2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission Want a 2500 4x4 lowrider....anybody done this successfully?

[geusterman]

Kind of spoiled since giving up my Chebbie K2500 as I could get into downtown parking garages. Now as I go to "camperize" my macho new HO 2500 I feel like it will tip over on corners because it sits so high. OK, just kidding. But the height is rediculous. I have Toyo 295's and will probably do the 19. 5 inch tire/wheel in due time. Way too high. I know about the reducer block for the rear but would like to drop the whole thing about 4 plus inches. Anybody been here before? Live with it?? Use a rope ladder to get in? Thanks... GE

 

[Got Smoke?]

O/T I love it when Chevys with a 4in Suspension lift or 3in body lift and 33's pull up next to me and I'm sit'n higher than them stock with 33's:-laf

 

[Briar Hopper]

www.lowrider.com :-laf Hydraulics oughta get it done. Make it sorta like those "kneeling" buses they got at Kennedy Space Center, when ya stop, the truck drops.

 

[MikeR]

No way! These trucks sit just perfect... the way a truck is supposed to be. Not like that joke of a 4x that the chebby is.



City slickin'?? Maybe you shoulda gotten a 2wd. Besides, you are going to have to live with it because of the solid front axle going under the front of the engine and frame... it has to clear it. Dropping it isn't an option.



-Mike

 

[illflem]

Mike's right 4x front end is already as low as it goes.

Maybe run 14" rims

 

[Blakers]

Maybe the Mexicans can help - you could move there and see if they can do it.



I totally hate lowriders . As far as I'm concerned, they are just speed bumps. Real trucks ride high!



My theory is if I'm in a wreck, I'd much rather go over the wreck than under it.



Blake



*no offense to Mexicans - after all, they do have some cool stuff down there! Baja races, etc.

 

[nickleinonen]

how about air springs? they can and will give you the factory ride height when inflated, but drop the pressure down, and the truck will go down with it. there is some chat recently in the products/accessories forum on air springs/suspension

 

[Cooker]

With 295's I don't think you would be able to lower it anyway without the tires rubbing up front somewhere. JMHO

 

[Evan A. Beck]

I think lowered 2WD 3500's look sharp. Especially when they are wicked FAST. Here's DD's old truck...



#ad

 

[nickleinonen]

that truck looks pretty good, but i think it has too much rake in the stance. now, lower the rear a bit more to kinda level out the rake and put some 19. 5" retro 6 app wheels and some 225's under it, than it would be

 

[Deezul1]

slide underneath with a tape measure and measure between the oil pan and the front axle and thats how many inches you can lower it. Of course that presumes you dont want any suspesion travel. I think you are stuck with what you have.

 

[Breck]

Like everyone said before; I don't think you are going to be able to lower your front end much with a solid axle. The Chevy's and GMC's are already lowered..... I think GM is going for the "city slicker" types that want a truck without having to put up with truck like qualities. I guess that is why you tend to see Dodges and Fords working and the GM's in the suburbs, malls and parking ramps?

 

[geusterman]

Hey, move to Mexico? That's where it was MADE! Anyway, the IFS front end on the Chebs is probably the reason they can be built low. The frame drops down as well under the cab. We can put 5. 9's in the older style Chebbies (pre-92 duallies etc) but have to lift the bodies on the later style to get room. Oh well, will check out the air springs but it is probably not going to go. The rear could drop with the 5th wheel thing but not so sure that will help. Thanks all. GE

 

[RedRam1]

geusterman,



Try the shorter spacer blocks in the rear, it makes way, way more difference than you would think. Your truck will sit roughly at the same height as the Fords and Chevys, it is really hard to believe how much diference ~2. 5" shorter spacers in the rear actually makes.

I replaced my spacer blocks with some homemade 2. 5 inch jobs, and have been very pleased. Do a search, Jumbojet posted some photos of his lowered 2500 4x4 a few months ago. (I made up my blocks per his specs)

The truck is far more useable now, and I like the way it looks as well. I know it's sort of cool to sit way up high, but it gets old lifting stuff a mile off the ground to get it into the bed. My wife uses our truck a lot, and until I lowered the rear, she had a h@ll of a time loading/unloading cargo. I'm 6'3, and no lightweight, and I was getting a litle fed up with the high lift over as well.

 

[geusterman]

Hey RedRam1, what happens when you get 3500# of camper on a "dropped" rear? GE

 

[RedRam1]

geusterman,



The amount of "squat" you get with the camper in the bed will not change, however, with the factory (~4. 75") spacer blocks, the forward rake is much greater than it appears. How is the stance of your truck, with the camper in the bed? I'll bet it still sits slightly higher in the rear. Unloaded, my truck still has a slight forward rake with the ~2. 25 shorter spacer blocks - it now sits about 2 inches higher in the rear (measured at the axle centerlines). I don't know how much weight it would take to compress the rear springs 2 inches, such that the truck would sit dead level, but it would be quite a bit, probably not 3500 lbs. though. It may not be too bad if you were slightly nose high with the camper on board. You could measure how much squat you get with your camper, and calcluate how much shorter spacer blocks you could tolerate.

I have parked next to several Ford Superduty's, and my lowered rear truck has an almost identical stance to the fords... they do not have near the forward rake of the Dodges, the front height is about the same, but, in stock form, the Dodge is waaay higher in the rear. If you lowered your rear end a couple of inches, the stance of your loaded truck would probably be nearly identical to a similarly loaded F350.

Another possible option, if the lowered truck sits too low would be to add an additional spacer between the main spring pack and the overload spring to make the overload engage quicker, and reduce the squat. Airbags would be another option.

 

[geusterman]

Good response there, RedRam1. I should probably wait until I get the camper on there (have not decided which camper to purchase yet) before I go messing with the blocks. I like the level look or slightly up in the rear even when loaded. Keeps the lights right. I will probably end up with removing a block like you and using bags or heavier overloads for height adjustment. GE