Hello All,
Will be picking up my V2 Max at the end of March for installation to my 2023 Ram 1500 4x4 Lone Star. All stock and looking for advice on what I should do about my suspension. Not looking to go full bore Overlanding, but I am a ski patroller and want to get to dispersed camping to fly fish here in UT and the surrounding areas north and east. Any input would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
Rick
hit up @ws6616 who is a forum member and a wealth of suspension info for Rams.
Bilstein 5100s set at clip 4 in the front, bilstein 5100 shock in the rear, Carli Rebel HD rear springs should set you at 2" over stock in the front and level with weight.
You can read more about the Rebel HD springs here: 19-24 RAM REBEL 0.5" LIFT REAR MULTI RATE COIL SPRING KIT HD - Carli Suspension, Inc.
If you want to have both on and offroad mode, then go with Fox 2.5 DSC. Above is how mine was before I put more weight in the bed (yes, it’s the same with GFC on it) and ultimately sagged the spring after GFC and more constant weight with more tools, liquids, gears, etc.
This is what I run now. You’ll notice that I changed the front spring as well, that is because I didn’t want to mess with the preload in the front and elected to go with a heavier spring rate for better performance when I bottomed out easily on even tiny jumps - I should’ve revalved the shocks but I can’t have the truck down for weeks to get them revalved.
Alternatively, if you want something that works a bit better than the Bilsteins (holds more fluid), Ironman 4x4 is a great choice. Their kit comes with everything you’ll need.
If you have nothing going on in the front, light load spring rate should be ok for 1.5” lift, or the medium load 2.” is fine as well for 2” lift in the front. In the rear, take an inventory of what you’ll carry constantly and choose the spring rate accordingly.
Thank you very much for the help. I am getting a few quotes from local installers, and one of them mentioned the Carli springs. I guess I just want to ensure that, over the long haul of putting the GFC on the back, I don’t wear out and start to sag or go through tires while my teeth get hammered by every bump from the added weight of GFC and other camping gear. I may get back to you with the quotes I receive. Looking at Bilsteins 6112 in Front and 5160 in the rear with the Carli HD springs. Any thoughts are greatly appreciated.
yeah that choice is fine.
to be exact, my springs sagged because… i was going highway speed when the road’s full of potholes and i had over 800lb on my rear axle, over 500lb (driver - me- included) in the cab (food, drinks, gears, armors, slider, etc). This happened when I was in Alaska and Tuktoyaktuk on a 15k miles road trip, surely I was asking a lot more for the truck and suspension with extra weight and made no adjustment to my “full send on dirt road” driving style.
send me a PM if you’re in SoCal.
i can show you what else I’ve done to make it expedition ready. like 50 days to Alaska and Tuktoyaktuk expedition ready.
