Jimbo, I think you would be ok with that one since you don't have a 4x4. They don't recommend them for off road in 4x4 because the torque of the engine is snaping the frontaxles.

 

I guess I don't understand how the Truxx spacer and the Trailmaster spacer are different enough that one would cause the axle to fail while the other one would not.

If this is true then the trailmaster kit would be just as prone to axle failure as the Truxx kit as they use 2 different methods to achieve the same thing. In the end your vehicle is higher because you have increased the total height of the spring as loaded and your axle will sit at a steeper angle because of it. If this is truely the case then niether kit is good for offroad use.

Correct me if i am wrong.

 

Yeah, that's pretty much what I was thinking. I was going to go with the Truxx kit and if an axle breaks then that kit isa lot easier to take off for warranty work! [:-]

 

yeah...so basically it puts more strain on the front axle? i know i dont have a 4x4 but I do some...well lets just say I push my 2wd as far as it can go, probably the most extreme a 2wd can get off road. You dont think it will hurt anything? Basically, what do yall think is better for off roading, stiffer suspension or just the spacers to give my truck the extra 2" in the front?

 

In my experience a softer suspension for off roading is better. Although I do think the suspension on these trucks is way too soft. I think if you stiffened up the front a little and added these spacers you would be fine. I don't think it will hurt anything on your truck since you don't havefront axles. It will give you a little extra clearance to have a little extra fun!

 

hmmm that kinda gives me an idea, do you think it would be fine to put on both leveling kits? The spring spacers to stiffen it up a bit, and then add the other spacers, total of like 4" lift? Then, what about adding a 2" to the rear? or would that be a bad idea?

 

That might be pushing it because they are just spacers and not an actual suspension lift. They might get a little wobbly like that. Kind of like when you see a truck with a 6 inch block lift driving down the highway and the truck is kind of rocking back and forth on the blocks. You should do it anyway and let us know how it works out for you! I plan on doing the 2inch spacers up front and then 2 inch spacers in the rear. I like a little bit of rake on the truck and the rake on mine doesn't seem as drastic as it is on the daks. We'll see how it goes.

Does anyone know if you need to replace the rear shocks if you raise the truck 2 inches? I know by buddy had to replace the ones on his Jeep after raising it2 inches because they didn't strech far enough for the extra reach of the suspension.

 

This can be done BUT, it would definately cause a driveshaft issue on 4x4's (not a probablem in your case) and it would probably lead to you not being able to align you front end properly. With this type of lift the higher you push the greater the angle that the lower control arm has to make. As that angle gets higher you lose static camber and the limits of the suspension's adjustability may not be able to make up for it. The 2" is fine because there is enough adjustability to make up for it. You also run into some other alignment issues like camber gain and bump steer that may make you truck squirelly on the highway.

Onmost factory suspensions the shocks are your rebound travel limiters. Meaning that the shock bottoms out and stops the suspension from going farther. If you space the axle down 2" then you will probably want to go for longer shocks. You probably don't need to but you will lose some suspension travel if you do.

 

hmm that's some good input...I think i will play it safe and go with the spacers. I dont know if I want to do an experiment and then go off roading and come back "hey guys my front suspension collapsed, dont think any more of you should do that " lol. OK I dont know if any of you go to autoanything.com, but they have for sale Rancho RS9000 Pro Coilover shocks for $450/each and then they say they are compatible with our trucks since they came up when I put in for a 2005 Dakota. Do any of you know about these? Or have any advice on if they are a good idea to get?
http://www.autoanything.com/suspensi...A2839A0A0.aspx

 

I was looking at that earlier. I think they have those shocks listed as generic because they come up for pretty much any vehicle that you put in there.
I have actually been thinking about swapping to a high perf threaded coil over body shock. Two things that I have run into 1) The dak uses a clevis on the suspension arm side of the shock whereas most other vehicles use a eyelet design. That can be overcome but with $$. Basically you'd have to find shocks with removable eyelets and have custom clevis' machined. Not impossible but not easy either. 2) The top of the shock mounts to a flat perch with 3 bolts. You'd have to fabricate some type of adapter plate to mount the eyelet of the shock. What you would have to come up with is a setup similar to this.



This is a Donahoe Racing coilover setup for the Toyota FJ Cruiser. What we'd need for the Dakota would be very similar except at he bottom of the shock. That would have to flare out into a clevis and from my research I have not been able to pinpoint a manufacturer of that yet.