Spring Hanger Ramps
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Don't let this happen to you!
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Drivers side spring ramp before installation
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Spring ramp installed on passenger side. The spring ramp is welded on in
front of the rear spring hanger.
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The spring hangers on CJ-7s and late model CJ-5s are large and they hang
down low. They have an angular shape that tends to catch on rock ledges.
I'd rather not count the number of times my progress on the trail came to
a dead stop when I caught my spring hanger on a rock. I finally got fed up
and fabricated some simple spring hanger ramps.
I happen to have purchased some scrap metal at a low price to fabricate
a bumper, it was 4"x4"x3/16" angle iron. This metal was handy, but anything
of similar size and shape would work. I cut one side down to make it a
4"x2"x3/16" piece of angle 8" long. Once I had it cut for length and width,
I cut the angled sides. There wasn't any real science to the process,
the angles did not need to be perfect. My goals were to have one side
match the angle of the spring hanger and the top side parallel to the
frame rail. The way I made my spring hanger ramps, the drivers and passenger
side ramps were mirror images of one another.
It only took an hour or so to design and make the cuts. Once the pieces
where cut, I took a grinder to prepare the frame for welding. I welded
a fairly long bead on the side and only about a 1/2" bead on the front
edge. Once it was welded on, I hit it with some rattle can flat black
for protection.
I just wish I'd done the modification sooner. I'd been planning to do
the modification for a while, but did not get to it before a trip to
Las Cruces. I must of taken the strap half a dozen times because I was
hung up on the spring hangers. After the ramps were installed, a little
extra gas was all that was required to slide over extremely high stair
steps. The ramp also decreases the chances of breaking a spring hanger
off. I've seen these hangers break off on the trail and fixing a broken
spring hanger on the trail is not easy without an on-board welder.
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