Yea, AWD pulls out all the downsides to 4wd. This would take forever to explain, but 4wd will send power to the tire with least resistance. But if you turn on dry pavement, that's neither tire, so it starts to hop, and that's not good on it. AWD senses which tire has less resistance up front, and it disengages one tire. But if you get an AWD highcentered, or one tire in the air, you won't get out. My uncle did that on his truck. He jacked up one of the tires, and gave it gas. Truck wouldn't go anywhere, just the one tire was spinning.

 

Yeah, AWD sends power to all the wheels, but the power can be distributed in different ways. For instance, if you are on the highway, and you turn, your outer wheels need to go faster than your inner wheels. AWD allows that to happen. 4WD does not. In theory, 4WD turns all 4 wheels at the same speed all the time. So if you turn on the road, your tires bind, your truck hops, or your gears break. And maybe you slide off the road and die.

AWD is great on the road, and 4WD should not be used on the road. In contrast, 4WD is excellenet off road, and AWD will get you totally stuck as soon as one wheel gets stuck.

 

i wish there was some way to combine all the positive features of AWD and 4WD. that would be great

 

Thanks...BERTENS... for the reply and pics.

I think I will use the Belltech rear shackles and see how it works out for me. I think it will be a good go for my use.

I'll post some pics when I get it setup and new rims/rubber on there.


Thanks

PS For all the macho types who think this approach is lame....
Real off roading is done with short wheelbase medium height full
locker axled 35in tired open doored roofless weaponry.....
NOT lifted 4 dr trucks....... we call them bridges! LOL
Or....come ride with us in the truly nasty terrain on 2 wheels!

 

A lil update.

I installed Belltech (6405) drop shackles.

They are really well made.
They fit good and the truck lowered close to level but not quite.
Was easy to achieve level as my truck has torsion bars up front.
With the torsions adjusted to level the truck it rode and handles great.
The front torsions didn't need to be cranked up crazy tight to get level so the truck rode great, handles well and had a decent cab entry height and rear bed height which was nice for the kids, loading the dirt bikes etc.

I rode the truck all summer like that. With an empty bed or nothing to heavy ( nothing heavier than 2 dirt bikes) it didn't sag too much and stayed off the bump stoppers. Towing with a light tongue weight trailer was also ok although it would hit the bump stops on rough roads.

The problem I had was in the fall with a fully loaded ATV in the bed (aprox 800lbs) and a trailer the springs were only 1in off the bump stops and the truck sagged too much. The springs bottomed out constantly on anything other than pavement, even then some.

Airbags I guess would be the ticket. They would allow the level ride height with the drop shackles and support the load when using a trailer and or with the bed loaded.
I just wsn't willing to go the expense and complexity of air bags at this time.
I went back to the oem shackles and a bit of front torsion crank but not to the point of level.
I can't stand the crappy ride of fully cranked torsions and or the slam of the rebound when they unload on bumps. Can't be too kind to the front ends parts either.
This will give me the rear end capacity to have a sled in the box and a double sled trailer hooked up and still deal with rough roads.

I would like to get the ride of medium adjusted torsions and the height of them cranked up.

I only use 285/70/17 rubber which fits on even the dropped rear shackle approach so don't need a lift kit but I guess either redesigned A arms or relocated mounting points would lift the front and retain the ride of normal torsion pressure?

 

Air bags aren't that complex and they allow you to not only use drop shackles and remove the overload springs to keep it level, But compensate for extra weight in the bed or on the tongue.
I purchased a pair for $130 thru ebay, But haven't had a chance to install them. I don't think it will Really take me more than 30 minutes to install as it is very straight forward. They air up and down thru a little shrader valve that Im gonna stick out the rear bumper. When they are empty, They don't look like they will add anything to the height.

 

They'll take a bit longer than 30 minutes to install if you have the models which require drilling of the frame, but not too much longer.

Bags require min 5 PSI at all times to keep from collapsing. (At least
Air Lift does) Still a great solution/compromise. I use about 200 lbs of ballast wt. at the tailgate when not towing both to smooth out the ride and help offset the slight lift the 5 PSI creates. Works great, and I wouldn't be without the bags now....especially for towing.

 

Where do you guys live?

I am in Canada and the winter gets pretty cold, often below 0degF.

How do the bags perform and hold up to really cold weather?

 

We had some in the back of dads 95 chevy 1500 for a good 5 or so years and they look brand new. We too also live in Canada and the bags have been inflated and deflated at a variety of temperatures. Just be sure to buy a quality kit dont be afraid to spend some money to get a good resilient set of bags that will stand the test of time.

 

Sorry man....

I live in Northern California. Just a week ago we were still riding the jet skis in the California Delta. If it gets below 30 degrees F we whine like no tomorrow and wish for summer again.

Still....I suspect the air bags will last fine in the cold weather that you have. Check with the manufacturer you select if still in doubt. They are great mods...I wouldn't be without them!