My rear suspension has been creaking and sagging lately and now it's starting to annoy me so guess what! I get to spend some money!! I already know I have to replace my tie rod bushings so Moogs are on the top of the list for that, but I have questions for my peoples for the rest. Here we go...

I have: 2004 dodge ram QC 5.7 4x4 1500 sport with 147k miles and it's my tow vehicle for my 3 ton boat and trailer combo (i'd guess 1200 pounds of tongue weight?)

I want: To beef up the rear suspension a bit for towing without compromising the original ride and to bulletproof it (not literally people, I want it tough). I'd also like to do the same to the front. I don't necessarily want to change the ride height so keep that in mind too. Not yet anyway... that'll come in a few years.

So my questions to you are:

If you would replace your rear suspension (shocks and springs) and wanted to have em built up for towing too, what would you go with? Why?

If you wanted to replace your front shocks, what would you go with? Why?


Keep in mind i'm from the ever-lovely city of Detroit, where unemployment has hit us pretty bad, so no deep pockets here. I'm not trying to go to junkyards, but let's keep it real world please.

Thanks in advance for the help everyone.

 

one word ..."bags" get some air bags makes a world of difference

 

Ya,the only way to go for a tow vehicle!

 

for sure air bags. and get new shocks all around. my recommendation is ranchos. they made a huge difference on my truck.

 

Been wondering about springs vs. bags myself. I can get bags installed for about $450. Can buy springs for about 300 and install them myself.

 

if you can install springs you can install bags . bags are the simplist thing IMO. hell changing shocks is harder then installing bags and shocks are easy as sunday morning

 

if you can run lines and use a drill and socket wrench you can install bags yourself too!

Springs suck moosec*ck when not towing or hauling! Get you a set of bags, I'll never own another truck without installing them...

 

hey all, i will be pulling at least 2 to 4 snowmobiles this winter, and alot of firewood this summer, my Ram 2500 hasnt be tested by me yet[2nd owner] would those air bags be worth my money, and what ply tires should i run, 6 or 8, new to the heavy trucks and deffinatley not the old silver bullet[90 1/2 ton 4x4], sorry but one more question, how the heck do i get the **** off of the shift lever so i can but a t-handle on it, thanx yall

 

Airbags to help the towing. Bilstein's all around for the shocks.

 

Thanks for the input everyone. I see bags are the way to go. A better question would be if I really NEED a compressor?? I can get a bag setup for around 260 online and install that no problem, but adding a compressor is going to double that. I'd rather not if I don't need to...