LT overkill for me?

New questions...

What would happen if I converted to SUA (lets say, a DMZ kit) and ran it with stock shocks until I had more money?

 

Yeah Jtachi in AZ ran the defined spring under with the stock shocks for awhile just dont max out the rear end while you have it set up that way cause you will blow those stock shocks in a heart beat

 

Sounds like mid travel setup.

 

keep in mind that kit will reduce your ground clearence by putting tha springs under the axle instead of over, idk if this would be a big deal for u or not

 

OP I had the AP LT and their full rear setup as well. If your not planning on driving fast or jumping than the AP kit will fit your need. You can still drive a decent speed with the AP it will hold up.

 

I am saving for the Total Chaos 2" over kit for the front. My truck is a DD and I dont want the extra width. Im sort of going for the Expo type of truck not the full on air catching type.

Im not too worried about losing a little ground clearance, I think it will be worth the extra travel. I would strap the rear with the stock shocks.

I guess you can tell I would say LT it and be done

 

My issues have been more to do with high centering and approach/departure angles. Lots of rolling hills with water/wind erosion... not so much rocks and steep hills.

To give some perspective, this is what it looks outside my house.



Flat enough to go moderately fast, but hard ground under your wheels and you risk tearing a wheel off if you're going down an unfamiliar path and a lot of scrub that'll tear wires/hoses off the bottom of a vehicle. We do about 50-60mph across it in work vehicles, but that would tear my Tacoma apart.

 

And here's some nearby terrain that we play in.

 

A mild setup or if you really want the AP lt will fit your need.

 

hahaha x2

 

judging by the terrain in your area, there is no reason for you to go long travel... you'll never get to use it to it's full potential and it'll be a waste of $$$

 

Cool.

Funny how a couple of pictures cuts right to the heart of things.

 

Word. And triple bypasses

Bro just run the defined kit as a few have said earlier with his high clearance brackets, a bed saver type cage and a solid front mid travel. Booya

 

Did some reading up on different points of view last night.

The trails and crawling guys are generally against SUA. They say the whole point of SUA on a desert truck is to reduce spring wrap and lower the truck to compensate for the longer springs. The idea (as you guys know and I learned) is to get the most travel and acceleration with as low as reasonable centre of gravity... hence the lower lifts and smaller tires.

A long travel truck is definitely cool, but I'm not looking to build a bro-truck so I want things to be functional for my intended purpose. I figured that long travel would give me some extra travel that might be useful when wheeling down trails or articulating through dry river beds since it'd keep my centre of gravity low, but at the speeds I'll be going the extra travel won't really be called upon and I'd be better off investing the money building up other parts of the truck.

Still, I thank you dudes for helping me and not heckling me too badly since I learned a lot from this.

 

Looks like we do alot of the same wheeling. My truck is being built for trails and crawling to also be able to tear up the dunes on occasion. I have spent most of my life hitting trails and crawling and just started taking the truck to the dunes so those mentalities prevail in my build.

Anyhow a solid midtravel front with a good set of leafs SUA and you should get what you need.

 

your terrain looks like my terrain and nobody does SUA because it takes away from ground clearence! Tha biggest thing u need to look at is when u flex on trails are u gonna be hitting ur springs, and more than likely that answer is yes with a SUA.

Think about driving through a rut, if your rear axle isnt already touching tha ground its probably damn close and then add 4" to 5" of spring under there and u wouldve got stuck as soon as u entered tha ruts! Tha key word in your case it seems to me is "CLEARENCE"!

So for the back i would look at AP springs, standard for just a 3" lift if you dont carry a lot of weight all tha time in your bed or expo for a 4" lift, which will match tha AP LT kit turned up high, or a 3" lift if you carry weight in tha bed. Match springs with a bolt flip kit to give you even more clearance and keep you from snagging your bolts, and a good set of bump stops.

And as far as tha front goes, you will spend 2k for a very solid mid travel setup that will give you 10" of travel (which is perfectly fine for your terrain) or you can go the LT approach with APs LT and spend 5k with fenders and have a little wider track, which takes some away from tight trail riding, but will provide you with about 12" of travel and a very good looking front end

 

x2!!!!

 

I'm probably going to go with a Fox CO w/ Total Chaos UCA in the front and a Fox shock with either the AP or Deaver leaf pack in the rear. Like you said, clearance is important. I was thinking in terms of travel and flex but neglected to consider dragging my axle through the mud.

I have about $7000 to work with and with the money I'd spend going LT I could go mid and afford high clearance front and back bumpers... which will put me a lot further ahead than an extra couple of inches of travel.