Extra Weight of Front Replacement Bumper

[wheatman]

My question is to what the effects the extra 200-250#'s has on the front suspension and how does one go about compensating to take out front end sag or bottoming from the extra wt? I had a Ranch Hand grill guard on my 04. 5 and i can't imagine not having sagging/bottoming troubles with a full replacement front bumper.



Does Kore or ???? make a stiffer front spring set up that will compensate for the heavier front end without lifting the truck... I have to be careful not to lift the truck too much or i won't fit in the garage (i have about 2. 5" of clearance now).



wheatman

 

[Pawpaw]

Believe it or not, it has had no effect whatsoever for me. No sag... no bottoming... no nothing.



I drove around with only the 255 lb Legend front bumper for almost a year before I had the 140 lb Cowboy rear bumper installed. I never could feel any difference... unless you count the fact that my truck is about 2 ft longer now than it was stock!



Here's a thread about weights and such:



http://www.tdr1.com/forums/showthread.php?t=147867



Bob

 

[SMorneau]

If your are just concerned about static spring sag put 250 pounds worth of buddies on your bumper and get out the yardstick.

 

[Pawpaw]

If your are just concerned about static spring sag put 250 pounds worth of buddies on your bumper and get out the yardstick.

Actually, since the stock bumper & hardware weighs about 80 lbs (my estimate), you're only adding about 175 lbs (255-80=175).



Bob

 

[McLaughlin]

My question is to what the effects the extra 200-250#'s has on the front suspension and how does one go about compensating to take out front end sag or bottoming from the extra wt? I had a Ranch Hand grill guard on my 04. 5 and i can't imagine not having sagging/bottoming troubles with a full replacement front bumper.



Does Kore or ???? make a stiffer front spring set up that will compensate for the heavier front end without lifting the truck... I have to be careful not to lift the truck too much or i won't fit in the garage (i have about 2. 5" of clearance now).



wheatman

Lorenz advertises some but they do provide about 2" of front lift. You might give him a call and get his comments. I asked the same question from either him or Carli(don't remember which) and was told that stiffer springs probably wouldn't be required unless the bumper weighted 300-350lbs.

 

[CPG]

When I had my Reunel non winch bumper installed on our 04. 5 Ram 2500 almost a year ago, I asked the installer at the time to give me the weight of same. He stated it was 270 lbs. This bumper has the grill guard and really beefy. These are extreme duty bumpers.

On getting home I measured the fender well clearance at the same point in the driveway. It had only settled about 1/8" when forced up and down.



As the 2500's and 3500's have the same frame ( except springs & possibly brakes) am still on the factory shocks and feel no bottoming out other than the original. There are about several front spring #'s on these trucks. Mine is the HD. Ones experience may differ.



Chuck

 

[wheatman]

so basically don't worry about it. if i need to address sag or bottoming can figure that out later.



i had a grill guard on my 04. 5 and the front end sagged pretty good i thought. guess a leveling kit would straighten that out or help?



wheatman

 

[JVantreese]

What bumper?

From my signature you can see that I have a Buck Stop bumper and a 12K winch. I did not do a before and after measure but I notice no difference in attitude or handling. My truck does have the plow package so it might be set up with heavier springs from the factory. This is just a guess on the heavier springs. If someone knows the specs between the plow pakage and standard, I would like to be informed.

 

[DocDetonancour]

I have been talking to a vendor in Bozeman Mt. and they put stiffer springs when they install WARN or the Australian one. Seems to be a good idea. A little "up" in the front would be better IMO. Doc

 

[Joseph Donnelly]

I did get some sag with bumper/winch combo, but the KORE chase fixed it and more. I wrote up my experiences in recent TDRs.

 

[Ol'TrailDog]

I chose to go with heavy duty aluminum bumpers. Had a Herd on my 04 and then swapped it for a Denver Off Road. Swapped the 3 Gen DOR for a 2 Gen DOR bumper than I have now. Really like them. I know there are differences in opinions, but with weight of the diesel and the front end issues, e. g. death wobble, steering woes, and etc. , I wanted as little weight with solid protection that I could afford.

 

[Desert Proven]

I have an aftermarket Hansen bumper and a 15000 pound winch on my truck. Combined, it's about 250 pounds. I run KORE suspension with that and it works great.



On your truck, you could run any of KORE's systems and wouldn't have a problem with the front end sagging. It may sit slighly lower than a comparable vehicle without the aftermarket bumper, but it won't sag over time. If you have any specific questions, let me know. I'd be happy to help.

 

[wheatman]

i'm thinking a leveling kit wouldn't hurt given the already heavy front end. hated the sag on my 04. 5 and wouldn't mind losing rake

 

[Desert Proven]

The Leveling kit will help level your truck, even with a heavy aftermarket bumper. It will also do a better job supporting that weight than the stock springs.