Bighorn suspension upgrade

[AFDoc]

‘21 Bighorn 4x4, no ORP. Have TRX takeoffs, Cooper Road and Trail 275/65/18s, RCI skid plates. No other mods.

Goals:
1. 2-2.5 inch front lift, .5 - 1 inch rear lift for better looks and clearance of front end when off road.
2. Better than stock ride quality both on and off road.

I do very occasional off road, slow, a few miles to reach more remote hiking trails and not interested in new wheels/bigger tires.

I’ve been looking at the Carli Commuter with Rebel rear spring for a little more height in back than their regular spring provides but wondering if the Eibach Pro truck Stage 2 with rear shocks/springs and a new UCA wouldn’t fit the bill and save me a lot of $$. Recommendations?
Which UCA would work well with the Eibach? I’ve read somewhere that the Carli UCA might rub my current wheels/tire combo. Can anyone confirm or deny that?
Thanks

 

[H2OMAN]

Boogielander will be able to help you out.

 

[Nukldragger]

Can't go wrong with Carli or Thuren. Stay away from the big box kits like Rough Country, Trailmaster, Fabtech, BDS etc.

Box kits are the equivalent of a body lift for your suspension. They don't provide much, if any, additional usable wheel travel. They're probably fine if you want to throw roller skate wheels on it and cruise the mall parking lot.....you might as well throw the neon underbody kit on there while you're at it.

If you plan to mob the truck off road at all, spend the extra money......or spend it twice. As my son likes to say, "buy once, cry once".

 

[H2OMAN]

Can't go wrong with Carli or Thuren. Stay away from the big box kits like Rough Country, Trailmaster, Fabtech, BDS etc.

Box kits are the equivalent of a body lift for your suspension. They don't provide much, if any, additional usable wheel travel. They're probably fine if you want to throw roller skate wheels on it and cruise the mall parking lot.....you might as well throw the neon underbody kit on there while you're at it.

If you plan to mob the truck off road at all, spend the extra money......or spend it twice. As my son likes to say, "buy once, cry once".

These guys aren't interested in off road. That's why they keep buying the cheap kits.

 

[deeve]

Is BDS with the Fox shocks considered cheap? Not trying to be argumentative, but their components and price aren't what I would call cheap but I know next to nothing.

 

[H2OMAN]

Is BDS with the Fox shocks considered cheap? Not trying to be argumentative, but their components and price aren't what I would call cheap but I know next to nothing.

The BDS uca's are mid grade. The Fox shocks are of course top of the line.

 

[AFDoc]

deeve knows next to what I know. Wouldn’t mid-grade be an upgrade from stock? Are the Eibachs mid-grade or at least better than stock?

 

[H2OMAN]

deeve knows next to what I know. Wouldn’t mid-grade be an upgrade from stock? Are the Eibachs mid-grade or at least better than stock?

Yes. Both are serious upgrades from stock.

 

[Nukldragger]

Is BDS with the Fox shocks considered cheap? Not trying to be argumentative, but their components and price aren't what I would call cheap but I know next to nothing.

Not sure where you're at in Oregon, but Don Thuren's shop is in Bend. Definitely worth a drive out there, they can put together a package for you that's appropriate for your intended use. Not everybody mobs their trucks in the desert, so if that's not your intent you don't need to dump $10k into your suspension. I'd guess (without pricing stuff out on Thuren's site) you could put together a pretty capable package together for less than $3k with a 2.0 shock package.

King 2.5s and UCAs for around 4500ish....it'll ride better on the street and still absorb anything you throw at it off road, plus all the components are serviceable.

Personally, I'm waiting for Dirt King to get off their *** and finish the long travel kit for the 5th gens. I'll back that up with Thuren's shock package......but I'm looking at an all in cost of probably north of $10k.

 

[AFDoc]

Went with Carli Commuter in June. Love it. Looks great, smoother on road, great off road. Completed White Rim Trail in Canyonlands NP.

 

[Ready Go]

I have Thuren F-UCAs, R-U/L UCAs, and R-Trackbar..fantastic pieces with zero bind, just smooth movements without any NVH that I can tell..in fact, I'm pretty confident NVH decreased!
I just swapped in Fox PEs, which I'm still tinkering with on valving. My old Eibach were easier..install and forget. They were pretty darn good but did have some multiple rebound NVH in bigger bumps..the Fox are one hit and done.

 

[boogielander]

oopsie didn't see this till now
commuter 2.0 will serve you just fine until you do long distance high speed runs in the rougher terrains (has to do with fluid capacity and reservoirs)

now, how was it on White Rim? Did it back in 2020 with my 4Runner and there was a section by the river that was a bit tight and made me think it'd be way too tight for the truck now lol

Went with Carli Commuter in June. Love it. Looks great, smoother on road, great off road. Completed White Rim Trail in Canyonlands NP.

 

[AFDoc]

oopsie didn't see this till now
commuter 2.0 will serve you just fine until you do long distance high speed runs in the rougher terrains (has to do with fluid capacity and reservoirs)

now, how was it on White Rim? Did it back in 2020 with my 4Runner and there was a section by the river that was a bit tight and made me think it'd be way too tight for the truck now lol

Heard some very light scraping on the sides but no scratches on the paint. Most stressful part was thinking I might get stuck in the sand right after that section. Could feel tires spinning but went in with momentum and it carried me through.

 

[AFDoc]

oopsie didn't see this till now
commuter 2.0 will serve you just fine until you do long distance high speed runs in the rougher terrains (has to do with fluid capacity and reservoirs)

now, how was it on White Rim? Did it back in 2020 with my 4Runner and there was a section by the river that was a bit tight and made me think it'd be way too tight for the truck now lol

Heard some light scraping but no scratches. Thought I might get stuck in the sand right after that area. Could feel the tires spinning but went in with momentum and it carried my through. Got a flat entering Hardscrabble Hill and had to use a flat rock I found and put under the stock jack to reach high enough. Do you recommend a jack base or getting a different jack?

 

[boogielander]

Heard some light scraping but no scratches. Thought I might get stuck in the sand right after that area. Could feel the tires spinning but went in with momentum and it carried my through. Got a flat entering Hardscrabble Hill and had to use a flat rock I found and put under the stock jack to reach high enough. Do you recommend a jack base or getting a different jack?

personally we use Pro Eagle 3 Ton Kratos in our group when we go out.
we never use the stock jacks that come with the truck after lifting the truck and we don't use a jack base because it's just more point of failure (or more things can go wrong)

The Kratos is great. we used it as an "axle" for a jeep when its axle front axle snapped due to driver error (driver went off the trail, through a ditch, caught air, landed on a boulder and the front axle was the impact point). We put the Kratos under the front diff, jacked it up, and it served as the "front axle" supporting the entire Jeep's front end weight on multiple tow trucks for ~300 miles and moving in between. We also used it for changing tires on teslas and 2500 diesel trucks with full payload.

if the Krato is too expensive, which it is, you can also opt for the 3-ton Abrams with smaller rear wheels. Though its "offroad" use capacity may be slightly reduced compared to the Krato.
Or, we've been using the badlands 3 ton at the shop with jack stands for changing tires or brakes and doing oil changes. Though we barely use jack stands with the pro eagle unless we are really getting under the trucks, that's how much we trust Pro Eagle lol