What are the pro's and cons of hydraulic steering? Also, where can I find the parts necessary to convert to hydraulic steering?

I noticed in the super stock rules for ITPA that we can run hydraulic steering and I am wondering if there is any benefit to going that way.

If you switch over to Hydraulic Power Steering you don't have to ever worry about it quitting on you like it does if you throw a belt ..But it does use lots of juice to run .. I have two big a$$ battery's on my weight bar .. one for the Steering and one for the starting and ignition system.
Before I went to the Hydraulic ram steering I just use the pump hooked to the power steering box that was on the truck.

ShaZam

Hydraulic steering doesn't use horsepower for one. Second it gets pretty hard to turn the front tires when you get a lot of weight hanging over the front of the truck. More room under the hood and it's a whole lot easier to steer. Most people use a pump and motor off of a forklift. The stock steering box can be used or you can use the valving setup off a forklift or hydraulic steer tractor. If you go with valve off of a forklift you can get rid of your steering shaft for more header clearance. I don't think you would want to drive this on the road though. Do a search on Rock Ram. It's a hydraulic steering setup for rockcrawling. It might give you a shortcut.

Hey Alan,

Check out the steering setup on a combine, this makes for a easy setup. And the pump is a Barnes unit typically used for snowplows and such. They are under $400 brand new. Where you at the meeting this fall???

Travis

Yes, I went to the fall meeting to meet some of the people, and find out more about the club. Did you go?

I'd like to run my standard power steering box but supply it with oil from an outside source. What type of pump flow and pressure do i need to keep the power steering box working well. Gallons per minute and psi would be good if you guys know.

Alan: There is always the hydraulic steering parts on Ebay. Whatever happened to the CJ heads that you won the bid on Ebay?

I finally got the dudes phone number from ebay and called him Thursday. He claims the heads have been shipped. Seemed like a nice enough kid on the phone, but you know how that goes.
I had asked him in an email early last week to email me the DHL tracking number, and when I spoke with him, he brought it up and said he'd have his wife send it to me, but so far, I haven't gotten anything from them. So, I'm going to call again Monday, and if they don't give me the tracking number while I'm on the phone, I most likely will contact ebay and possibly paypal to assist in resolution.

Alan

Jason, order a power unit from Northern tool and regulate the pressure to around 1200 psi for the stock steering box. That is what I'm doing now until after the season is over, then I'll be going to a full hydro setup.
I got my power unit from Force America (800-798-7711). Talked to Tom, and he is a tech official for the Outlaw pulling league, so he knew exactly what I was doing and what I needed. Cost me a little more than Northern, but, I got a custom built unit for my setup. They even sent me extra springs, so I can change the pressure when I go to a full hydro setup this winter.

Alan

Talked with the guy's wife last night and got the tracking number. Went online to check the status, and found the the package was sitting on hold in Toronto. I called DHL to find out what the deal is, and they couldn't tell me much since it originated in Canada. They opened an inquiry and are susposed to call me back by 5pm today to let me know what they've found out. They recommended I call the shipper and have them call from the Canadian side to find out what is going on, so, I called back and she tried then called and said they were only open 9-6pm so she is supposed to call today and then let me know what is going on.

Hmmm, I'm thinking I won't be buying from outside the US again.


Alan

Going across the canadian border is usually a nightmare. We do alot of equipment testing in alberta and Saskachewan. Anythime we want to ship parts to or from the US there is always a hold up. We once tired to drive a service truck in to Canada and the thing sat at the border for 3 weeks. Bad part was it never got in anyway. Their still pissed about the mad cow thing from summer of 2004.

I've been tracking the heads since they left the seller, and it's a good thing I did. The heads made it to Toronto, then were sent back to Ottawa because of a new form that is required (something about a broker) I notified the shipper and he called on his end to get it straightned out, now as of this morning, the heads are sitting in Wilmington, OH on Clearance hold. D$m! it. So I've got another call into DHL to find out why it's on hold again.

This has been the most frustrating experience. I know one thing, I won't be buying anything outside of the US again! Too many headaches!

Alan