Tow rig Suspension and Axle upgrades questions (4th Gen Dodge)

Im close to the point on my 68 Crew Build that i am needing suspension upgrades so it doesn't drive like a DODGE and clear a larger tire. I dont want to just throw on a cheap rough country lift or drop $8k on a Carli lift either. Its a custom truck but not going stupid on a crazy custom lift. Want to stay in the 2.5-4'' range to have good road manners and clear 35-37'' tires
What is everyone running in the 3-4'' Lift to improve Daily driving ride/tow quality and not break the bank?

Chassis and suspension is a 2011 Dodge 3500 4x4

Re: Tow rig Suspension (4th Gen Dodge)

I sent you a couple of texts. Does that truck have air bags in the rear? If not, I've got something else for you....

Re: Tow rig Suspension (4th Gen Dodge)

That's badass!!!!

I vote for a mini pack, longer non-hd front springs, and some decent shocks.

Re: Tow rig Suspension (4th Gen Dodge)

I have Thuren 3" coils up front, Carli mini pack in the rear, Thuren white body shocks, Carli front + 5/8" control arms, Carli adjustable track bar.

I bought the springs and shocks new. The control arms and track bar I bought from a member on CumminsForum.

I have been very happy with the ride and height.

I am running 35x12.50x17 Toyos on factory aluminum wheels.

2012 Crew Cab, single rear wheel, short bed.

James

Re: Tow rig Suspension (4th Gen Dodge)

JMH.. that helps give me a good starting spot. Th way my cab and bed sit are a good bit higher than the factory cab. 3'' should alow me to run a 37... worse case 35's
The tires on it now are 305 70 17 which comes out to a 33.8 x 12.1

Re: Tow rig Suspension (4th Gen Dodge)

I'd say run Carli or KORE front coils and biggest shocks your willing to spend the money on. And the rear mini packs with airbags if you need the extra firmness. I have KORE coils and leaf pack on mine and it made a substantial difference over the stock setup. Only complaint I have is not enough shock with the slightly larger bilsteins.A friend of mine has smooth body 2.0 foxs and its definitely better. I thought Motobilt had an adapter for running a better shock in the front but cant find it anymore. Somebody here had one at a reasonable price. Probably wouldn't be that hard to fan one up and Ryan at Accutune is the best place to go for shocks and tech. I've heard the same good things about the Carli and thuren coils. Awesome build by the way. I've been watching your build thread and you really know how to work that body

It was ballistic fab. They have the adapters for 60 bucks

Re: Tow rig Suspension (4th Gen Dodge)

If you gained that much with the body mounts you will definelty clear 37s. I am pretty confident I could get 37s on mine depending on how aggressive the side lugs are and assuming I stayed on stock wheels.

The Carli arms are +5/8" longer and the rectangle tube is offset inboard on the bushing sleeves to give slightly more room for tire clearance with steering at full lock. Thuren control arms are bent inboard to give better tire clearance at full lock also.

When I first raised mine I got a case of death wobble, once I put bigger tires on and got a good alignment it went away.

Re: Tow rig Suspension (4th Gen Dodge)

I am really considering ditching all of the Dodge suspension so it will actually ride nice and running Carli 3" progressive rate leaf springs in the rear for a nice ride and a set of air bags for towing.
And for the front ditching all of the old Dodge stuff and building a 4 link with Trac bar and 2.5-3" coilovers. My main concern is do I reuse the ball joint Dodge Dana 60 that will have to get new ball joints every 30k miles with the larger tires or swap axles to something else. Also heims or bushings or mixture of both on links

Re: Tow rig Suspension (4th Gen Dodge)

When I rebuilt my fourth gen from a wreck I really wish I would have just put a new super duty front axle under it.

The dodge axle ended up being bent and I had Ryan retube it to correct bend and put Carli ball joints in. I feel like Would have been much better off with the super duty axle. The carli ball joints have about 20k on them and seem fine so far. The geometry between the upper and lower ball joint really looks screwed up and I think is a major contributor to the pre mature ball joint failures.

Note also my truck was not hit hard at all in the front and the tube bent. Sounds like it is pretty common and easy to bend them. The ram 4500 and 5500 had a different axle under them up front and may be another good option.

Re: Tow rig Suspension (4th Gen Dodge)

It's not a Dana 60 front, it's an AAM 9.25". I've seen these axles take a lot of hard miles and a lot of abuse. Just put upgraded ball joints in it when the stock ones get worn out.

The 4500 and 5500 do not have a different front axle. Its just got bigger/ heavier duty stuff from the C's outwards.

Re: Tow rig Suspension (4th Gen Dodge)

Could of swore that I laid under several C&C 5500s on the dealership lot as I was looking for solutions to my bent 9.25 AAM and they had a different manufacture casting mark than AAM.

Still think the 9.25 AAM is crap based on my experince with it and if I had to do it over I would not have sunk the $ I did to fix it.

My truck is a 2012 2500 SWB 6.7 for reference.

At about 80k the axle ujoints started to wear out also and I put a free spin kit on it along with new ujoints.

Re: Tow rig Suspension (4th Gen Dodge)

I just know there has to be a better axle choice that will last longer. Every Dodge I've had with larger than stock tires, I've had to replace ball joints and steered like a bus. If I'm going to drop some coin for coilovers I definitely want to do it around something that isn't going to wear out in 30k miles due to running 37"+ tires. What year super duty axles are the best to run? I can go ahead a pick one up and get all the excess tabs out of the way

I think 05+ and just use the stock radius arm mounts for a parallel 4 link like the aftermarket lift kits do.


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Received a phone call from an Awesome dude this morning and got a 07 super duty axle lined up for this project. Still have to figure out what i am going to do for the front suspension.

Ryan, if i go the coilover route.... 2.5'' or 3''?

zayne2427 said:

Ryan, if i go the coilover route.... 2.5'' or 3''?

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This is going to be one badass rig!!

I'd go 2.5, they're the perfect size for solid axle one ton rigs. 3.0 coilovers are too big and only worth the trouble if you really need the cooling.

Still large enough to support the full body and the 6.7 cummins engine?

zayne2427 said:

Still large enough to support the full body and the 6.7 cummins engine?

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Oh yeah, no problem with the valving. The hardest thing is getting them to work with dual rate springs, especially if you choose a short shock.

After doing some measuring it looks like I'll be able to fit a 12" coil over. After lifting it 3 inches I will have approximately 25" eye to eye in the current axle location and gain a little room as the Axle will be push forward approximately 3/4-1". It shows the 12" to be 20.6 collapsed and 32.6 extended at least that was for Kings. I'm sure they vary to other brands

12" is a good amount of travel! Can you try to squeeze in more up travel? It'd be nice to cycle a clean 5" which really means 6" of shaft showing at ride height. You'll loose 5/8" to the bumper and 3/8" to safety margin.

Fox and King 2.5's are pretty similar in length.