Thoughts on Suspension Upgrade

I will be getting a GFC and PullKitchen this spring (so adding about 500lbs to the rear. My idea to upgrade the suspension to one of the following:

First Choice

1) ICON 1.5″ AAL
2) Falcon Tow/Haul Leveling system

(Would I scrap the leveling block because I am using the the AAL?)

Second Choice

1) Deaver Stage II U402
2) Bilstein 6112/5160 combo

Which would you choose and why? Any other combo you would go with?

 

My only note is that I think a block in the rear sounds like a terrible idea. There is already way too much axle wrap; albeit I only notice it in deep snow. YMMV.

 

Choice 2
The simplest is the best. The aal is not going to hold that weight. You need a full hd leaf pack on it.
@McRib
You got any opinions here, I know you carry a ton of weight

 

Bookmarked for a response tomorrow! A bit too distracted with more important things atm!

 

Have you considered full leaf pack and falcon tow haul? I’m on a similar boat and pretty set on making sure the rears have adjustability.

Daily driving I run about ~200lbs in the rear (Leitner & pods). When I go out to camp I load up the bed with a few bins equipment, water, food, awning, and an Alucab tent. Brings me up in weight quite a bit. Having the ability to increase dampening in the rear would help manage the weight better.

 

There is are always the Ironman kits, either Foam Cell Pro or Nitrogen. I’ve got the Foam Cell pro and really like it so far. Not that I needed it and initially planned on 2.5” I’ve got 3” up front and then 2” in the rear. The kit came with a full leaf pack. I’ve only put about 2k miles on it and nothing offroad yet. It smooth outs the bumps, greatly reduced the nose down during stops, and makes it feel more stable during turns. Check out this thread for a lot of info. I ended up paying 1450 for the stage 1 kit with the coils unbuilt. I think all the ones you’re looking at are solid choices.

 

The bilstein combo won't address the added weight if you're leaving stock leaf springs. The Dakar heavys are also an option

 

Thanks @McRib looking forward to your thoughts.

 

If I do the bilstein it will be along with the Deaver U402 springs.

 

My thought was with the "Heavy" setting on the Falcon shocks it would handle the additional weight - but I am here to find out!

 

I have, but thought that would be overkill, maybe it isn't - I'm here to find out.

 

I'm also pretty interested in anyone's response / options too.
I'm in the same boat, about 150-200lb in the bed for daily driving then add all camping gear, voodoo rack/tent it jumps to around 700-800lb.

I'd love to see an option that doesn't lift the truck too much

 

At this point, I think the most logical approach is find your daily driving load vs camp load. Split the difference but favor the daily driver weight slightly. Setup your coil/leaf spring rates appropriate to the lift height you want (leveled/slight rake). Find shocks in your price range preferably with dampening adjustability for the rear at minimum. Run that until you get a feel for the truck.

At least, this is the way my brain can justify replacing suspension that only has 5k miles

 

That's pretty much where I was, except my rack and usually RTT stay on the truck along with a Decked system. Two parking garages I go into have a 7' (which I think is actually an inch or so over reality) max height, and with my RTT on stock suspension I'm right around 6'-11" with very little room to spare. I needed something that would handle a constant static load of 400# without much lifting. I ended up getting 5100s all around and the OME 660# HD leafs. They are going on today. Without any load, I was told the lift would be about 2" which I'm expecting will end up being less due to the load that I drive around with.

 

I say favor towards your loaded weight. It will be a little stiffer around town but you won't be slamming into the bump stops constantly when in camping trim.

 

@ninernation Good point. Would dialing up the compression alleviate slamming into bump stops?

I’m thinking it’ll be different person to person and which they’ll setup for, we go out about 1-2 weekends a month. Most of the time it’s her daily driver. If I go up 1.5” in the rear (front will be leveled) daily driving, depending on the leaf pack, camping weight may go down 3/4 - 1”

I would then still be 1/2” more than factory coupled with cranking up the compression in the rear, should help with slamming into bump stops? Obviously all depends on terrain and speed.

Everyone will have a different “middle ground” as far as setups. Luckily, these trucks are like legos. Lots of part options.

 

I believe this is the route I'm going to take, since I will be loaded 80% of the time. I'll load the truck with everything I'll use when I'm on the road (GFC, camping/overlanding gear, dog etc.) and get an accurate weight. So I can decide on leaf springs.

- Elka 2.0 - 0-2" lift
- Deaver U402 Stage 2 or 3 depending on weight (preferably with 2" lift unloaded)
- TRD Pro 17" tires
- Nitto Ridge Grappler 265 70/r17

This setup should get me anywhere I want to go.