Suspensions...

[nineonethree]

So I am curious...



I have been considering a suspension change in my truck. I read the 11 pages of info on the TRex kit. It sounds like a mother of a suspension, but I am not sure it is what I want. I put around 35k miles a year on my truck driving around the Western region. But I also spend some time out in the desert, camping, shooting and whatnot(I may also be getting into search and resue). I like the idea of having some clearance from the rocks and other damaging obstacles you find in the desert canyons. I was thinking of the value of a small suspension lift, around 4". Are the current short control arms a more harsh ride? I run a 4. 5" lift on my Jeep, and the on road ride sucks (good thing it is mostly trail), I just put in an order for a long arm kit for the Jeep. Are there suspension companies out there that offer a long control arm kit for our CTDs?



Comments, opinions????



Thanks,

Dane

 

[csutton7]

I agree totally with Dl5treez--I think this is by far the best lift out there for our trucks---if you go this route I believe some things are extra so ask Jeff to make sure you know what you're getting--I'm slowly re-building my Skyjacker 4. 5" lift to be a 6"+ lift and I'm patterning it after the Dick Cepek lift---chris

 

[nineonethree]

I thought I saw posts from a little while back that the Cepek lifts were no longer being produced?



Does anyone run this kit? Or ridden in a rig with it installed?

 

[csutton7]

they are available at a couple of places---a few guys on www.pavementsucks.com run the Dick Cepek lift and really like it---the long front arms are the key---chris

 

[csutton7]

building my own w/1. 75x. 25 wall DOM & 3/4X7/8 heims --got the lowers done and the uppers 1/2 done--still need to fab some mounts for the uppers and cut out the body mount at the cab and reinforce it---chris

 

[y-knot]

They must have been bought and are regrouping, I saw an advertisement for a new dick cepeck tire. It use to be a great company, I ran cepeck tire on a sand car and loved them. I can not help but to think there kit combined with the kederman air bags up front would be the ultiment system. I think I would not order the shocks they the cepeck lift, and add my own reservoir shock.

 

[y-knot]

Also I am in the process of re-doing the suspension on my truck. I am replaceing the the oem bilsteines and up front running a double shock arrangment with dual 5150 170/70 valving, and replacing all the rubber joints with poly substitutes. In the back re-worked spring packs, with 2 5150 340/70 valving, traction bars, and air bags. I'll let you know how it turns out.

 

[jrobinson2]

T Rex suspension

I can give you a ride in a T Rex equipped truck, I'm about an hour south of Vegas.

Jared

 

[nineonethree]

ACK

I feel the credit card monster creeping out of the wallet... .

 

[pcorssmit]

For anyone wanting to piece together their own suspension, I just found out that the Cepek long arm kit is now available seperatly.



http://www.texastrucktoys.com/new_product.html



I may end up doing this at some point, it would cost almost that to build it yourself.



Pete

 

[csutton7]

Theres another co. that I have a phone # to somewhere that can get you pretty much whatever part you want for the Cepek lifts. . I'll try and find it and post it--chris

 

[y-knot]

Thanks I'm going to call texas truck toys tomarrow.

 

[csutton7]

I http://www.pavementsucks.com/forums/viewtopic.php?topic=18058&forum=44&highlight=Thanks



this is DST's #--call them--- 630-369-8300 ask for James

 

[y-knot]

I just got the air bags done and took my first test drive. I can not put into words how nice this truck rides now. If I were blind folded I would never have guessed I was in a one ton truck. This has to be the best mod I have done for myself, I really enjoy the smooth ride. No more spilled coffee, and I can enjoy the ride. Truely this rides better then most 1500 trucks. I have a severe spine problem, so I know what is or is not smooth riding, and I could not be happier. Best part is I still get to tinker with the air pressure, so it has the potential to get even better. I wish I would have done this years ago. If you are tired of feeling every bump, then do yourself a favor and try this.

 

[Hohn]

To me, there's really only 3 suspension options:



Basic: D-25s/DT bar



High ground clearance: Cepek 6"



Ultimate suspension: T-Rex





I went cheap with the d25s. There's too many things to screw up on a 5-link front, so I wanted to go mild.



Justin

 

[y-knot]

That is what gets people in trouble, being so narrow minded. They you limit yourself by limiting the options, usually the results are poor.

 

[XcumminsX]

any word on something like the t-rex like lift with about 6 inches of lift i like the shocks and how there set up is. it would be cool to jump a truck and have it stay together:--)

 

[csutton7]

t-rex's system basically levels the truck(2" lift in front)--they don't have any lifts per se and by their website and other posts they don't believe in them, so if you wanted the T-REX system you would have to custom build it with parts from other co's to get the lift you wanted---chris

 

[Hohn]

Originally posted by y-knot

That is what gets people in trouble, being so narrow minded. They you limit yourself by limiting the options, usually the results are poor.

For the record, I am VERY narrow minded. Of course, many who pride themselves on being very "open minded" never actually make a decision because they're so busy worrying about every possibility.



And, of course, if you never make a decision, you never have to worry about consequences or having to take responsibility.



Yet another reason I would never succeed in politics.



Then again, since we're only talking suspension here, it's possible for us to realize that each of us is only offering opinions-- and, as such, the need to criticize is only there when the factual information presented as justification for a certain opinion or position is erroneous or false.



Anyhow, back to suspension. I state my recommendations based on the reality that DC put a lot of design effort into the suspension, and that deviating from the OEM design quickly takes you to the point of complete suspension re-engineering. That's why I only went with the D25s instead of a full-tilt lift. Even so, it's amazing all the things that are affected by just 2" longer springs: track bar angle, drag link angle, toe in, caster angle, etc.



So, as I said, you either want to go with a very mild lift, or go whole-hogf crazy with a Cepek style lift that basically reengineers the whole thing. The middle area between the two extremes leaves you with the worst of both worlds: the complexity of a big lift and the performance of a small one.



just *MY* h. o.



jlh

 

[y-knot]

Well I can agree with that, sound pretty smart.