I have a 2005 Dodge Ram 3500 srw lwb qc. Due to he length of the truck I need to get it off the ground a bit. I'm not looking for a huge life and would like to stay under 6 inches. I'm looking for a good quality ride too. Are there any kits anyone suggests? I've seen and heard a lot about Carli and Thuren, but i'm not looking to spend $5k or run fast. I'm leaning toward a long arm lift too. (pictures would be nice too)
Dodge 3500 lift's... need good ride too
- Thread starter jp0863
- Start date
chet6.7
Explorer
Do you really need more than 3"? Carli and Thuren are the big players for Rams.You could put some Deaver rear springs and air bags on the rear.The Deavers are a softer spring,you will need the air bags to keep the rear up with a load.From my reading it seems changing the rear springs has a big effect on ride quality.There is a member of this site that modified his rear spring pack by removing some leaves.I read his post in the last week or so, so look around the site.I have coils in the rear so I just skimmed his post.
I've got a 2 inch leveling kit now, so I think 4 to 6 inches with long arms would be a good height without going overboard. I wouldn't mind piecing a lift together and their springs aren't badly priced, but the other parts are way more than they're worth. May just do like I did on my jeep and piece all the good parts together from different companies. I wanted to see if anyone else was running a lift that might work.
Buliwyf
Viking with a Hammer
http://www.carlisuspension.com/dodge-back-country-3-system-03.html
3", $3000. If you need more clearance from larger tires, cut the fenders and get some bushwacker cut out fender flares. 6" of lift is too tall.
3", $3000. If you need more clearance from larger tires, cut the fenders and get some bushwacker cut out fender flares. 6" of lift is too tall.
Sure you could piece it together (I did and wish I didn't) but the good parts cost what the good parts cost. The two biggest game changers are probably the rear springs and the shocks. I have not bought the rear springs yet and went too cheep on the shocks for my needs (Fox 2.0 IFP). Most of the cost is in the shocks. Off the shelf shocks will only get you so far with the ride. Unless you know how to tune shocks than you are stuck paying big money for the magic that the tuner does. All 3 of the good front springs are within a few $ of each other. You can get some aftermarket arms for cheep but you risk getting poor quality poly bushings.
I don't know why anyone would "need" larger than 3" lift. A 37" tire will fit easy with arms. You can still get a 40" under there but you would need flares, glass fenders, or a body shop. If you just want a big looking truck than go for the 6" I guess.
agree with what everyone says. 3' springs up from and new springs out back do the trick for better ride quality. 2.5" shocks help allot, made are sway-a-ways.
The larger tires will get it off the ground.
a pic from back in the day
im getting ready to do suspension round 2, trying to make some decisions on that as well. 10+ years on the first suspension, thinking its time for a change.
The larger tires will get it off the ground.
a pic from back in the day
im getting ready to do suspension round 2, trying to make some decisions on that as well. 10+ years on the first suspension, thinking its time for a change.
Ghostknife
New member
I love my Carli/ Thuren setup, the ride is so much better than stock its like a whole new truck.
I don't think I will go any larger than 37's. I still have a dedicated off road vehicle, so i'm not going to go overboard with he build. My biggest concern with a smaller lift is the break over angle of the lwb truck is terrible. Good looking trucks by the way!
Decisions decisions....
Decisions decisions....
Mundo4x4Casa
West slope, N. Ser. Nev.
jp,
It is difficult to find any small lifts for a Dodge. My circumstances required beefing up the rear suspension with about a 3" net loaded lift, and adding 3" lift pucks to the front coils. My Lance camper weighs 2650 pounds, wet and loaded. You want as little altitude as you can get away with when hauling a hard side truck camper.
But, there's more to it than that. To the camper package rear axle I added 2 more upper secondaries per side for a total of 3. Also, I added a 3" lift spring to the main pack, and of course, new longer U-bolts.
To make the upper secondaries come into play sooner I added Stable Loads, those black composite blocks in the pic below: Notice they are not engaged because the truck bed is empty. So, I have about an inch of travel before the secondaries are engaged.
I would say the rear has about a 5" lift, unloaded. But it's rarely unloaded. These are 35 inch tires on steel wheels.
Good luck in your quest. Report back here with your findings. There must be a better, and I"m sure not cheaper way to lift your truck than the route I took.
jefe
It is difficult to find any small lifts for a Dodge. My circumstances required beefing up the rear suspension with about a 3" net loaded lift, and adding 3" lift pucks to the front coils. My Lance camper weighs 2650 pounds, wet and loaded. You want as little altitude as you can get away with when hauling a hard side truck camper.
But, there's more to it than that. To the camper package rear axle I added 2 more upper secondaries per side for a total of 3. Also, I added a 3" lift spring to the main pack, and of course, new longer U-bolts.
To make the upper secondaries come into play sooner I added Stable Loads, those black composite blocks in the pic below: Notice they are not engaged because the truck bed is empty. So, I have about an inch of travel before the secondaries are engaged.
I would say the rear has about a 5" lift, unloaded. But it's rarely unloaded. These are 35 inch tires on steel wheels.
Good luck in your quest. Report back here with your findings. There must be a better, and I"m sure not cheaper way to lift your truck than the route I took.
jefe
Last edited:
Ducky's Dad
Explorer
I have an '05 2500 (PW) and when I looked around for true cutout flares, there were none available. The closest I could come up with was heat-forming a set for a Ford StuporDuty and trying to make them fit the Dodge. So I skipped the idea.
My suspension mods are a mix of Thuren and Carli, with Firestone bags in the rear, and I am very satisfied with how the truck works. Their stuff is pricey but it's well thought out. Do it once, Do it right.
I love my Carli/ Thuren setup, the ride is so much better than stock its like a whole new truck.
What size tires are those? 37's or 35's? How is your fuel economy with them (assuming stock gearing)?
Sorry for the questions. I'm trying to make up my mind on whether or not to get a 4th gen with a 6.7L Cummins.
silvrcummns
New member
Be careful mix matching thuren and carli. The shocks are valved specifically to their coils. Thuren goes and extra step in allowing you t9 further customize based on your needs. So stick to same company shocks and coils. Long arms are supposed to be the cats meow but the 3"Carli long arms have bump drops and a few pieces that make it pretty specific. I'm assuming you mean actual long arms and not the 1/2" over stock kind.
As to 35 vs 37s. I always want 37s but 35s make sense for me. I can fit a 35 in the stock spare location (Not a 37), I have 373s and an auto, not ideal for 37s even if some like that rpm range...i won't.
I personally have a 3" thuren kit with carli leafs ( when thuren wasn't making any at the time). Leafsprings, sway bar and shocks make the biggest difference. I have the fox 2.0s and would like at least 2.5's. Buy the biggest you can afford so you don't do it twice.
I have bought most of my stuff through cjcoffroad. They are very knowledgeable and could point you in the right direction.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk
As to 35 vs 37s. I always want 37s but 35s make sense for me. I can fit a 35 in the stock spare location (Not a 37), I have 373s and an auto, not ideal for 37s even if some like that rpm range...i won't.
I personally have a 3" thuren kit with carli leafs ( when thuren wasn't making any at the time). Leafsprings, sway bar and shocks make the biggest difference. I have the fox 2.0s and would like at least 2.5's. Buy the biggest you can afford so you don't do it twice.
I have bought most of my stuff through cjcoffroad. They are very knowledgeable and could point you in the right direction.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk