15' Ram 2500 - Carli vs AEV vs Misc

[Laramieskibum]

The only poster with an AEV susp. on a Ram, that I am aware of, goes by the name Wapitihunter on AEV's forum,and I think Wapiti Hunter on CF. He has a nice truck,he uses it pretty hard hunting,I suspect he would give you an honest answer based on his experience.

I lurk here too (Wapithunter). Love this site, aligns more with my use than any other site.

I killed several (3) sets of Bilstein 5100's on my 3500 before upgrading to Carli kings. I have driven bilstein 5100's on several other vehicles with equal vigor and not killed them. I just don't think they are capable of taking abuse on a truck as heavy as a cummins equipped ram.

AEV may be fine, but don't go telling everyone you have factory payload and tow ratings after lifting your truck if you put that kit on!

Ultimately if you are lifting your truck, I would assume you are doing it to increase off road performance. In order to do that, you need springs that afford MORE travel. A lift kit with aftermarket springs will do this. A lift kit retaining stock springs will offer minimal if any increase in wheel travel. If you just want height for bigger tires or looks, spacers will do the trick. If you just want a better ride, get a 1/2 ton truck. They ride REALLY well these days! Any 3/4 or 1 ton truck is going to ride like **** on bump city streets no matter what you do to it.

kmcoop7 is on the AEV/CF sights to and i respect his opinion but disagree with the above. Also i seriously like his setup.

I have ~15,000 miles on my AEV kit w/ 37" tires. I tow a trailer to get where I play (or have FWC on). 2 kids, 2 dogs, wife with a sensitive back due to degenerative condition.

Here is my take (I pledge no allegiance to AEV or anyone else, just a guy with a truck and a budget, abet large, for this build, but i'm about to come off like a fan boy...so prepare yourself but this is how i made my decision). Never driven a carli equipped truck, but googled for years trying to make the call between Carli and AEV while they were in development.

Price
Carli Backcountry 2.0 $3,525 vs. AEV $2,200

Components

The components sans springs are nearly same design/idea sans the springs/spring spacers. Carli seems beefer, and should be since their customers are doing desert washes at 75mph (or alteast want to say they could. Now kmcoop7 is legit, and his truck is legit, love it, I believe his comments - also I think you should truss your axle before it breaks, check out the powerwagonregistry forum, they are busting them and weight much less than us ). AEV's are more conducive to mass production, thus cheaper, in my opinion, but not in a bad way depending on your use.

The main difference is that AEV maintains the factory springs and spacer lifts them. Results in 1" additional uptravel for AEV for sure, and maybe carli too. The both seem to move the axle forward 1" to accomidate 37" tires with only 2.5" lift in the front for AEV, more for carli, which is awesome, most others go 4" to accomidate that, which sucks, low COG is better (much rather have up travel than down for my usage). Total flex on these trucks at slow speed are swaybar limited, not spring limited...case in point, with sway bar disengaged, AEV kit w/ MOPAR non-power wagon springs:

Aev takes a bit longer to install as a result - so if your having a shop do the work, do your own math. Might save you 1 or 2 hours in labor to go carli, do your own home work, I did my own with hand tools...

Carli supplies new springs - no doubt their kit reduces payload big time. You may or may not need air bags with the Carli setup to get the nose up when towing depending on what your towing.


AEV comment on springs: Ram made a huge number of variations in the number of OEM springs for this suspension. My comment: Crawl under a new truck...these are completely different animals and complicated compared to dodges of old...no way would a company spend that much money developing that many springs unless it made sense...not saying Carli didn't do alot of R&D and probably rides great, but not without some sacrifices towards payload. I honestly don't feel like any payload sacrifices were made in the AEV kit....case in point:


I had a level on this truck before AEV suspension, and it was truly awful. Wife ready to sell the truck bad (hard coming from an F-150). My wife has had three back surgeries, with a fusion coming next....With AEV suspension it is as good or better than a max tow F-150 2011 ecoboost...no joke. Especially when the tires are aired down to the right PSI to get good tire wear. Now when we drive the truck, I have to sit in the passenger seat because she loves driving it. Towing, or not.

Speed pumps and pot holes, with proper tire pressure, are a pleasure compared to stock E rated tires w/ 18" rims. Pot holes bigger than the foot print of the tires start to get uncomfortable at speed.

Both kits return the truck to near stock geometry - important for alot of reasons. Tires on my truck are wearing perfectly once PSI was right, zero wander, totally awesome. I run 36psi in the front, 20 in the rear when not towing, which combined with 37" tires = most of the ride improvment...I don't feel like the shocks get much if any of the credit here...I can do forest roads way faster than I should and feel in control. Bumps that would bounce the truck bad stock are minimal with the new tires...that said, carli truck would probably kick my ***.... \\

Purpose (in my humble opinion)
AEV - Guys who use their truck as a truck not as a desert racing rig or chase truck. True factory ride and near true specifications, with only 1" less rake than stock or so. It still has a rake! so no getting flashed from oncoming traffic when you are carrying a load or towing, and no air bags to f with. Truly a factory driving experience with 37" tires on highway, and improved off road. Truely a factory towing experience, at least with 8,000lbs in 30 mph cross winds with gusts higher than that. Zero issues.

Carli - Guys who use their truck as a truck to get to the desert to race their truck around and treat it like a UTV (which is cool, I want to do that too, but not willing to pay the price of admission, I know myself, and if i went that route I'd be trussing my axle after spending $5k on the pin top kit). May greatly reduced payload specifications. Not the way I want to spend 90% of my driving since I tow most of the time or have a Four Wheel Hawk mounted on the rear and don't want to tear up either of them, not to mention lots of highway miles to get to where I camp. Never driven one, but assume much more flexable suspension, softer, better off road, probably not as good as towing, probably not as good at maintaining a level or nearly level truck with a load. Maybe I'm wrong. Imagine air bags or their long travel bags would fix that, but thats more money again....and unless you get long travel air bags, you may run into issues.

Why AEV?
Here is why I choose AEV over Carli (to each their own):

1) When this truck is utilized, it is 90% towing on the highway, 10% offroad...nature of living where I do in the west. A small portion of the time it is off road with no load trying to get places I probably shouldn't in weather I shouldn't be out in to hike / ski / fish where I probably shouldn't be at any given time of the year. AEV seemed perfect for that. Carli seemed over the top. For the price of a fully blown Carli lift I could get a used Polaris RZR and tote it around to go 75 MPH in the desert, then throw it in the back of the truck and drive in comfort home, without air bags, while towing a trailer, in 30 MPH winds.

2) Price - less money to clear the tires = more money spent on other goodies (lockers, compressor, winch...ect).

3) Better off road doesn't have to mean better/flexy suspension - approach, departure, breakover, ground clearance - those matter the most to me when your talking about a vehicle much longer than a jeep. This truck needs 40" tires to get to stock rubicon specs (some day!).

To each their own. Do I wish I had mega dollars to spend on a desert racing / jump suspension? Yup.

Am I disappointed with my decision? Nope. Truck still rocks it off road just fine, maybe 20mph slower than a carli truck. Highway ride and towing experience is awesome. Wife loves to drive it now = everyone is happy. It rides as good or better than a F150 2011 ecoboost, especially while towing. F-150 was on overload springs with the same trailer on.

Don't forget the AEV kit comes with the Procal - instant tire adjustments and gear adjustments. Easy as pie, just make sure you actually measure your tires diameter and don't assume a 37" tire is 37" on these trucks...or your speedo will be off. Best to use best diameter you can measure and walk it in with GPS higher or lower. Your mileage may vary (literally?). No need to buy a tuner.

My truck with 1,000lbs on the ball, no weight distribution bars hooked up for example:

AEV prospector 3500 with 37" tires and OEM airbags

3500 non-air bag, 37", AEV suspension. Approx 1,500 on the ball (Trailer is 14,000lbs)

kmcoop7 's truck (seriously legit and awesome) 800lbs hitch, 6,000lbs trailer on carli kit (FYI a four wheel camper hawk is 700-1100lbs depending how you pack and water):

I'll say it: My truck has nearly all the payload it had vs. stock. AEV kit keeps the same springs, but slightly levels the truck. You loose just a bit of rake. Now, I do loose payload because my bumper weights 400lbs, yes, but not the suspensions fault. Also, if you have a gas truck, your out of luck with Carli. Also, AEV utilizes the OEM standard gas springs, not the powerwagon springs in their power wagon builds...this would increase the payload for the wagons and you can see the kind of flex they still have. My Ram rides just a bit stiffer than my BIL 2006 powerwagon, for those of you who know what that feels like.

This truck is no mall crawler, I have the damage to prove it, but all due to the sheer size of the truck...not suspension...yet...maybe in 10,000 miles I'll be looking at king springs and the new boogie bump stops .


my junk:
2014 CCSB Tradesman 2500 -- G56 -- AEV dualsport -- AEV Katla -- 37x12.5r17 Toyo R/T -- 315/70r17 Nokian Hakkapeliitta -- AEV bumper -- VisionX 6.7" light cannon -- Warn 16.5TI -- Mopar flares -- 8.4" Uconnect swap w/ customtronix jailbreak (front/rear/trailer cam) -- 3.73 gears w/ ARB front and rear -- Switch-Pros 8100
2013 Nash 25C (29' tip to tail, ~7,500lbs depending on trip)
1993 Four Wheel Camper Hawk (~700lbs empty)

 

[Regcabguy]

Nice writeup and a very cool rig. I love AEV's silver wheels.
Preserving that warranty is paramount too.
Looks like you're working it!

 

[kmcoop7]

Well put elk hunter. thanks for the compliments!

At the end of the day.....buy what your wallet can handle and for your intended use. I will say I think there are very few folks out there willing to abuse their trucks hard enough to reap the value of a set of Carli Pintop kings, you won't get that value on the street. You will need air bags for real work in a 3500 carli truck with full leaves. Maybe to a lesser degree with rear carli coils.

I am going to go beat the **** out of my truck now and be floating down the Laramie river by 6am!

 

[Laramieskibum]

Awesome! We will have to compare sometime. I'm not in Laramie anymore but am in area often. Good luck!

 

[reloaderguy]

The rear's downward travel is limited by the shocks not the sway bar. The truck in that AEV picture shows the shocks at full extension. If you plan to flex out like that regularly you should consider limiting straps to save your shocks.

 

[kmcoop7]

Good call on the truss. I plan to do one soon.

My last truck had 5 degrees of cross caster when I traded it. Wonder how that happened?

 

[rhlexp]

The rear's downward travel is limited by the shocks not the sway bar. The truck in that AEV picture shows the shocks at full extension. If you plan to flex out like that regularly you should consider limiting straps to save your shocks.

My Ram 3500 AEV Prospector came with limiting strips installed from AEV, at least on the front. I'll have to check the rear. No idea how they determine which trucks need them or if they are the same length as the ones on their website for trucks with the snow plow package.

 

[reloaderguy]

My Ram 3500 AEV Prospector came with limiting strips installed from AEV, at least on the front. I'll have to check the rear. No idea how they determine which trucks need them or if they are the same length as the ones on their website for trucks with the snow plow package.

Those are the "snow plow suspension limiting straps" and only on the front. The kits do not include limiting straps but can be purchased separately.

 

[jmoney]

Bumping this thread back up. Checking to see if anyone has the icon suspension for ram 2500, and how it compares to the other names.

 

[ttengineer]

Bumping this thread back up. Checking to see if anyone has the icon suspension for ram 2500, and how it compares to the other names.

I met a guy this past weekend at overland Expo with a stage 5 (Maybe stage 4?) on his Ram. He really liked it, but initially had problems with the rear shocks. Icon replaced them at no charge, but only after a heated exchange. He went with Icon over Carli only because he is in FL and there are no Carli dealers in the southeast near him (in Jax) and Four Wheel Parts is an Icon dealer.

From my research, Carli is better and uses proven race shocks, where as Icon builds their own. There is nothing wrong with that, and in fact may be taken as a positive in some cases. But if you ask me, Id rather go with shocks from a proven dedicated shock company.

 

[Trophycummins]

The shop I work for is a dealer for icon, and we have icon on our shop raptor.

Naturally, when it came time to put suspension on my truck I hit up our sales rep at icon to ask about different parts I needed. They weren't willing to sell the individual components to their kits, and they weren't very helpful when it came to the technical aspects of their product.

My ram has thuren suspension on it, I feel it's the best performance suspension option available for our trucks. I also am not a fan of Carlis opinion on certain aspects of the capability of their product. ("We don't make a truss kit for the new ram because if you need one you're out driving the pintop Kit")

With that said, there are lots of great guys at Carli, I've wheeled with them, and talk to a lot of them on the DTX board. But there's a reason why all of my suspension, including my king shocks, have come from don thuren.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Reconnoiter]

I love the look of the Prospector XL, but I refuse to drive $100,000 truck on stock coils with spacers. I went with the Carly Dominator (3 inch Kings) and I’m super happy with the suspension. Finally got AEV to sell me bumpers (being installed today), but they won’t sell snorkels to fit the 19+. So frustrating.