belly pan on the Dodge diesel
 

I panned about 85% of my truck so far.
The frame of the truck is not straight. It bends up near the forward leaf spring mounts.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/z...oroblast15.jpg
To keep a frame jack point accessible, I made a jacking extension with 4" channel and 2" heavy angle. It is bolted to both the frame flange and the face of the frame, using existing and new bolt holes. After I fabbed those, I installed them and then jacked the truck on the new extensions.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/z...oroblast14.jpg
For the framework, I used some galvanized channel from a surplus metals yard. Each 10' length weighs 2.8 pounds and I picked up 10 for $14.
I utilized 1/4" threaded rod and nuts, drilled and tapped the frame to stand off the channels.
This made the whole grid work adjustable. When I had it the way I wanted, I trimmed off the excess rod.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/z...loroblast5.jpg

Some of the channel and rod "foundation".

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/z...oroblast13.jpg

Looking forward, you can see the crossmember is the lowest point.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/z...oroblast12.jpg

Where I could not get a good parallel surface, I welded on tabs to drill through.
Here is the detail around the left A-frame. I can adjust the front framework lower if needed.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/z...oroblast11.jpg

Same area, farther back and outboard. Note that I triangulated the channel to give it some stiffness.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/z...loroblast8.jpg

front area is about done.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/z...loroblast7.jpg

coroplast is attached with self drilling #10 screws and 3/16" fender washers. It was installed back to front, with simple lap joints.
It is below the front frame, so a pocket is needed for hoisting up there. I could go back and make a frame extension in this area if I desire.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/z...oroblast27.jpg

cut a window out below the muffler. It was the closest part to the pan, so I will let some of the engine cooling air out there.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/z...oroblast29.jpg

same area looking forward. I did not go below the tank and went around it. I did not want to get the pan lower in the back under any circumstance, I wanted it to relieve pressure as it went aft. Going under the tank looked to be too much.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/z...oroblast30.jpg

folded detail of front corner. This area will be behind a new bumper/spoiler but I had to finish it off and keep the truck going till then.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/z...oroblast25.jpg
Today I brainstormed on that last 3 feet. I can go below the spare and close it in completely. I'll cut a door in the belly to get the spare out if needed. This got the angle to near 4 degrees.
I cannot maintain that to the outside edges due to the design of the boxes, so it will be tapered to the left and right.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/z...oroblast24.jpg

you can see the taper in the framework here.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/z...oroblast23.jpg

What the shop floor looked like after last night's flurry of trimming. I call it a "coroblast".
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/z...oroblast22.jpg

I'm one sheet short :(
The back will go unskinned till I get back on the hoist and have the materials.

Wow! Looks great and that back bumper is pretty special too. From your last photo I wonder if you will have a deflector to keep the section behind the axle from scooping up air. My belly pan v1.0 hit a gust of wind and was laying in the road behind me. I learned to make sure the leading edges are very secure. The trailing edges are less of a concern.

Sweet work!

Thanks guys :)
I stopped on the way today and took a few "money shots" :D
I do have that leading edge of the diffuser too low; I could not see it till I got it down on the suspension. I will raise it 0.5" and it will fold up behind the rear axle for 6" or so to insure it will not catch air.
I took some angle measurements and the diffuser was at 4.5 degrees. raising the leading edge 0.5" will get it right at 4.
I am on a 350 mile road trip today. It feels better in the wind, and seems to coast better/farther. I have no cooling fan, 75% of my radiator and grill openings blocked and the temps are good. I was just bumping into 190 F or so climbing a 4500' pass @ 45 F Outside Air Temp (OAT), Trans got to a high of 171 F. On the flats it is running 187 F and 152 F @ 60 F OAT. I have a 190 F thermostat in there.
Temps run up with the EGT. Cruising EGT is high 300-low 400's on the flats @ 60 MPH.

One really sour note: one of the supposedly "checked out" injectors is leaking at the body. I will be demanding a full refund :(

$$$$$$$$$
 

Looks like a money tree! Nice fabrication.Especially the adjustability of the superstructure.No doubt it will copied.Diesel refineries probably won't like it at all.;)

Nice work.
And that bumper. Wow ! I thought mine was big.

Well, I "want" this to work for the OP . . . but if it does it hardly leaves me with any excuses not to the do the same (the same way). Ahh, I've got it: I don't have a lift. [Etc.]

I really expect that the clean-up of the rear will be noticeable. Past midpoint on these trucks starts to really get "dirty".

Looks great, and I look forward to more!

.

Did a bunch of driving today in high 80's temps. The belly pan has taken a set in a few places :)
Posted a new high MPG for towing, and was able to drive 60 MPH and not need the cooling fans except when merging for about 20 seconds, and twice to cool down at a rest area before shutting down. Ambient temps were 60 to 80 when towing.

Dodge
 

Since pickups are some of the worst offenders,belly wise,with deep ladder-type body on frame construction,you're looking to knock off 0.07 from your Cd according to Carr's research.And it doesn't
'show.Nice!:)

so now I'm down to .60 eh?
:eek: :p

0.60
 

I've deleted my comment about the Me-109.It's a cinch that I'm attempting to vibrate way above my assigned frequency whenever I get into aeronautical stuff.
Anyway,I rehashed the numbers:
At sea-level,the 1,200-hp engine,working through a variable-pitch prop of 0.78 efficiency delivers 920-lbs of thrust,plus 140-lbs from the exhaust,for a total 1060-lbs.
At terminal velocity,drag equals thrust.
At sea-level the plane will max out at 292 mph.
The frontal projected area of the entire plane is about 31.112 sq-ft.
Setting F= 1060-lbs,and using standard density,solving for the frontal-area based drag coefficient yields Cd 0.156 (1984 Ford Probe-IV ).
While the 0.60 Dodge is a bit higher,it looks like it is possible to match the Cd of the Messerschmitt.Of course,it will no longer ;look' like a 'Dodge' but it will have the low Cd.
The piece de resistance would be matching a 1935 Douglas DC-3,at Cd 0.12!

Wow, you did good. Interested in see what sort of results you see.

I was just joshing ya, the only source I can find is 0.44 for my truck. I think it is more like .46 with the bed lower like I have it.

Nice work. Do you have any photos of the truck on the ground with that- ie, does it show at all?

Here are the money shots, down on the suspension at a normal ride height.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/z...oroblast33.jpg

I put the pan inside the arms of the A-frames themselves.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/z...oroblast34.jpg

The edge of the plastic shows here, and especially where I could not get a screw in there because of the lift arms. I plan on using an aluminum carpet edge to clamp the plastic to the aluminum running board, with countersunk screws. I will paint the final edges with a rubberized undercoat.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/z...oroblast38.jpg

The rear axle is in line or above the pan, except for the spring clamp bolts and shock mounts. I really did not want to squeeze the air. It starts out at ~10.5" ground clearance up front, maybe 10" under the crossmember, then tapers up to about 13" at the axle. I could lower the front section to match, but it would be effectively lower than the lowest front suspension component if I did. The crossmember is only about 25" wide in the low area.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/z...oroblast37.jpg

It is down about 5" below the original bumper, but that will all get covered by the new bumper/spoiler. I ran with this much radiator cover over the pass the other day, and no fan.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/z...oroblast36.jpg

would your box/what you tow allow you to put a flip kit on it(move the axle to the other side of the spring).

One heckuva change. We can "forget" both how long and how deep is the undercarriage of a full-sized pickup truck in comparison to the short and shallow area of bellypan coverage on an eco-commuter.

Thus I doubt it would pass muster by the Border Patrol at their checkpoints . . an irony of efficiency.

.

that would be impossible. The axle is only a few inches from the frame when loaded down now.

They've never been shy about taking things apart :)

Looks excellent SkyKing. I can't see much scope for improvement, but i'm sure the road will find something.

Wanna do a Ford?

correction
 

skyking,please go back above to see my correction to the Me-109 comment.I totally blew it.But corrected now.
0.44 is what the T-100 was rated at by Toyota so it should respond similarly to mods.With the original 'aeroshell' the belly pan pushed me to 30 mpg territory.
It will interesting to see how the Mopar responds.:)

On my Saturn putting the back half of the belly pan helped more than adding front half.

I know, I can't wait to get the last part on there.

Pulled the front section and took the truck in for alignment, and found out another good feature of the belly pan: Pinpointing oil leaks.
With no breeze under there the oil drops right down on the pan. Look up and there it is. :)

The 0.44 for a 2nd Gen Dodge RAM is right. At max it'd be 0.46. PickupTruck.com - 2000 Dodge Ram Pickup Specifications My 3rd Gen is a 0.52; I am at a terrible disadvantage. The only 3rd Gen RAMs with a 0.44 were the SRT-10s.

That is interesting. I've covered from the front bumper to the leading edge of the rear wheel wells...guess I need to figure out the remaining 8-10 feet.

Skyking, you and I will have to compare notes sometime. I fabbed a piece in the front to make a little splitter lip, in addition to the belly panels. I finally figured out how to shrink a picture to attach. Not a belly shot, but it shows my wheel covers and side skirt.

Nice wheel covers. If you look at the front detail of my pan, just imagine all the chrome bumper is gone, replaced by a wood one that will extend right down to that level.
I got some more coroplast the other day, I will get that back part knocked out early next week. I had the front pan off to change oil today. I have not made an oil change hole in it yet. I just can't bear to hack on it.

I'm drooling...

are you driving out here or flying me out there ? :D

Thanks Skyking. Those are the 0.100" LEXAN, cut to 20.5" diameter, tied on with 550/parachute cord. I should have cut them to 20.75 or a little more, as my 20" wheels measure 21" on the face rim lip to rim lip. I also put pieces of foam weather stripping between the wheels and LEXAN, to keep them from scratching the paint. I actually have reinstalled them now, but with 14" nylon zip-ties. I cinched them down good so they don't flop. Next fastener to test is velcro strips...

I've toyed with removing the black plastic under the chrome bumper, and using a piece of 1/8" ABS in a smooth curve to the front suspension framework, then straight back after that. I kind of like the look of the splitter though.
If you look carefully, you can see the 0.040" aluminum sheet metal panel extending from the splitter to the frame by the front wheel... No brackets there; strictly using the splitter and the brackets I fabbed on the back of the frame structure to hold the first panel in place.

Where did you get this info? I've been looking for an "official" Cd & frontal area for my truck.

Mpg numbers?

Hello Bandit! If you click the link to my fuel log, you'll see it is not a primary rig so I have to take the long view on it all. I will have some results, but they will be compromised by an injector change. I have no inexpensive means to get an instant readout. It is a mechanically injected engine with no instrumentation beyond the 34 gallon fuel tank.

Sorry brother, I've been busy as of late... Here's a couple sources, but I went by the Dodge site's numbers:

I found some figures on Allpar today which have a lower Cd than I recall: Dodge Ram 1500 pickup trucks: what's new and what's coming
These are the figures I used: http://www.media.chrysler.com/dcxms/...ifications.pdf True, the 4x4 might be a little higher than my 2wd, but I figure it's not too far off. My goal is to get my truck's Cd down to about 0.35, which is where a BMW X5 is... Area is 34 sq ft. Yuck.
Dave

Will we see an update of this thread on the newer truck?

Not a pan, but I am on the lookout for a large piece of belting for a front dam and side skirts between the wheels. Having better clearance and 4wd, this truck may be hard on any pan installation. Now that I have it I am more likely to get into sloppier stuff or at least not avoid it completely. It is amazing how much caked mud I have removed from it already, and there is more that has to be carefully loosened where it is near wiring and hoses, etc.
My brief experience with pans has shown that if there is a gap, a rock will get up in there. If it is mud the weight that can end up on the wrong side of things may tear them down.

You've pretty well sold me on skirts versus pan. Though aft of the rear axle still has promise (given an aero lid). Move the spare tire to the bed.

My spare occupies a pretty good semblance of a diffuser IMO.