Thats cool...if you are lucky its close to terrys87. He's a well of information.
And excellent parts sourcer.

 

So, ive looked around alot and the best rear suspension that will fit my needs is the "4 kit from Trail Gear the "89-95 rear lift kit", also like the creeper joints, not sure if anyone has experience with them. Also, would there be any point in adding a shock hoop for slightly longer shocks or is this kit already come with the most articuation? One more question, do any of you think it would be worth to upgrade from the 5100 to the 7100 or even Fox so i can have a resevoir? I will have around $1k of our tax return to spend on the rear suspension, trying to do all my homework now. Im really excited about this!!

 

Im researching lift stuff on my 87. Im pretty weak on shocks/suspension....so
my ears are open too.

 

Im glad im not the only one. I will do some searching the forum for reviews and let you know.

 

He says his family lives around the Lake of the Ozarks. Sounds really nice

 

Shock hoops? As up through the bed? My guess would be 5100's being fine. Resevoir shocks seem like overkill.

 

Not up through the bed, its like a bar that moves the upper mount more toward the center of the vehicle, now i know that this changes the angle of the shock and dampening effectiveness but is it enough to be noticeable, is it worth the extra articulation? And i thought the resevoirs are for the extra fluid when it gets hot....shouldnt all shocks have resevoirs that way the are not proggressively stiffer as the fluid heats up?

 

I like the way u think. So ur thinking of something like sky's rear shock mount I assume? I made my own similar to that but it's mounted to the crossmember I added. Ur right about the reservoirs helping keep the shocks cool but most shocks don't require them because most shocks aren't being used hard enuf to justify the added cooling capacity. So if ur going to be really working ur suspension hard then reservoirs are the way for u but if ur just doing the occasional wheeling then they are probably not necessary. Although to be perfectly honest with u, if I had the extra money I'd have reservoirs on mine in a heartbeat lol.

 

Yes, something like that, how do you like it? And did you notice a change in dampening/comfort on washboard roads? Id like to be able to go around 20-30 off road trails and for the suspension to fully absord the shock (to the best of its design), without feeling like im gonna break something, somewhat like a prerunner but still 4wd.

 

So i hooked up my GPS again to check the real speed in my truck and i was a little off from what i said before, plus now im on 35's not 36's. So when im going 60 (gps speed) im actually running between 3800 and 3900 rpms. Just wanted to give a proper update.

Nothing yet on the gas tank, no money :-(

 

I like it so far although I haven't had a chance to do much offroading. I'm still running the factory worn out front suspension and don't drive the truck much but its def noticeably nicer ride.
This is the mount I made. It's 3/16 plate that I bent with the brake at work and welded to a square tube crossmember that I made to replace the rusted out factory one.


Here's a shot of it mounted and u can see the gussets I added to strengthen it.

And here's a rear shot of it mounted

It's about half an inch away from the bottom of the flatbed. I made the mount as tall as I could to spread the shocks as far apart as I could. Ideally for shocks to work the best they should be mounted vertically but most ppl compromise and mount them at angle in order to gain extra travel.

 

Those look really good, i think i will do the same thing with my truck, with some help from my uncle, the angle isnt as harsh as ive seen on some rides. Are those the Billy's 5100?

 

Yessir they are. Got them thru lowrange offroad. Here's the pn# Bilstein 10" 5125 (v170/60) Shocks-TSP-BIL10-5125-170-60. They have the softer valving. I read somewhere that the softer valving was perfect for trucks and the heavier valving was perfect for 4runners. I'm planning on running the 12" travel version on the front when I get my ruf packs put in. I paid $75 apiece for them which is $10 cheaper than I could find anywhere else. I'm very happy with lowrange so far. Didn't take very long to get the shocks and when they got here they had included a decal sheet and a handful of business cards asking to spread the word of their business. I always try to shop around for the best price but they will be the first place I look.

 

Cool, the kit im looking at through Trail Gear comes with 12" billys but no change for mounting on top, and i will look at Low Range before buying and also ill go with the softer valving, thanks alot!!!

 

So i went out to Citrus today between jobs and did some light wheeler.

The pictures never show how steep these drops really are, it felt like myvtruck was gonna tip on one of the ones that i didnt take a pic of (cause i couldnt open driver door, low side on driver side). Anways heres 2 that i took.





There are alot of these washouts like this here, and ive gone on 3 of the Florida Threads where people were basicly begging (im exagerating) to have other members do rides and go off roading, ive sent a couple emails and PM, and posted on all their threads, with no avail. Not sure why ppl round here are like that....

 

You were right bro, i went up a very steep hill the other day and the rear bumper hit the edge of the pavement as i was going up a dirt hill that was right off the side of the road. It pushed my bumper up and into my new exhaust, now my tips are pressed to the bumper instead of being in the middle, lol. Nothing damaged though, i gotta see about getting it tucked closer to the bed though!!!

 

So i bought my gas tank finally on Friday, and last night i installed it. But before i did that i went off road and used as much gas up as i could so the load would be light (didnt feel like syphoning). So i am gonna post a few pictures and 1 video of me wheeling and then on the next post im gonna put up the pics of the tank....

Here they are.

 

Nice pics!!! Looks like you had a good time. Gotta bunch of snow here so im gonna go tear it up and put the front locker to use. I blasted up an alley by my house that i could never get up in my 89 truck when it drifted shut with snow and my runner didnt even skip a beat going through it. The front locker has definetly paid off. well worth the $100 i spent on it.

 

I also am putting up the 2 videos of my exhaust prior to having it installed, since this video showcases the new exhaust it will take the place of the 3rd video i was gonna put up.

 

Heck yeah man, wish i was there to wheel with ya, have fun!