Mid travel suspension vs long travel
- Thread starter Jimmytaco
- Start date
911regular
Adventurer
Really depends on vehicle type, a long travel kit on a jeep vs. a long travel kit on a F-350 are two different things.
SWbySWesty
Fauxverland Extraodinaire
x2 on what you're building for. I did a long arm lift on my Jeep because I had a tall lift. If you're going with a smaller lift, you probably don't need the extra modifications. I will say that with the big lift, the long arms correct the angles and it rode better than the stock arms did.
I'm going to start with a ford ranger. It's going to be a dual purpose rig. I want to be able to go to the dunes and have some fun but yet at the same time be able to camp out of the back of it. I know I'm going to run an cantilever style rear suspension that will have about 18 inches if travel depending on what rear leafs I run
SWbySWesty
Fauxverland Extraodinaire
There have been a few Ranger builds on here. SafariPacific did an extensive Ranger build. I can't seem to find it...
SWbySWesty
Fauxverland Extraodinaire
bftank
Explorer
are you saying that in the rear the shocks will be mounted cantilever style with leaves? seems like a lot of extra work when a bedcage will work fine.
look at fat city's build thread in domestic for ideas on an expo prerunner.
if you are going to start with a ranger i would get one with ttb and swap in bronco/f150 dana 44 ttb and rear axle, bed cage rear, with 63" chevy springs. homemade radius arms on the front with cut and turned beams and coilovers. xj coilsprings work well too. and a 5 speed not an auto.
edit: http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/ford/1097826-ttb-crawlers-multipurpose.html good discussion on it and some examples
look at fat city's build thread in domestic for ideas on an expo prerunner.
if you are going to start with a ranger i would get one with ttb and swap in bronco/f150 dana 44 ttb and rear axle, bed cage rear, with 63" chevy springs. homemade radius arms on the front with cut and turned beams and coilovers. xj coilsprings work well too. and a 5 speed not an auto.
edit: http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/ford/1097826-ttb-crawlers-multipurpose.html good discussion on it and some examples
Last edited:
Link for rear suspension kit
http://www.dixonbrosracing.com/content/view/114/2/
Link for front suspension kit (undecided)
http://www.dixonbrosracing.com/content/view/8/2/
I want to be able to still sleep in the back if necessary. I plan on running a cap.
http://www.dixonbrosracing.com/content/view/114/2/
Link for front suspension kit (undecided)
http://www.dixonbrosracing.com/content/view/8/2/
I want to be able to still sleep in the back if necessary. I plan on running a cap.
78Bronco
Explorer
TTB would be my preference for a long travel suspension.
https://www.google.ca/search?client=safari&hl=en&biw=1024&bih=644&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=MfWeUZjIBMSEiAKB4oGgCg&q=ford+bronco+long+travel&oq=bronco+long+&gs_l=img.1.1.0j0i5j0i24l5.86384.92192.0.98077.12.12.0.0.0.0.219.1113.10j1j1.12.0.cqrwrth..0.0...1.1.14.img.5B4h4unPJbM#biv=i%7C21%3Bd%7CoIK-ZRKFxn7LHM%3A
https://www.google.ca/search?client=safari&hl=en&biw=1024&bih=644&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=MfWeUZjIBMSEiAKB4oGgCg&q=ford+bronco+long+travel&oq=bronco+long+&gs_l=img.1.1.0j0i5j0i24l5.86384.92192.0.98077.12.12.0.0.0.0.219.1113.10j1j1.12.0.cqrwrth..0.0...1.1.14.img.5B4h4unPJbM#biv=i%7C21%3Bd%7CoIK-ZRKFxn7LHM%3A
there are cantilever kits out there. they are not hard to build or install. its the best of both worlds imo. i have a few buddies who have them on rangers and explorers. bed cages are the wrong way to go in small trucks or any truck unless it is a dedicated prerunner and bedspace isnt needed. heres some reference.
http://www.race-dezert.com/forum/showthread.php/36156-cantilever-rear-suspension
giant motor sports and dixon i believe have them. check them out.
http://www.race-dezert.com/forum/showthread.php/36156-cantilever-rear-suspension
giant motor sports and dixon i believe have them. check them out.
brianjwilson
Some sort of lost...
The Dixon bros kit is an awesome kit but I wouldn't run it without custom high strength high angle CVs. If you get someone like RCV to build custom shafts to go with the kit, do it!
I'm assuming you're looking at 98+ 4x4? You really need to give some more hints about the truck and what you want to do with it.
The ifs on the 4x4 ranger doesn't leave many options. You can run some specific shocks that will allow a small amount of additional travel (1-2") but require limit straps and of course bump stops. The torsion bars don't flex great anyway. Good shocks go a long way here, as does disconnecting the sway bar. Someone was making a basic coilover setup that could be retrofitted but the ball joints and upper control arms are very limiting anyway. On this platform, QUALITY of travel is often a better focus than quantity in my experience.
An Aussie locker goes along way making up for travel but it sucks in the snow.
For me, as long as I ran a decent shock (bilstein), and did NOT crank up the torsion bars (so the suspension had equal travel in both directions), and disconnected the front sway bar off road it resulted in a very smooth ride off road. Combined with an Aussie locker I always got where I wanted to go. Though in the dunes I was definitely limited to slow speeds in the whoops.
I'm assuming you're looking at 98+ 4x4? You really need to give some more hints about the truck and what you want to do with it.
The ifs on the 4x4 ranger doesn't leave many options. You can run some specific shocks that will allow a small amount of additional travel (1-2") but require limit straps and of course bump stops. The torsion bars don't flex great anyway. Good shocks go a long way here, as does disconnecting the sway bar. Someone was making a basic coilover setup that could be retrofitted but the ball joints and upper control arms are very limiting anyway. On this platform, QUALITY of travel is often a better focus than quantity in my experience.
An Aussie locker goes along way making up for travel but it sucks in the snow.
For me, as long as I ran a decent shock (bilstein), and did NOT crank up the torsion bars (so the suspension had equal travel in both directions), and disconnected the front sway bar off road it resulted in a very smooth ride off road. Combined with an Aussie locker I always got where I wanted to go. Though in the dunes I was definitely limited to slow speeds in the whoops.
