Shocks and support

pas0047 · Post by **pas0047** » Thu Oct 09, 2003 6:27 am

I have approximately 9,700 miles on my 03 crew cab. I am planning on putting Bilstein's on all around at around 10,000. Will the new shocks help support when I am pulling my camper? Or should I get a helper system such as extra springs? And another plan is to lift the truck which is totally new to me. Is it better to do a body or suspension lift. I'm only looking to go 2".

adrenalnjunky · Post by **adrenalnjunky** » Thu Oct 09, 2003 6:40 am

The shocks might help the ride itself be smoother with your towing, but they do nothing to hold the truck up and keep it from bottoming out the springs -- for really heavy towing you might want to look at an add-a-leaf kit, or the boise springworks kit that HenryJ and Melloyello have on their rides. An air system like a helper airbag kit might be thought about as well if you were wanting to keep an absolutely stock ride quality when not towing. It's hard to have the best of both worlds. The Crew and Blazer's rear springs are on the soft side of things so they do sag a bit when towing.

As for the 2 inch lift -- are you doing it for looks or for serious off roading?

There really arent any options out there for suspension -- the superlift/Rough Country 2/3 inch kit is nothing but an add a leaf in the rear and a redesigned upper control arm -- the kit doesnt correct geometry problems on the IFS front end and can possibly cause premature wear of balljoints and CV joints. To get a well designed lift you have to go with the Trailmaster 5 inch setup.

Do like a lot of us have and put a 2 inch Bodylift on, a set of extended rear shackles, and crank up the torsion bars a little bit and you can fit a 31 inch tall tire on the stock rim with very little rubbing.

Do a search for bodylift on this forum and you'll find a good amount of information and before and after pics -- check this thread in particular foe mello's recent setup...... http://www.s-10crewcab.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1066