Mid Travel suspension advice needed!

I just bought a 06 dbl cab 6 speed, the truck came with fairly new 33x12.50 grapplers with 60,000mi,(bought from dealership so I wasnt able to talk to prev owner) Looks like a spacer kit was used in the front to clear the tires (which still rub a little) and I cant tell if any lift or leafs added in the rear it looks OE, just the shocks are the only thing aftermarket ( white w/red boots)
It just doesn't look right and the rear end has almost no travel and rides like a dump truck, which the tires cause some of it.... it is really rough on gravel road. So I want to put a mid-travel suspension in, what are some good options on coilovers and rear setup? Will I have to change upper and lower control arms? Any advice is much appreciated I just want a smooth controlled ride over semi-rough terrain.

 

I think you may have a AAL in the rear, by what you discribe.

I just got the Ext. Travel Icons, and there amazing! great set-up. And dont forget some TC UCA's... As for the rear you will be good with either a 3 leaf progressive AAL.... Or a new leaf pack like OME or Dakars. Paired with some good shocks like 5125's or the new 2.5 Icon's.... But really it all depends on your budget, (if theres one)

Also, those tires will rub quite a bit with only a 3" lift....
You may even have to do the Cab Mount chop....

 

My dream midtravel build would be extended travel icons dakars tc ucas and 5150s in the rear. Misc. Things you may want to keep in mind... Rear brake proportioning valve, carrier bearing drop if needed and for 1st gens a diff drop

 

Ah maybe on my next truck or when I have the 10 grand worth of other mods done one this one

 

So to get most out of mid travel def replace UCA and LCA, what does tc and AAL stand for? I dont have much of a budget yet, will probaly have to do in phases want to do as much homework as possible to do it right the first time. So the rear needs new leaf pack and shocks- Front replace UCA and LCA and ext travel coil overs> What are some budget friendly ideas?

 

More like this instead!

 

TC=Total Chaos. aal=add a leaf. Mid travel only needs UCA not LCA. As far as I know all after market LCA's are for long travel. To do it on a budget is possible, but you get what you pay for. You can piece it together one part at a time to soften the blow on your wallet. Also look at the for sale section, good deals can be found for the patient.

 

Total chaos sells a stock width lca that is boxed and has a uniball, really beefy!

 

To get rid of the dump truck ride in the rear your gonna have to change your shock. When i did the rear Add A leaf, my shocks were to short and had no up travel so every time the decompressed it basically hit its max length and would hop really bad. I went with Bilstein 5125's and it made the ride much much smoother, as for the front... If you want to spend a pretty penny go with a Coilover setup, I went with Icon Ext. travel and they ride 100x's better than my spacer lift.

I think to be truely Mid-travel you have to change out the LCA but if your just wanting to improve the ride you dont have to. That LCA is like 1500 bucks

 

X2 most everything i have bought on my truck now has been from group buys and new things people sold. Saving a little with every piece really adds up in the end.

 

Ok so I can replace just the UCA (kenny what brand are yours) Did you just do UCA and ext coilover in the front? What are some good leaf brands?

 

I have a silly question....the Icon ext travel coil over (correct me if I'm wrong) Must be used with a uni ball UCA. Does this mean it gives more travel than the "standard" if you will, Icon coil over?

 

Negative, Im running the light racing and they arent uni-ball. i think the only thing the ext. travel does is give you more down travel, so i dont think you would really even be able to notice it unless you got aftermarket LCA's.

I may be wrong on that tho

 

does the light race UCA have any less travel than the uni ball?

and is there any travel comparisons for coil overs? Icon is the only one I see with the "ext".

 

Im not sure All i know is when i sent my Icons back to them to get rebuilt they can make them "ext" for pretty cheap, so i said why the hell not. I plan on getting some new LCA's soon so maybe ill be able to use them then haha.

Im not sure on the travel, ill have to check my front i havent really flexed it a whole lot yet. The Uca's dont hit the shock at full droop but barely will rub the tire.

 

this is excatly wat i want to do to my truck!!! god sooo sexy!!

 

OK lots of misinformation in this thread. Lets clear it up.

1. Mid travel means more travel than stock, specifically an extended travel coil over up front, a stock length contyrol arm set up (not long travel), and an after market upper control arm, usually Uniball. Yes Light Racing has a non Uniball upper control arm but it has more travel than stock. If its not got an after market upper control arm you wont have more travel (as mit is what limits travel) and you need an after market extndded travel coilover as well (as it limits travel if you replace the upper control arm). If you are missing either its NOT mid travel, as you are still stock travel.

2. No, a new stock length lower control arm, as in the Total Chaos unit as its the only one, will NOT give more travel, is NOT needed for mid travel, and has NOTHING to do with mid travel. It has integrated skids, a place for second shock mounting or airbump mounting, and has a Uniball for strength (not for travel).

3. You also want to have a matching mid travel rear. This simply means "more travel than stock" and this means you need both a shock with more travel and a spring that will allow for that travel. This means a new spring as an add-a-leaf will not increase avaialable travel as it is too stiff and inhibits down travel. This would be a whole new spring pack like Alcan, Deaver, etc.

 

Cna I backflip my truck with Midtravel?

 

Sounds like a light race UCA and an Icon will be a good match up like beau has....for more travel than stock.

How does the toytec coil over compare to the icon (shock Travel wise) pared with a light race UCA?