What are Dreambeams?
Ford I-Beam trucks have a much different suspension than most other trucks. Spindles are non-existent for lowering, using lowered coil springs cause more alignment problems than you can solve. Then we built Dream Beams.
In 1965 Ford introduced their “Twin I Beam” suspension, a simple, rugged suspension consisting of a pair of cast beams in the rough shape of an I. Looking like a steel I beam found in building construction, the factory beams are cast ductile iron and machined just like spindles. This makes them precise and repeatable, every beam machined exactly the same. A very important attribute when it comes to alignment. Alignment can be a sticky issue because there is very little if any adjustment available on I-beam suspensions (No upper control arm). This just means in order to align properly, beams must be accurate. Which brings us back to – What are Dream Beams? You have probably seen dropped I-beams made of three flat pieces of metal welded together in the shape of an I. Some are pretty accurate and then there are others. The problem with beams constructed this way is in the design itself. It requires welding three flat metal surfaces with long welds. This generates a lot of heat, which causes warping, otherwise known as “weld creep”. This would not be a problem if you had some control of the “creep”, but sadly it warps the steel a little different every time. This makes the beams manufactured this way a little different every time one is welded up. Big trouble for alignment. But why is this important? Because there is no way to adjust caster with beams. It is set by the construction of the beam, and if the beam is not consistent (because of weld creep) during construction you will likely have some alignment issues.
Why are Dream Beams Round
So what are Dream Beams? Dream Beams are tubular in design, using thick walled DOM (seamless) tubing which is telescoping/nested (tubing slips inside of each other) and does not suffer from “weld creep”. Dream Beams are welded in a radial manner (mostly in the fixture) which almost eliminates any twisting or movement of the steel as its being welded. It is this reason that most installers and a bunch of magazine editorial has praised the DJM Dream Beam as the easiest, most accurate way to lower Ford I-Beam trucks. They are available for the king pin trucks back to 1965 all the way to the most current F350 Superduty’s.