I have a 04 2500HD EC SB LLY. I go to the sand dunes a lot and have experienced severe wheel hop when the going gets tough. I am sure this will lead to axle failure. Will gas shocks help with the wheel hop on a 2500 HD?

imho i would say no.......i think the only thing that will help is traction bars.
i'm sure someone else will chime in.

Take a look at the Traction Bars here:

www.socaldiesel.com (http://www.socaldiesel.com) :D

what helped me the most in sand was letting AIR out of the tires..

Diesel Power. I've been going to the sand for twenty years or more. The first thing I do is air down. What I wonder is if gas shocks will help eliminate the wheel hop. My previous truck was a Z-71 with the Bilstiens and I did not have a wheel hop problem. I just thought someone may have had a similar problem and tried the shocks.

I noticed it will hop the wheels easier than my old Z71. I think it's due to the extra torque. I tried easier throttle control and it seemed to help. Giving it less gas when starting out.

Trippin, is anyone here using your design? What are the articulation reports?

Trippin, is anyone here using your design? What are the articulation reports?
It is not my design they are (Cal) "Trippin Tracs."
I'm not sure what you mean by "articulation report".
AR-TIC-U-LA-TION.
Too many syllables for my tiny little brain. :D

I think masterp2 wants to know if the traction bars hinder the suspensions ability to flex or cross up if that makes sense.

I think masterp2 wants to know if the traction bar hinder the suspensions ability to flex or cross up if that makes sense.

IMHO, that is the beauty of the (Cal) "Trippin Tracs" :D In that they do not hinder the suspension's travel as other style traction bars do.<O:p</O:p

A hindrance of travel generally occurs when we ask the rear axle housing and traction bars to travel in different arcs. As the rear suspension compresses and rebounds, the axle housing is really traveling in an arc. Picture the axle housing from the side of the truck with the truck on jack stands and the wheels off the ground. ...........now visualize unbolting the rear leaf spring mount at the shackle and let the housing fall to the ground. The axle housing will travel in an arc with the front leaf spring mount acting as the pivot or center of our circle/arc. <O:p</O:p

Therefore it is important to design our traction bar system with the mounting points very near the center line of the axle housing and the center of the front leaf spring bolt. Doing so allows the suspension to compress and rebound freely without bind because both the traction system and the rear axle housing are now traveling in the same arc.<O:p</O:p

A fairly common traction bar system would have the strut links mount on the frame somewhere forward of the front leaf spring bolt. Now visualize the arcs of travel that are described by the axle housing and the traction system mounted in this fashion. It becomes fairly easy to see they will travel in different arcs, yet they are bolted together, so at some point they will bind as the arcs conflict with each other. While this second system may accomplish the original goal of eliminating axle wrap and transference of forces for additional traction, it does so at a cost the ground clearance and drivability of the vehicle.<O:p</O:p

<O:p</O:p

While it is true that our leaf springs start out with a small amount of arc built into them, as the leaf spring compresses it becomes longer dimensionally from front mounting bolt to rear mounting bolt until the spring is completely flat or straight. Most of this dimension change occurs in the leaf spring behind the mounting point of the axle housing and is taken up by the pivot motion of the rear shackles. <O:p</O:p

Then again the above could just be the ramblings of someone who has inhaled far too much diesel exhaust. :D
<O:p</O:p

I encourage you to form you own opinions.

trippin, do you have any pics of your traction bars installed on a truck?

trippin, do you have any pics of your traction bars installed on a truck?
Diesel Power has some pics of them on his truck here:

http://www.wackywack.com/dmax.htm

Same U-bolts?

Same U-bolts?
Yes.