Old School Belly Bar Replaced by Torklift Talons
Last year my wife and I traveled about the West. In particular Utah, and in particular a spectacular place called Muley Point. We hope to get back there soon. We have memories of the most beautiful views we have ever seen.
And we have memories of an unnerving collision with our Old School Belly Bar and a rock outcropping that nearly turned over the camper, and left our rear tie downs broken. How the front tie downs survived is beyond me.
If you look closely you'll see there is no rear tie down.
I decided then to replace the Belly Bar. It gave entirely too little clearance for these close encounters. It probably took away three critical inches.
I talked to Curt Oetjen of Kamper's Supply in nearby Carterville, Illinois. www.kampersupply.comCurt told me that in his 35 year experience Torklift is the Number One best tie down. He hadn't seen the new Aluminum Talons but he agreed to install them for me. Turns out it was a snap. Taking off the old Belly Bar was far more time. Altogether it was around 2 hours for the entire operation.
He placed the front ones way outside to clear the side of the truck. One concern that he had was if the truck would handle differently from having a solid bar stabilizing both sides. Later when I drove the truck away I didn't notice any issues whatsoever.
Here you can see where the rear tie downs actually wrap around the frame member instead of sticking inside the tube.
But the special payoff according to Curt, second only to ground clearance, is that my truck weighs over a hundred pounds less on the crucial rear axle. It turns out that the new Talons are made from military grade aluminum for both strength and light weight. That Belly Bar was a real monster.
I feel more comfortable knowing that I have more clearance. It adds to the sense of safety and confidence off road. And Off Road is what all of us are about.
And we have memories of an unnerving collision with our Old School Belly Bar and a rock outcropping that nearly turned over the camper, and left our rear tie downs broken. How the front tie downs survived is beyond me.
If you look closely you'll see there is no rear tie down.
I decided then to replace the Belly Bar. It gave entirely too little clearance for these close encounters. It probably took away three critical inches.
I talked to Curt Oetjen of Kamper's Supply in nearby Carterville, Illinois. www.kampersupply.comCurt told me that in his 35 year experience Torklift is the Number One best tie down. He hadn't seen the new Aluminum Talons but he agreed to install them for me. Turns out it was a snap. Taking off the old Belly Bar was far more time. Altogether it was around 2 hours for the entire operation.
He placed the front ones way outside to clear the side of the truck. One concern that he had was if the truck would handle differently from having a solid bar stabilizing both sides. Later when I drove the truck away I didn't notice any issues whatsoever.
Here you can see where the rear tie downs actually wrap around the frame member instead of sticking inside the tube.
But the special payoff according to Curt, second only to ground clearance, is that my truck weighs over a hundred pounds less on the crucial rear axle. It turns out that the new Talons are made from military grade aluminum for both strength and light weight. That Belly Bar was a real monster.
I feel more comfortable knowing that I have more clearance. It adds to the sense of safety and confidence off road. And Off Road is what all of us are about.
