Hey guys so I recently put i 3 inch body on my 85 pickup longbed on top of the 3 inch skyjacker lift. I put 35 12.5x16 BFG mud's and the ride has gotten super rough. The shocks are all in the stock location. i was wondering if I moved the location of the rear shocks to the center like i was planning to do in the future that would help. Or maybe a set of new shocks might help smoothen out the ride since the 3 inch lift shocks from the skyjacker kit are still on it? and help guys? I know a lifted truck is going to be rough but this is almost vibrating me to death....any solutions would be appreciated! thanks

 

Did this vibration just present itself all of the sudden one day, has it been getting progressively worse over the last few months, has it always been like this? All moving your rear shock location is going to do is prevent shock side loading at full stuff or compression, it will not change anything for standard street driving. If this just started, or has been getting progressively worse over time then I would start by checking all the leaf spring bushings, shackle nut/bolt torque, and pull the dampers (shocks) off the truck and cycle them to see if they still have compression and rebound resistance. If the dampers are, or are supposed to be gas charged then they should fully extend once removed from the truck. Also, what does this body lift consist of? Are the stock body mounts being used, or have you upgraded to a polyurethane body mount to go with the body lift?

 

For starters I'd throw a couple of 50# bags of concrete mix in the center of the bed right over the axle. That should keep the rear end from bouncing all over the place on little bumps. Its cheap and effective. I've seen Skyjacker lift springs that looked like thick leaves and fewer of them than O.E. This= harsh ride.

 

it just started when i put the body lift on oldgold3vze and ya i have put my dirtbike in the back and it rides much better. But i was planningo n ordering some 51 50 shocks and was told to run 12 inch in the front 10 inch in the rear to level it out. will this smothen the ride out or do absolutely nothing? Thanks guys

 

I have no experience with those shocks. Whoever told you that shocks will even out your ride is way WRONG.
A body lift doesn't require longer shocks. It does allow you to move your upper shock mounts up some in case you need the longer shocks like with a suspension lift and you want more flex.

 

A body lift should not affect the ride, unless perhaps you omitted the rubber body mount bushings or something like that or the body mount bushings are worn out. I noticed on my '85 that the ride was pretty bad until I replaced the dead rubber body mounts (I was missing one altogether and two more were seriously damaged):
- http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTri...shtml#Bushings

You may notice a little more motion since you are sitting up higher than before, but the ride should be the same.

 

so 3 75 pound sand bags right over the rear axle made it a whole new truck! ride's like a mercedes