Older Rig with upgrades vs Newer Truck near stock?

[Marine]

I’m voting for an older rig. I still run a 2003 5.9 Cummins. Mind you it’s just me and it’s mostly bow hunting trip out west and Canada. Now if the wife was coming along it would be all about comfort and amenities. Family first

 

[Sparse Gray Hackle]

You also asked about aftermarket suspension. IMO, nothing ruins a truck faster than going full send suspension wise. Good shocks, maybe a leveling kit, and if you keep a camper on full time… a better spring pack that’s appropriate for the load. Nothing more.

 

[TroySmith80]

My 2011 F150 was very smooth and quiet. Tires make a big difference.

Tires absolutely. I have gotten rid of multiple sets of KO2s... Toyos are much quieter.

An F150 is going to have better road manners in stock form. Once you put on a level kit like Fox or bils, you'll lose some road manners for better off road. The absolute best suspension mod I have done, and people will back me on this, is removing the rear block and getting some deavers. Will cost you about 2k but worth every penny. With the level kit you can clear 315 tires with plenty of room to air down for the trail.

You cant really avoid the jarring in a truck, leveled or not.

You also likely don't need suspension right away. Like said above, the FX4 in stock form is pretty great. Plenty of clearance. You can fit 33's without a level.

This is one of my biggest questions... what do people mean when they say suspension is 'better off road'? I can see at least 3 very different things that different drivers might mean
1. Better ability to go fast and maintain control, avoid bottoming, not be overwhelmed. (probably means worse 'comfort' at moderate speeds). I'm not an expert but i assume this is acheived with longer travel and heavier damping.
2. Better articulation/travel for severe trails / crawling
3. Better comfort when traveling at 'normal' moderate speeds on bumpy roads / light trails. Less jarring, softened jolts. This might mean the vehicle is worse at going fast. I'd imagine the best suspension could do better on all 3 counts than stock, but i don't know if that will be in my budget.

I'm focused almost entirely on point number 3, and also not having a rig that has massive body-roll and feels like a heavy squishy pic around town or on the highways.

Does FX4 ride softer or harsher than standard suspension on rocky dirt roads?

Searched for a while and found exactly what I want. The third and Dodge ram with a 5.9 Cummins. No payments, handles my camper great

Dream rig right there!

I hope you don't end up missing that LR3 too much!
I can't imagine what I will replace mine with when the time comes.

Seriously! Nothing can compete with the comfort and capability of the LR3 at the price these things go for! I'll hang on to it until i'm sure i've found something i like better! (i'm sure i'll spend a lot more to get it though) I really want to try the topper setup though, and having a lot more space.

I've figured out that I only have one bucket of money and I can dip out of that bucket to put parts on or travel. My vote is travel unless the part is 100% a need and not just a want.
I had an F150 with a 5.4 many moons ago. I put well over 100k miles on it with no issues.

Yeah, totally, i'm always trying to remind myself of that! Trips>Parts!
I had a 2008 E350 with the 5.4. Bought it with 180k on it and hauled an over-loaded 20' 10,000lb cargo trailer across the country and back. That thing was great, felt like practically new. I was very impressed with it. Similar experience with an RV with the V10. Good motors in my experience.

You also asked about aftermarket suspension. IMO, nothing ruins a truck faster than going full send suspension wise. Good shocks, maybe a leveling kit, and if you keep a camper on full time… a better spring pack that’s appropriate for the load. Nothing more.

I'd like to understand more about this. I only want to run 33" tires (I've never needed bigger and the reduced gear ratio and performance are a bad compromise) and don't want to be any higher than absolutely necessary. I hate big lifted trucks.
I just want as soft and smooth of a ride as i can get at 15-35mph on rough dirt / rocky roads and light trails with rocks and roots. And i still want decent handling and mpg on pavement.

Agree 100% that 6" lifts and 35"+ tires just ruin most trucks for 99% of the owner's experience. I dropped from 33s to 31.5 on the rover and picked up substantial acceleration and fuel economy, doesn't keep me from going anywhere!

 

[rruff]

This is one of my biggest questions... what do people mean when they say suspension is 'better off road'? I can see at least 3 very different things that different drivers might mean

I like the shocks I have (Ironman FCPros) much better on road and off, compared to the unbranded stock shocks. More planted, secure, no wallowing or bouncing or bottoming out. Handling is much better on smooth or rough surfaces. That was true before and after adding the camper. But they are firmer, and that mostly shows up as feeling small bumps on the road more. I couldn't care less, though. These shocks have high digressive damping.

You would probably get most of that feeling with Bilstein 5100s which are quite cheap, and would level the front. At least for Tundras, Eibach shocks have a smoother ride based on testimonies.

If you are only looking at Fords, their factory shocks might be very different.

I'd like to understand more about this. I only want to run 33" tires (I've never needed bigger and the reduced gear ratio and performance are a bad compromise) and don't want to be any higher than absolutely necessary.

Don't know about the F150 for sure, but a level would probably be plenty for 35s if you do it right. There are pros and cons to bigger tires, and they definitely cost more! I think my next set will be 37s, though... with just a 2" front lift.

 

[Sparse Gray Hackle]

Part of my umbrage with highly modified suspension has to do with resale value and limited numbers of buyers.

A modified suspension will probably cost more to repair, not forgetting a smaller group of facilities that might be willing to work on it. Then there’s the group of grumpy old farts like me who outgrew (or aged out of) wanting to do the kind of antics these trucks are meant to do.

 

[ITTOG]

Don't know about the F150 for sure, but a level would probably be plenty for 35s if you do it right. There are pros and cons to bigger tires, and they definitely cost more! I think my next set will be 37s, though... with just a 2" front lift.

I leveled my 2018 F150 (2" in front) and run 35's. I did have to remove the front and rear crash bars to eliminate rubbing.

 

[bh10!]

I pretty much got a new truck (diesel 3/4 or SRW 1-tons) every 2-3 years. I just got rid of my 23 F250 with powerstroke and picked up a 06 2500 Chevy w/ dmax and 70k miles. I got so sick of all the new technology and always having issues with and with the diesels, owning a new one out of warranty isnt a smart move. My 17 Ford Powerstoke lost its fuel system, cost $24k. Thank God I had good insurance has it was 6k miles out of warranty

 

[ITTOG]

I pretty much got a new truck (diesel 3/4 or SRW 1-tons) every 2-3 years. I just got rid of my 23 F250 with powerstroke and picked up a 06 2500 Chevy w/ dmax and 70k miles. I got so sick of all the new technology and always having issues with and with the diesels, owning a new one out of warranty isnt a smart move. My 17 Ford Powerstoke lost its fuel system, cost $24k. Thank God I had good insurance has it was 6k miles out of warranty

What does "lost its fuel system" mean? Not sure how to interpret that. But man, what a horrible bill to receive. I will go ahead and ask, whatever happened, is this specific to only diesels or can gas motors "lost its fuel system"?

 

[Gravelette]

What kind of insurance covered the loss?