[Peace keeper]

Hello everybody, I just discovered this site several days ago, and by reading through the post it seems there is a wealth of knowlege here. I own a 01 Ram off road, currently estranged by 8000 miles. But shes waiting patiently up on blocks. I have been researching lift kits. Can anybody advise me on how their Rams responded to the suspension mods. Did it effect on highway handling, steering, braking ability, manuverability etc? How did the dual shock kit work? It seems Skyjacker has the most complete kit as well as the most expensive.Most of the lifts i've found won't work on the off road package, but with the Skyjacker im paying for a 5" lift and only getting 3". Anybody that has installed the skyjacker kit I would really appriciate your input. What is the difference between the no flex, single flex and double flex other than about $1000.00. With 410 gears and the 5.9L auto will I run into any trouble running 35" tires? Im building it to be primarily a mild off road truck, heavy snow, and for pulling my toys around. thanks everybody!

 

[Bubba Truck]

Check out Rough Country. I have the same truck and their lift worked great. It’s a three inch lift that retains the Off-Road springs so you end up with about 4 to 4.5” over the stock 4x4. Also, you can't beat the price Good Luck

 

[canyonero02]

i think the most expensive kit is the fabtech, $1700. most kits work with the offroad, just make sure there made for 2000's and up. if the kit has new coils you will gain 1 inch less than what the kit claims, becuse the offroad coils are 1 inch over a regular 4X4. its not 2 inches like many people think. the only thing with lifting these trucks is finding wheels for it. 15's wont fit because of the twin piston calipers, and the onkly company ive found that makes 16's with the proper backspacing you'll need when you lift it 5 inches is weld, which are big dollars. you wont want any more than 3.75 inches of back spacing otherwise the truck will be too skinny and wont handle good. if you go 5 inches up you have to go the same out too.

 

[Peace keeper]

Thanks for the info, I will go to rough countries website and check them out. How does your truck respond to the lift? any unforeseen problems develop? Steering, Etc? Do you know if Rough Country sells a multiple shock kit that will work with that lift? I checked out the fab tech lifts. I received an E-mail from one of their tech people that said the fab tech lift wont work on the 2001 models??? beats me? As far as the wheels, im clueless, maybe just keep the stock 17" wheels and go with the procomp 35/12.50 x 17. Anybody have photos of the ram running 35 x 17 tires? if so maybe you can e mail them to me.
thanks again guys.
Dave

 

[canyonero02]

i dont think the stock wheels stick out nearly enough, its gonna handle like crap and look goofy. it'll roll easily if your not carefull.

 

[JasonB]

I had no problems with my 35's and 3" lift (315/75/16 on 16x8 with 4.5" backspacing) and being too skinny and rolling/tilting.

The tires filled the wheel wells nicely, the tires were completely wihtin the fenders (except the front driver which was out 1/2" due to the lift kit and trackbar)

 

[Peace keeper]

Thanks for the info everybody, It seems the more I learn the more difficult the decision. Now I just found some guy who put 35s on with no lift? I was told by fabtech that their kits dont work on the off road, now there is one posted above. It seems these kinds of things will make you krazy when trying to plan a suspension.
Thanks guys.
Dave

PS. by the way, Ive found an off road paradise. Kosovo ! UNMIK issues us 4x4 diesel toyota 4runners, snow! mud! mountains, water! even the occasional anti tank mine!

 

[canyonero02]

i dont see why fabtech or any other company would claim their kit wont work on the off-road, because it really isnt that much different than a regular 4X4 ram. the front axle is a little different and the coils are an inch taller. even if it really doesnt work on the off-road im sure you could "make" it fit. i'd say just buy the fabtech kit and either 35 or 36 inch tires on 16 inch wheels.

 

[Punkineater]

I was told by Fabtech that their lift wouldn't work on my truck as well. However, 4WP told me they had installed two of them and they were working fine. The Fabtech pitman arm didn't work so they installed a Skyjacker in its place. I also went with the D.T. Products track bar rather than the stupid lowering bracket provided by Fabtech. I have had no problems and my truck tracks straight and true. Buy the Fabtech, it is an awesome kit.

 

[Pete and his Ram]

I was told the exact same thing from Fabtech. In fact, I was told by many local SoCal 4x4 shops that there is still currently nothing available for the Off Road Pkg.

This may change after the upcoming SEMA show. All the major manufacturers bring out the new stuff this time of year.

I'm currently running 315/75/16 and it works fine for light off roading. I'll need a lift for more serious ventures.

 

[Peace keeper]

Thats the same information I have been finding. It seems the off road package is lifted to the maximum extent the stock suspension will allow without screwing it up. Once you add a lift to the off road suspension it takes it farther up than the aftermarket lift was designed to go and causes problems. I dont think this applies to kits like the skyjacker 5" where it replaces everything. You just lose some of the lift range because the kit was designed for a standard 4x4.What is your wheel and tire package that you are running? your the second person ive found running 35s on a stock offroad. what wheels, tires, and backspacing are you using? can you e mail me a photo?
thanks.
Dave

 

[Pete and his Ram]

I'm running 315/75/16 Big O XTs, Eagle Alloys Model# 146 16x8 w/ a 4 1/2 BSM. Pics are yet to come.

It looks great with the currrent set up, but I still would like more height.

 

[Jimmy P]

Just curious,why would you want to mess with
the off road suspension package? unless its just for looks,DC put alot of engineering into it,alot more than any after market company could or would.It works great off road,Ive pulled out alot of the so called monster trucks------they look especially nice
at the end of my tow strap.

 

[Peace keeper]

Pete...
E- Mail me some pics of your truck when you have them. Id like to see how your setup looks. My go with it myself.

Jimmy...
I think your probably right. The ride of the off road is great on the hwy and offroad both. After doing all my research on lift kits it seems the perfect kit doesnt exist for the offroadster. My truck performs great off road for what i use it for. Im starting to lean towards your opinion and just put a nice set of wheels and tires on it. The factory tires arent worth a crap in mud or sand. Havent had them in snow yet.
thanks for the input everybody !
Dave

 

[Peace keeper]

Okay everybody.. I found a kit specifically for the 2001 Ram off road package. BDS makes a kit for the 01 off road. It contains everything in their 5" kit except for the springs, it uses 3" spacers in place of the 5" springs. I broke down all their part numbers in the BDS web site and it looks like a complete kit. It also has a dual shock option.
Anybody have experience with BDS???
Dave

 

[Pete and his Ram]

Dave,

I agree with Jimmy. The Offroad suspension is great. It just depends on what your looking for. My truck looks great with the combo I have, but I wouldn't do any serious wheelin in its current state. The front, inside wheel well is too close for comfort for crawling.
I wouldn't, however, discredit 4x4 companies such as Rancho, Fabtech, Skyjacker... because they have all been in the business and this is what they do. The Dodge engineers probably used some of these guys for advice.

Pete

 

[JasonB]

If you don't need the additonal ground clearnace, then the Off-Road package is great. However, if you need more than 1/2" extra under the diffs (half the increase in tire diameter) and additional 1-1/2" frame/body clearance (1" springs and the 1/2" from tires), then you are going to need to look into aftermarket lifts.

True, a spacer lift will keep the extra 1" spring hiehgt of the offroad and replacement coils will result in a lift no bigger than a regular Ram with the same lift.

Also, the BDS 5" for the Ram moves your rear axle a bit forward because it uses a shackle flip. Don't trash the old sahckle brackets i fyou ever want to be able to go back to stock.

 

[Peace keeper]

Pete, Jason,
It wasnt my intent to give the impression that the aftermarket lift companies werent good, There are alot of rigs out there using their packages. My issue was that i couldnt find a kit that would incorparate the factory suspension into their kit. I wanted to find a kit that was specifically designed for the off road package. It seems the BDS kit is the kit I was looking for. They only offer a 3" kit for the off road. Up to a 5" for a standard Ram. Based on what I can figure from comparing part numbers is the 3 inch kit contains all 5" parts in the front except for the aftermarket springs. It utilizes the factory springs with spacers. The rear on a standard 5" kit uses the inverted shackles. The 3 inch kit for the off road seems to use add a leafs with the standard off road suspension for a total of 3 additional inces over the stock lift. Thats how i read it anyway. I think im gonna try to stuff 315/75 R 16 tires under the wells on 16 X 8 rims with 4.5 backspace. Ill try the tires first, if they fit, no lift., if not, then i will go with the BDS system. My truck wont be seeing much articulation anyway, just sand, some flat mus and the occasional pothole. Next year though when i return to the states i plan on retiring to my cabin in AK, Big snow there and primarily a tow vehicle for sleds and quadrunners.
Thanks for the input!
Dave

 

[Bubba Truck]

Try Rough Country, their 3 inch lift works great on the off road. They also retain the factory springs.

 

[Pete and his Ram]

I read a past post about the Daystar spacers. However, I'm not sure if anyone has installed them on an Offroad yet?

Seems like a perfect alternative to a more expensive re-lift.