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Carli R2 Rear Coils For My 2021 Power Wagon

aaaslayer

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Hello,


I have a 2021 Power Wagon with the following suspension:


Thuren Front 1.5" Power Wagon coils
Thuren Overland Front Shocks
Thuren Front Trackbar

Thuren Rear STOCK HEIGHT SOFT RATE Power Wagon coils
Thuren Overland Rear Shocks
Thuren Rear Trackbar
Thuren Rear Extended Sway Bar Links


My question, I added about 450-500 lbs of constant weight to the back with a pop top camper, Rigd tire carrier, and a full size 37". I now have sag, and wanted to correct it.


I read around on a few forums of folks running Carli R2 rear coils on their Power Wagon to make up for that added weight of a topper and tire carrier with full spare. Anyone here do the same? And did you have to swap out your shocks as well to the Carli tuned ones?


Any info or suggestions would be appreciated!
 

UglyViking

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Hello,


I have a 2021 Power Wagon with the following suspension:


Thuren Front 1.5" Power Wagon coils
Thuren Overland Front Shocks
Thuren Front Trackbar

Thuren Rear STOCK HEIGHT SOFT RATE Power Wagon coils
Thuren Overland Rear Shocks
Thuren Rear Trackbar
Thuren Rear Extended Sway Bar Links


My question, I added about 450-500 lbs of constant weight to the back with a pop top camper, Rigd tire carrier, and a full size 37". I now have sag, and wanted to correct it.


I read around on a few forums of folks running Carli R2 rear coils on their Power Wagon to make up for that added weight of a topper and tire carrier with full spare. Anyone here do the same? And did you have to swap out your shocks as well to the Carli tuned ones?


Any info or suggestions would be appreciated!
I'd call Carli and/or Thuren to confirm, but I'm pretty confident you'll be ok. The Thuren rear coils being the stock height only mean what it sits at rest. They should have roughly the same total travel. I know that you can run the Carli R2 coils with Thuren soft ride +1" diesel coils with the R2 coils, as I know multiple guys have. The +1" diesel coil has the same part number as the power wagon coil, so assume it's the same thing.

As far as shock tuning, there may be a little bit of a difference, considering the Thuren rear coils are linear and the Carli R2 are progressive. Will you notice? I'm not sure. The option for the future is to get Carli Fox shocks with your next set, as the front coils are more similar Carli and Thuren vs the rear. Let me know if you have more questions.
 

aaaslayer

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I'd call Carli and/or Thuren to confirm, but I'm pretty confident you'll be ok. The Thuren rear coils being the stock height only mean what it sits at rest. They should have roughly the same total travel. I know that you can run the Carli R2 coils with Thuren soft ride +1" diesel coils with the R2 coils, as I know multiple guys have. The +1" diesel coil has the same part number as the power wagon coil, so assume it's the same thing.

As far as shock tuning, there may be a little bit of a difference, considering the Thuren rear coils are linear and the Carli R2 are progressive. Will you notice? I'm not sure. The option for the future is to get Carli Fox shocks with your next set, as the front coils are more similar Carli and Thuren vs the rear. Let me know if you have more questions.
I called Thuren yesterday, but since I'm inquiring about someone else's product, he couldn't help me much. He told me to call Carli and ask what length shock their R2 coil calls for. I will do that today. I have their Overland Shocks and Thuren no longer carries them, so I'm hoping they can still provide the length and the compressed length, I'm sure they still have those specs even though they're no longer on the site. I already have the longer end links, the rear track bar, the longer shocks for more travel, I'm just adding some coils that will likely be about the same length just less "springy" and soft. So I think I will be good. It will be driveable, might just not perform as good as they normally would. If that's the case, I'll make the jump to King 2.5 for the rear and place my order for that with Carli.
 

UglyViking

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Here is a video of someone else doing the same thing (youtube link). He has the King 2.5 in the rear, but the Overland shocks are the exact same. I ran the Overland shocks with the +1" rear soft ride coil while I was waiting for my Kings to be built. There are also guys on a few FB groups that run "Tharli" (Thuren & Carli together) and this R2 coil seems to be a pretty frequently used combo for the heavy weight guys. I believe CJC also did a similar setup for a customer.

No harm calling Carli to confirm, but I'd assume they may also be cautious of confirming since they likely haven't tested themselves and are hesitant to confirm for that reason.

For what it's worth, I'm buying the R2 coil in the spring to do basically this same thing. As I mentioned, the only upgrade I can really see being warranted at all is to swap to Carli shocks once your overland shocks die. That said, Carli uses the same rear shocks for their R1 coils as they do for the R2, so clearly not any real change, besides perhaps a small amount of peace of mind.
 

aaaslayer

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Here is a video of someone else doing the same thing (youtube link). He has the King 2.5 in the rear, but the Overland shocks are the exact same. I ran the Overland shocks with the +1" rear soft ride coil while I was waiting for my Kings to be built. There are also guys on a few FB groups that run "Tharli" (Thuren & Carli together) and this R2 coil seems to be a pretty frequently used combo for the heavy weight guys. I believe CJC also did a similar setup for a customer.

No harm calling Carli to confirm, but I'd assume they may also be cautious of confirming since they likely haven't tested themselves and are hesitant to confirm for that reason.

For what it's worth, I'm buying the R2 coil in the spring to do basically this same thing. As I mentioned, the only upgrade I can really see being warranted at all is to swap to Carli shocks once your overland shocks die. That said, Carli uses the same rear shocks for their R1 coils as they do for the R2, so clearly not any real change, besides perhaps a small amount of peace of mind.
I see Thuren has a 1" LOWERING coil not a +1" as you stated. Is that what you meant? They have 1" LOWERING and stock height. I have the stock height. Thanks for that video, I've seen it before.

Yes, so I'm thinking too that I will eventually make the change to Carli tuned shocks for the rear, but they don't sell them just for the rear. You'd have to buy the entire set of 4. And if I do that, then I have to also swap the front coils from Thuren to Carli. And I only wanted to do the rear to Carli R2 and Carli tuned shocks whether it be Fox 2.0 or King 2.5 for the rear. The front I wanted to leave it as is with my Thuren 1.5" coils and Thuren tuned King 3.0 or Fox, depending on my needs. Not sure I really need Kings since I don't do fast driving with a pop top in the back. My terrain is mostly mountains and desert but I don't do fast driving with all the crap I carry.



May I ask, what is your current setup up front and rear?
 

aaaslayer

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You know what, that Thuren Power Wagon STOCK HEIGHT rear spring is the SAME as the Thuren 2500 Diesel +1" rear coil set. They use the same part numbers. I had to open 2 different tabs and do a side by side comparison to catch that. So I see what you mean now. You have the +1" rear coils which are the same I have, "stock height" for the power wagon.
 

UglyViking

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Your follow up comment hit it on the head. I am talking in terms of standard ram 2500, and PW height numbers are slightly different, but the actual components are the same.

You don't really need to worry about the mismatch between the Carli and Thuren front coils, as they are so close as it is probably impossible for even Don or Sage to tell you the difference honestly.

Carli is also moving away from Fox shocks and moving to their own white labeled shock. That could also help with cost and if you don't need or want the Kings that may be a good direction in the future. Again, you likely don't need to do this, but it's something you can if you want.

I'm currently running a full Thuren setup for my 2019 CCSB Cummins 2500. 2.75" front coils, +1" rear soft ride coil, 3" front King shocks, 2.5" rear King shock, active rate swaybar, and front and rear trackbar, King front steering stabilizer.

I am building up a handful of upgrades for the spring, including the Carli R2 coils. I love Thuren's rear soft ride, but with the weight I've added to the truck, it just isn't working for my current needs. I've got a full size spare, recovery gear, and RSI cap on the bed. I'm also going to be adding a Titan spare tire tank and some other goodies, so there is too much weight back there for what the coil was designed for. I'm also installing some timber grove airbags for times when I'm super loaded down and on the highway (think long camping trips, or trips with the guys and a ton of shooting gear) plus to help with towing.

It sounds like your challenges are almost the same as mine, in which case the R2 coil should be the perfect solution. At some point, if you're really heavy, you're probably going to want to upgrade to larger shocks to help control the weight more, but you can make that decision for yourself.
 

aaaslayer

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Thanks for all your input and taking the time to reply. Much appreciated. You are running a similar setup I had to with my 2015 Cummins I had. Was running the same coils front and rear, track bars, sway bar, king stabilizer, just had Fox 2.0 shocks over the Kings since I don't do desert runs. Traded that in for this 21 Power Wagon though since I had mine deleted but in California it was a pain having to smog it every 2 years.

I also reached out to the guy who made that youtube video you linked. Had a few questions for him.


Will you keep the Thuren tuned King 2.5 rears once you swap over to Carli R2 coils? What tune level did you go with? I'm thinking of getting Kings even though I don't need them I think, but want to see what all the hype is about. I can afford them, just not sure if the difference will be that drastic to justify the cost. Especially since I won't/can't be going fast with a pop top and fridge and other junk in the back when camping with family.
 

UglyViking

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I am keeping the King rears for the time being. I'm interested in Don's new semi-long arm rear kit as it would enable you to run a rear 3" shock. That said, if it ends up being incapable with running airbags I won't end up doing that and may try and do Carli's rear dominator setup.

My shocks are tuned with his "3", but slightly softened via less nitro in the resi. I plan to send them back to get rebuilt with his level 4 when they are ready, as I'd like to stiffen them up a little.

Kings handle notably better on road than the Overlands. Are they strictly necessary? No. Are they nice to have? My wallet allows it so I say yes. It's not like a night and day difference, but it is notable. Truck just feels a bit more planted and confident.

I'd say that the larger shock diameter isn't strictly necessary if you're almost never off road, but the reservoir can help with shock longevity, especially if you're towing long distances.
 

Andersen24

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Hello,


I have a 2021 Power Wagon with the following suspension:


Thuren Front 1.5" Power Wagon coils
Thuren Overland Front Shocks
Thuren Front Trackbar

Thuren Rear STOCK HEIGHT SOFT RATE Power Wagon coils
Thuren Overland Rear Shocks
Thuren Rear Trackbar
Thuren Rear Extended Sway Bar Links


My question, I added about 450-500 lbs of constant weight to the back with a pop top camper, Rigd tire carrier, and a full size 37". I now have sag, and wanted to correct it.


I read around on a few forums of folks running Carli R2 rear coils on their Power Wagon to make up for that added weight of a topper and tire carrier with full spare. Anyone here do the same? And did you have to swap out your shocks as well to the Carli tuned ones?


Any info or suggestions would be appreciated!
@aaaslayer - Do you by chance have a pic of your PW unloaded when you put on the 1.5” front Thuren’s and stock rears? I am getting ready to order the exact same package, but am not sure what to order after watching the Thuren video on rake. My back is 1/2” higher so I was originally going to order what you have - but now I am not sure. I did add the black sumo’s to the rear (1500#). I tow a 30’ bumper pull toy hauler I tow 3-4 times a year and occasionally my dump trailer for projects around the house. The Sumo’s helped the sag immensely when towing the dump trailer and I am ASSUMING it would be the same with my toy hauler. Just trying to make sure I should order the 1.5” front and stock rear…
 

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