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Will better rear shocks reduce sag?

20K views 19 replies 10 participants last post by  silverfz 
#1 ·
I'm getting my 5100's installed next Monday and will likely go with the top setting. Right now, when I hook up my boat to the truck, the rear is 38.5 inches (two inches higher than the front). If I get 2.5 inches of lift on the top setting, my truck will now sit 1/2 an inch lower in the rear when I'm hooked up to my boat. Will a better rear shock offset this 1/2 inch or should I consider the +1 or +2 shackle? Keep in mind, I'm reluctant to lift my truck too high because I can't put anything larger than a 34 inch tire. Don't want my tires to look too small with the lift. Perhaps I should just go with the middle setting for 1.75 inches of lift??
 
#2 ·
Shocks by themselves wont give you any lift. Unless they are air shocks. The only way you'll gain lift is by new springs, AALs, air bags, lift blocks, or shackles. Personally I would throw on some +2 or +3 CB shackles and call it a day.
 
#3 ·
What I meant to say was this: With stock shocks (non TRD), the rear of my truck squats down about 3/4 inch when my boat is hooked up. If I had better offroad shocks, would it squat a little less than that?
 
#4 ·
Nope. The sag is due to spring rate. Unless you change that, you will squat the same amount no matter what shocks you have. The only difference with a quality shock is that it will dampen the spring travel better. If you measure how high your truck sits right now, and then remove the shock, the height doesn't change. If you put a high dollar shock on there, it still wont change. The same thing happens with weight on the hitch. No matter what shock you have on there ( or no shock at all ) the springs will compress the same amount. Quality shocks will just control the speed of that compression better. Make sense? The only real way to keep the height the same loaded and unloaded is with a high spring rate ( stiff spring pack ) or air bags. Shackles and blocks will get you level while towing your boat but when you aren't towing, your rear end will sit higher.
 
#6 ·
Got it. Thanks.

if your towing a lot (like trailer almost permanently attached to the truck) it may be worth it to get the truck and trailer 100% level.

But is it really worth the money to worry about that last 3/4" when your towing a boat only on the weekends?

setup your truck for how you will drive 90% of the time. The other 10% where your hauling dirt in the bed or towing a trailer shouldn't really factor into things.
You're right. I only towed my boat twice this year (so far). During hunting season, I tow my 5x10 utility trailer with a 700 pound ATV several times per month. After my truck is leveled, I'll see how it looks when I tow a few times. If I don't like it, I'll just purchase some CB Shackles.
 
#5 ·
if your towing a lot (like trailer almost permanently attached to the truck) it may be worth it to get the truck and trailer 100% level.

But is it really worth the money to worry about that last 3/4" when your towing a boat only on the weekends?

setup your truck for how you will drive 90% of the time. The other 10% where your hauling dirt in the bed or towing a trailer shouldn't really factor into things.
 
#7 ·
Nope. Either get a smaller boat or my boss had airbags put in his 2014 tundra a few months ago to help with this when he's towing. Not sure what setup he has but he has an onboard compressor so it automatically adjusts the airbags when you put a load on the truck. He has a 25' travel trailer and with the airbags you can't tell the trailer is hooked up.
 
#8 · (Edited)
Whenever I tow my flatbed with 03 tundra (desert prerunner) I do the following with the rear King shocks:

Lift the back of the truck by the trailer hitch

Increase nitrogen pressure to 300 psi

Turn in the 'clickers' all the way.

Then I hook up the truck to the trailer and use a weight distribution hitch.

When empty, the extra pressure in the shocks raises the rear about 1/4", hardly enough to notice. But, the extra pressure acts like more compression valving. The extra valving combined with the weight distribution hitch and 1000# of tongue weight only squats the rear by about half inch.

I always recommend against using air bags unless totally necessary. Maybe it's just personal preference, but they seem to ride really rough.
 
#9 ·
I always recommend against using air bags unless totally necessary. Maybe it's just personal preference, but they seem to ride really rough.
I never liked the idea of them either, because the (conventional) way they are installed is pretty much like adding a block between the axle and the frame, it actually unloads the leaf pack and puts that stress right on the axle tube. What we need is a way to raise the truck by the leaf pack, so that they can still do their job. It's almost like we need "Air shackles" or something like that.
 
#11 ·
I put in airbags. Didn't make any noticeable change to the rear suspension when running empty. Makes the ride with a load so much better. Truck always runs level.
 
#13 ·
Billstein 4600
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I don't see anything about increasing payload or leveling . Maybe because they are gas charged!!!!
 
#14 ·
I am asking the same question. Because In theory my old tokico`s which where garbage as I my 4 yr old can collapse them all the way and my new shock should squat the same for the same load. Hopefully he will answer.
 
#16 ·
Lol. Wow. Im an idiot. I just realized the OP didn't even mention anything about a better "off road" shock. Sorry. Im an off road guy and when I see "better shock" , my brain automatically defaults to the off road variety like King or Fox or Icon, etc. My bad.
 
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#17 ·
Spankdog .that shock is gone so no way to go back. But when I first setup my equalizer wdh I has a tough time as the rear probably hit the bump stops. The rear would bottom out every for small load.used truck with 100 k plus .I have yet to tow the setup .this Friday I will put the wdh for a 4 day trip.so I will know .I just hitched post swap to measure in the same parked spot .
 
#18 ·
Well hopefully your new shocks will handle the load much better. Its crazy that you would squat that bad with 800lbs. I thought I had read that the load capacity rating was in the 900lb range. I wouldn't expect that to mean you would be on the bump stops. But then again, they probably mean with the load directly over the rear axle. I could see how that much weight on the hitch itself would cause it to sag much worse. In any case, good luck on your trip and let us know how the tow went when you get back.
 
#20 ·
Funny you mentioned it, mine is a limited but the last year for the manual adjustment.

I have never been able to adjust them as per the manual. with the lift kit I constantly get flashed by on coming traffic. I have to find a u tube video to help me I think
 
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