Suspension Advice - Need Some Help Deciding On a Setup for Variable Weight

PacoTheTaco303 · Apr 24, 2024

I am looking for some feedback in regards to a new suspension setup for my truck that will fit my needs while maintaining a solid ride.

Driving Style

This is my daily driver that I use to commute to work. About 30 miles, 10 city and 20 highway. On the weekends I use this vehicle to access campsites via fire roads or trailheads via a little more technical terrain. I don't really wheel that hard and I would like to prioritize on-road performance with a secondary priority of faster fire road travel.

Truck Weight

General

Rock Sliders ~ 200lbs

Skid plates ~ 70lbs

Second Battery ~ 50lbs

Cab Rack ~ 50lbs

Bed

Decked system ~ 200lbs

Toolboxes & gear ~ 75lbs

Softopper ~ 30lbs

Bed rack ~ 80lbs

RTT ~ 80lbs

Motocycle Carrier ~ 50lbs

Motorcycle ~ 300lbs

My Truck will almost always be carrying the weight of the items in the general list, as well as the decked, toolboxes, gear, and softopper. That means it will almost always be loaded to around 650lbs. In the summertime, I will have the base weight plus the bed rack and RTT on all season. When I go camping with my rig it will be loaded down with another ~ 100lbs to 200lbs of gear. Finally, depending on the adventure I will also be hauling my dirt bike on a hitch carrier. So with all of this in mind, my truck will go from carrying as little as 650lbs in the winter to as much as ~1,300lbs in the summer time, fully loaded.

I would like to find a suspension setup that will accommodate this weight while maintaining on road performance as well as be relatively quick off-road. Another challenge that I face is I do not want to lift my truck more than 1"-2". With weight being up high in the summer with the rack and tent, I would like to keep my center of gravity low as well as not take the MPG hit that comes with a high lift.

I've done a fair bit of research and have landed on these items. I wanted to get some feedback and see what others think or recommend.

Front Coilovers: Fox Performance Elite 2.5" 1"-2"(883-06-178)

Front Bump Stops: Timbren Active Off-Road Bump Stops

Upper Control Arms: SPC Performance UCA(25470)

Rear Shock: Fox Performance Elite 2.5" 2"-3"(883-26-113)

Rear Bump Stops: Timbren Active Off-Road Bump Stops

Rear Springs: ICON RXT on option 2

Rear Airbags: Firestone Ride Rite Rear Kit(2407) w/ cradles

Where I am unsure is are the icons better or is something like Deaver stage 2 or stage 3 better for my application? Do I really need bags? They seem like a solid choice especially because my load will vary greatly. Do I need extended travel Fox Shocks? I would like to do this in stages to help spread out the cost of all these upgrades over time. Is that doable? I figured I would start with the leaf springs, then bump stops, bags, and then Fox Shocks. Is that a good order?

memario1214 · Apr 24, 2024

So there's quite a lot to unpack here, and I'll try to tackle some of it in bunches here. That said, I recommend you give us a buzz here at Hotshot Offroad (406-936-0206) and we can hammer out further details, and maybe even get you set up with the goods!

Normally, in the event of someone wanting to build out a heavy build like yourself I almost always lean on a digressive shock setup (Bilstein, Icon, Eibach, etc). That said, since you've expressed that you want to go fast I can't push you away from the Fox Elites as they are a solid mid-ground for sure for trying to do it all. All said, if your budget allows for it I still believe that a Bilstein 8112/8100 is a superior product for these heavy-load applications. They are a little tough to get a hold of though, but it sounds like you are able to be a bit patient.

For the weight situation... 1,300 isn't a TON of weight, but definitely needs to be respected considering it's bumping up to (and over if you've got a full cab of folks) your payload capacity on that truck. Here's probably what I would personally do - First would be the leaf pack situation. Either an RXT straight to Option 3 (which would get you about 1" of rear lift at your 650lb spec) or a Deaver U402 setup. Both are respectable units, and it honestly comes down to your budget. Icons are definitely the budget setup especially with us having them on sale right now, and they have treated us well. They just need a little squeak mitigation treatment out of the box which we have that fix for. Deavers are known to be of higher quality steel and as a result don't really sag much ever, and aren't known to be audible. I would forego the airbag setup so that you have some articulation when "unloaded", and instead get into something like a RAS (or Roadactive suspension) system - HERE. It'll give you the support when you are loaded up and need it. You can take it on and off relatively quickly such that when you are in 650lb mode you can remove it and have full articulation of your suspension and leaf pack. That said, most people like them enough that they keep them on year-round. The only real downside to them is that they will limit some of your downtravel. Not enough to be problematic, but worth mentioning.

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Suspension Advice - Need Some Help Deciding On a Setup for Variable Weight

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PacoTheTaco303 [OP] Well-Known Member

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memario1214 Hotshot Offroad Moderator Vendor

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Suspension Advice - Need Some Help Deciding On a Setup for Variable Weight

#1 PacoTheTaco303 [OP] Well-Known Member

#2 memario1214 Hotshot Offroad Moderator Vendor

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#1
PacoTheTaco303 [OP] Well-Known Member

#2
memario1214 Hotshot Offroad Moderator Vendor

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