste time mocking it up if someone in the forum knows if it’s the proper length and won’t cause any bump steer..

Mine has 12" travel front shocks. I am using a RockJock track bar on the factory single shear frame mount. There is room at the frame for more shock travel at the frame mount before it goes into bind.

Range of motion is not your problem. If you are concerned about the track bar mount surviving, then you need to think about hydro assist taking a significant amount of steering load off of the track bar and moving it to the axle housing.

 

[Dylpickle200]

Mine has 12" travel front shocks. I am using a RockJock track bar on the factory single shear frame mount. There is room at the frame for more shock travel at the frame mount before it goes into bind.
View attachment 629386
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Range of motion is not your problem. If you are concerned about the track bar mount surviving, then you need to think about hydro assist taking a significant amount of steering load off of the track bar and moving it to the axle housing.

Im not too concerned with ripping the frame mount off although I have seen it happen before I’m more concerned with the stress on the joint because I have a Jks bar I’m sure the joint would break before my frame side bracket does. How much bump stop are you running though on those 12” travel shocks and how much of that travel is up travel? Everything I’ve ever read says a min of 3” of bump stop is required to prevent the bar from binding and that’s not even considering if you’re running a dif cover that it doesn’t clear. That’s 2” more bump than I’d need to run the RC set up. I have the JKS track bar currently it’s a very similar set up to the Currie granted probably weaker and lower quality joint but I’m at about the same bump stop set up as most people I’ve seen running the Currie bar that’s why I chose to go with the cheaper option. Other than joint strength the rock jock provided little to no benefit over the jks as far as flex.

 

[jjvw]

Im not too concerned with ripping the frame mount off although I have seen it happen before I’m more concerned with the stress on the joint because I have a Jks bar I’m sure the joint would break before my frame side bracket does. How much bump stop are you running though on those 12” travel shocks and how much of that travel is up travel? Everything I’ve ever read says a min of 3” of bump stop is required to prevent the bar from binding and that’s not even considering if you’re running a dif cover that it doesn’t clear. That’s 2” more bump than I’d need to run the RC set up. I have the JKS track bar currently it’s a very similar set up to the Currie granted probably weaker and lower quality joint but I’m at about the same bump stop set up as most people I’ve seen running the Currie bar that’s why I chose to go with the cheaper option. Other than joint strength the rock jock provided little to no benefit over the jks as far as flex.

6" up, 6" down. The bump stop is what it needs to be to make the jounces do their job.

You do not have a track bar mount problem.

If you want to find out where and if the track bar joint at the frame goes into bind, then you need to fully cycle the axles throughout the entire shock travel without springs installed. Understand that the ball contacting the poly race is not bind. Keep going.

 

[cmoore]

The most expensive part about doing a new tbar and the barnes mount is time. If the plans are axle swap down the line, I dont see a negative to doing this now “unless” that new axle would be running full hydro with a forward stretch (then the new mount would likely be in the wrong place).

I dont like the idea of a hydro ram against XJ HP30 outers. I know people do it, but I think the outers are already a weak link. Having a ram leveraging against them on technical terrain makes me nervous.

JEEP: Just Enjoy Every Project

ps you guys are up early (or late?).

 

[jjvw]

...

I dont like the idea of a hydro ram against XJ HP30 outers. I know people do it, but I think the outers are already a weak link. Having a ram leveraging against them on technical terrain makes me nervous.

...

Is this a real problem we are seeing?

 

[Apparition]

Is this a real problem we are seeing?

No

 

[cmoore]

Is this a real problem we are seeing?

Ive seen enough balljoint and even kingpin failures in my life to not envy the little XJ30 w/hydro. Besides on 35s (about the 30’s limit imho) a good pump and sg400 will turn just fine.

 

[Dylpickle200]

6" up, 6" down. The bump stop is what it needs to be to make the jounces do their job.

You do not have a track bar mount problem.

If you want to find out where and if the track bar joint at the frame goes into bind, then you need to fully cycle the axles throughout the entire shock travel without springs installed. Understand that the ball contacting the poly race is not bind. Keep going.

The bump stop only exists to prevent interference and damage components.

If I’m running 3” of bump stop because my track bar is starting to bind at a single shear mount. Going to a double shear will alleviate this issue and allow me to remove bump stop until I reach my next interference point. I appreciate your concern, but with all due respect I wasn’t asking for advice on what will work better for my rig. I was asking for advice on which double shear mount will work better for the track bar I’m going to be buying.

Although I am interested because you never answered how many inches of bump stop you have. I’d be interested to see your rig at full flex. And see 1. How stressed your joint is at the frame side mount. And 2. How much of that 6” of uptravel on the shock you’re actually using

 

[Dylpickle200]

The most expensive part about doing a new tbar and the barnes mount is time. If the plans are axle swap down the line, I dont see a negative to doing this now “unless” that new axle would be running full hydro with a forward stretch (then the new mount would likely be in the wrong place).

I dont like the idea of a hydro ram against XJ HP30 outers. I know people do it, but I think the outers are already a weak link. Having a ram leveraging against them on technical terrain makes me nervous.

JEEP: Just Enjoy Every Project

ps you guys are up early (or late?).

Ain’t nothing to it but to do it! I arguably enjoy building the jeep just as much if not more than I do driving it. I’ll probably end up fabricating through many iterations of this jeep before I ever get rid of it lol that won’t bother me none at all. Time well spent in my eyes