Gibby56
Desert Rat
I have been reading threads on here for a while and recently started posting some and figured I would introduce myself and my truck!
I purchased my truck new in 2015 and the original plan was to only use it for work and hauling trailers/dirtbikes. Its a 2015 2500 Tradesman with the Cummins powerplant.
I installed a leveling kit on it to get rid of the factory rake thinking "This is a trailer dragger, I dont need anything fancy"
Upper glove box retrofit
This setup worked great for moving the crawler around to the different trail heads
Once the crappy transforce tires wore out, I purchased 35" General Grabbers and 17" Method Standards
A couple pictures of the truck in day to day activities
The wife and I have used the truck for countless tent camping trips for dirt biking. Our riding group is starting to move away from dirt bikes and more into the mild wheeling/camping trips so when our old tent finally gave up we decided to upgrade to a bed tent and air mattress to bridge the gap until the four wheel camper. This has worked great so far! We can set up everything before we leave the driveway and it all folds into the bed. Then I cover it with a Lund rolling tonneau cover.
Now I am at the point where things begin to get interesting...
I ordered sliders from White Knuckle Off Road. I chose to go with the .188" DOM and full top plate. These things are BEEF
Then I decided that the spacer lift has to go..
So after a bunch of research I ended up with most of a Carli 3" suspension system with the King 2.5's
I decided to piece together my own suspension system mixing Carli and Thuren parts. Most parts being Carli.
Carli Springs front and rear
Carli radius arms w/ limit straps
Carli torsion swaybar
Carli tuned King 2.5's
Carli rear track bar drop
Carli front diff guard
Thuren E-Brake brackets
Thuren boogie bump stops
Thuren rear sway bar links
Thuren King steering stabilizer
Not suspension related but I also installed the Patton Fab bed supports
To me it seems like Carli had a more complete front suspension system, whereas Thuren has a better design for the rear.
The future parts list for the truck consists of:
Thuren front axle truss
Thuren rear track bar
Thuren front bumper
Viair onboard air
Four Wheel Camper
37's
Regear to 4.30's
Timbren bump stops when the camper is on the truck
I am also kicking around the idea of sending the shocks to Thuren when they need to be rebuilt and have them re-valve and add finned reservoirs. Right now the truck donkey kicks ~50mph. Maybe 3.0's will be realistic at that time, who knows..
Anyway, that is the introduction and story of the truck so far. I am going to post about the first trip with the suspension next.
I purchased my truck new in 2015 and the original plan was to only use it for work and hauling trailers/dirtbikes. Its a 2015 2500 Tradesman with the Cummins powerplant.
I installed a leveling kit on it to get rid of the factory rake thinking "This is a trailer dragger, I dont need anything fancy"
Upper glove box retrofit
This setup worked great for moving the crawler around to the different trail heads
Once the crappy transforce tires wore out, I purchased 35" General Grabbers and 17" Method Standards
A couple pictures of the truck in day to day activities
The wife and I have used the truck for countless tent camping trips for dirt biking. Our riding group is starting to move away from dirt bikes and more into the mild wheeling/camping trips so when our old tent finally gave up we decided to upgrade to a bed tent and air mattress to bridge the gap until the four wheel camper. This has worked great so far! We can set up everything before we leave the driveway and it all folds into the bed. Then I cover it with a Lund rolling tonneau cover.
Now I am at the point where things begin to get interesting...
I ordered sliders from White Knuckle Off Road. I chose to go with the .188" DOM and full top plate. These things are BEEF
Then I decided that the spacer lift has to go..
So after a bunch of research I ended up with most of a Carli 3" suspension system with the King 2.5's
I decided to piece together my own suspension system mixing Carli and Thuren parts. Most parts being Carli.
Carli Springs front and rear
Carli radius arms w/ limit straps
Carli torsion swaybar
Carli tuned King 2.5's
Carli rear track bar drop
Carli front diff guard
Thuren E-Brake brackets
Thuren boogie bump stops
Thuren rear sway bar links
Thuren King steering stabilizer
Not suspension related but I also installed the Patton Fab bed supports
To me it seems like Carli had a more complete front suspension system, whereas Thuren has a better design for the rear.
The future parts list for the truck consists of:
Thuren front axle truss
Thuren rear track bar
Thuren front bumper
Viair onboard air
Four Wheel Camper
37's
Regear to 4.30's
Timbren bump stops when the camper is on the truck
I am also kicking around the idea of sending the shocks to Thuren when they need to be rebuilt and have them re-valve and add finned reservoirs. Right now the truck donkey kicks ~50mph. Maybe 3.0's will be realistic at that time, who knows..
Anyway, that is the introduction and story of the truck so far. I am going to post about the first trip with the suspension next.
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