Off Road Package (ORP) 6" Lift

[RamSco]

I'm about to take delivery on a Laramie with the ORP non-air ride. When I ordered it, both ProComp and Rough Country advertised their 6" kits fit all except Rebel and TRX. Now they are warning against installing their kits on ORP equipped trucks due to stressed ball joints. I'm confused why.

I understand ORP has a factory 1" lift and adding 6" would theoretically be 7" of lift from the non-ORP base suspension. What I don't understand is how that is so bad for ball joints? (please keep reading before judging )

FCA, given it gave the ORP a 1"lift in the first place, theoretically calculated the angles to be ok on stock UCA's and ball joints. The 6" bracket kits drop everything down to stay within the factory spec relative to angles. In the end, it should be stanced 1" higher than a non-ORP with the same kit? If the answer to my question is "yes", than FCA engineers theoretically allowed the extra 1" within their spec of the ORP? So it shouldn't necessarily be more stressful to the UCA's and Ball Joints? (notice I have more theories and questions than answers)

I'm seeking expert advise on this. I'm going to do one of the following: 1) install the lift right over the top of ORP components for 7" total lift from non-ORP 2) swap out ORP struts and springs with non-ORP while installing the lift and stay at 6" 3) walk away from a $1,000 non refundable deposit becase ORP won't accept a lift and I'm not buying a truck that I cannot lift.

Need a sanity check please.

 

[SilverSurfer15]

Ok so what the deal is...

They aren’t actual 6” lifts. They are almost all more like 4” give or take on the actual “lift”. The drop brackets and such. Then they are getting the 6” by essentially using a leveling kit on top of said 4 inches. This works because the truck is still inside a decent operating range (like all the other leveled trucks running around).

But then you toss in a factory “leveling kit” like on the ORP or Rebel and now you have a problem. Basically stacking the two and over extending the suspension.

If it was a true 6” kit, you would be fine as you said. But most places don’t do this, and most people don’t know this.

A lot of it comes down to cost and complexity. If you drop the diff too far, then the front driveshaft becomes a problem. For part 4wd it’s not a big corner, but all there auto 4wd people would be in trouble. And a few other little things, but mainly cost. People won’t pay 4K dollars for a lift. So how do you keep it in the 2k range, like this... this is why FTS, Cognito, Bulletproof, etc are typically quite a bit pricer than your “box” brands like fabtech, procomp, bds, etc.

The “easiest” thing to do is buy a coilover kit. Problem solved, better ride and performance. Just not you will get 5” of lift vs 6”. But you could adjust it a little bit, cycling the suspension from the shock vs changing the overall assembly length with spacers (on top) are two different things.

Now, personally looking at my stock rebel I think you could do the normal 6” kit and be fine. If you are worried about it, just get the readylift UCA. They are designed for that 3.5” kit they have which is essentially what you would have in that scenario.

FWIW, FTS has a true 6” kit coming out, or very close because they are selling that kit in both 6 and 8 options.

 

[RamSco]

@SilverSufer15 You are da man! That explanation makes perfect sense to me. Thank you. I'm now waffling between bolting the 6" over the top of the ORP or spending the cabbage to get the Febtech dirt logic coil overs and replace the OPR rear springs with non-ORP to level things out.

 

[SilverSurfer15]

I would vote dirt logic, it will ride nicer plus you get the upgraded rear shocks. The basic shocks are TRASH. So even if you don’t, you should source some kind none basic read shock.

Performancelifts usually has good prices:

Fabtech 2019+ Ram 1500 6" Lift Kit - Dirt Logic Series # K3087DL

This Fabtech 6" Performance Series Dirt Logic Lift System is designed for use on the 2019 and newer Ram 1500 4x4 trucks and will clear up to a 37" tire. This system is a great choice for Ram owners looking to improve upon the stock ride yet want big tires and wheels. The factory suspension is...

performancelifts.com

You can sort of haggle them on price, sometimes they move. Via the chat or whatever.

Or rockymountainsuspension. Call for pricing there.

 

[RamSco]

@SilverSurfer15 Thanks again. Will update when I have everything ironed out.

 

[SilverSurfer15]

@SilverSurfer15 Thanks again. Will update when I have everything ironed out.

Good luck!

If BDS ever releases a fox coilover kit, it will be equally as nice and present another option but who knows when that will be. And they will probably have different size spacers to work with for the different factory options I would imagine. But that’s just a guess.

 

[Nails]

Good info thank you. Not that I’ll get Crazy enough to do that, lol. Great info for the community peeps

 

[RamSco]

Good luck!

If BDS ever releases a fox coilover kit, it will be equally as nice and present another option but who knows when that will be. And they will probably have different size spacers to work with for the different factory options I would imagine. But that’s just a guess.

I’ve called BDS twice in the last several months to tease a release date out of them but they are tight lipped. Kind of a bummer given this is “truck of the year.” They’ve already released their basic 6” for the 4x4 Camaro, ugh, I mean new Silverado.

 

[RamSco]

I would vote dirt logic, it will ride nicer plus you get the upgraded rear shocks. The basic shocks are TRASH. So even if you don’t, you should source some kind none basic read shock.

Performancelifts usually has good prices:

Fabtech 2019+ Ram 1500 6" Lift Kit - Dirt Logic Series # K3087DL

This Fabtech 6" Performance Series Dirt Logic Lift System is designed for use on the 2019 and newer Ram 1500 4x4 trucks and will clear up to a 37" tire. This system is a great choice for Ram owners looking to improve upon the stock ride yet want big tires and wheels. The factory suspension is...

performancelifts.com

You can sort of haggle them on price, sometimes they move. Via the chat or whatever.

Or rockymountainsuspension. Call for pricing there.

Ok, good luck on my part... BDS announced the release of their 6" just before I pulled the trigger. At this time, they are the only 6" that I'm aware of that allows 18" wheels. In other words, you can go to a 35 tire and still have reasonable side wall for off-road. That made it a no-brainer for me even though they're not yet out their coil over which I may upgrade to later. I went with BDS UCA's and Fox shocks which were expensive upgrades but I believe will be worth it long run. The BDS kit replaces the rear springs verses spacer lift factory springs which I like too. The truck drives and rides beautifully. With the 3.92's, it has plenty of hill ascent power on the highway.

 

[PorBoy]

^^^^. Nice, who did the work and did you have the parts drop shipped to the shop ?

 

[RamSco]

^^^^. Nice, who did the work and did you have the parts drop shipped to the shop ?

Thank you. Dennis Dillon Ram in Caldwell, Idaho has an accessory group called Sawtooth. I ordered my truck and then I gave them my parts list and they ordered everything for the install. I never drove the truck without the mods.

 

[SilverSurfer15]

 

[SilverSurfer15]

any Updates on this? More pics?

 

[DarkKn1ght]

Ok, good luck on my part... BDS announced the release of their 6" just before I pulled the trigger. At this time, they are the only 6" that I'm aware of that allows 18" wheels. In other words, you can go to a 35 tire and still have reasonable side wall for off-road. That made it a no-brainer for me even though they're not yet out their coil over which I may upgrade to later. I went with BDS UCA's and Fox shocks which were expensive upgrades but I believe will be worth it long run. The BDS kit replaces the rear springs verses spacer lift factory springs which I like too. The truck drives and rides beautifully. With the 3.92's, it has plenty of hill ascent power on the highway.

Your truck looks amazing. Did BDS say anything about your tow capacity with the lift kit?

 

[RamSco]

Your truck looks amazing. Did BDS say anything about your tow capacity with the lift kit?

Thank you. No, I honestly wasn't too worried about tow capacity because I mostly tow a ski boat or a flatbed trailer with Jeep on board. Not really going to reach the upper limit in other words. In towing my boat, however, I am noticing more spring compression than I thought I would. I'm going to add airbags just to keep things level and working as designed. Truck still tows beautifully... I just like to stay level when I can.

 

[RamSco]

any Updates on this? More pics?

Things have settled in nicely. I'm still slightly high in front but I'm not unhappy about it. It's hardly noticeable and sometimes it even looks perfectly level. The truck drives beautifully. I couldn't be happier with this vehicle. So far, I've only towed my ski boat but it tows very nicely too. I'm gong to add supplemental airbags because the rear sags more than I would have thought but it didn't affect ride quality or tow handling. I just like to stay level when I can so I'll be adding those for towing purposes.

 

[SilverSurfer15]

Thanks for the update

Do you ever wish you had gone 37s or more or less offset on the wheels?

 

[RamSco]

Thanks for the update

Do you ever wish you had gone 37s or more or less offset on the wheels?

The 37's look awesome for sure. From strictly ascetics, sometimes I see my tires as too small but other times just right. All that said, hands down, I like the overall performance of the 35's. With 3.92's and the Hypertech speedo calibration, there is no issue with this truck hunting for the right gear. Even towing the boat over a hill, it will find the right gear and stay there until I summit. Other feedback... If you like a performance sound, the Flowmaster American Thunder is awesome. It has a nice hearty sound to it until you lay into it and then it sounds like a friggin hellcat

 

[RamSco]

Thanks for the update

Do you ever wish you had gone 37s or more or less offset on the wheels?

Realized I didn’t answer you on offset. I wanted my tires under my fenders as much as possible but I would have been ok relaxing that a bit. I’ll get you better pictures in the daylight soon.
07/23 edit: adding two daylight photos.

 

[SilverSurfer15]

Thanks for the info, so many choices on wheels and tires.

I have carven exhaust already as well.