2003 Ram 1500 Reg Cab Shortbed 4x4 - want to put 35s on it.

Farm truck that my son will drive when he turns 16 next year. It has stock 17" wheels and tires. I've about convinced myself it would look better with a 2" leveling kit. Have a quote from a contact for under $280 installed. Not sure if 35's will fit with just a leveling kit. Would like to have a little more lift to it, just for looks, but don't want it in the trees. Considering going with an additional 3" body lift. Would like to put some nices rims on it also. I'm concerned that adding both a 2" leveling on the front, and 3" in body lift will cause problems with the drive shaft, etc. I know I'm opening it up to personal opinion, but what recommendations do you have about 1) pros / cons of doing the 2" / 3" combo; 2) nice looking rims without breaking the bank; and 3) aggressive but inexpensive 35" mud tires.

Thanks for your input.

 

ya 2.5 level and a 3" body lift is what some of the guys here have. you can fit 35"s with just the level but may rub at full lock or heavy off roading. so the 3" body lift would solve this. you wont have any problems with drive shaft angle running that combo

because its a 4x4 you can level it your self by just cranking the torsion bars, does the samething as a "leveling kit" but its free and will not cause any harm. theres a video on here somewhere if you search the forums your'll get lots of info on all the stuff your looking for

do you know what gears hes running?
if you have the 3.55 gears (stamped on the diff or on a tag) it wont have much ***** with 35's.

Nitto tires are nice but differently not the cheapest

 

Agreed. I would lift it myself also and save the money to get the body lift and install that myself also. After you crank those T bars though you will need to get an alignment. A body lift does nothing to the suspend or drive shafts.