2020 3500 factory air bags lift kit?

[Tom716]

I have been looking and looking for a lift kit for this thing. I know I can use spacers but I didn't want to go that route. Carli has a complete 3" lift for the 3500 factory air bag trucks but 6K for just parts was way to expensive for my taste. Especially since that pintop kit comes with $2500 shocks. I don't plan on hitting the dunes or doing any mud bogging. After doing a lot of research and a few idea's from other people, I came up with a $2500 alternative. I ordered the Carli springs, radius arm drop brackets, sway bar drops, bump stop drops, adjustable track bar and 4 fox commuter 2.0 3" lift shocks. For the rear, I ordered the ready lift 2" spring spacer and 2" bag spacer. I then called CJC Offroad and asked if this was a decent alternative as opposed to spending 6K and he agreed. Anyway, everything has been ordered and I will update when things arrive. This set up will lift the truck 3" in the front and 2" in the rear making it higher and level.

 

[jpidgie]

Tom - sounds like you made a good choice. I did almost the exact thing and I think it came out great. Also, Cody and Cole at CJC are amazing at everything they do. The only things that I did differently are: I wet with the 2.5" Carli leveling springs, so, no radius arm drop brackets to install, and I went with the Fox 2.0 remote reservoir shocks. I sit about 3/4-1" high in the rear, and love the look and ride. Oh, and I didnt do the track bar yet. Next on my list is the Carl sway bar.

One trick: on the leveling sensors, there is a 10mm bolt (?) that holds the bracket to the frame. You are able to adjust the amount of air in the bags by loosening that bolt and rotating the bracket so that it positions the sensor a bit different. When I first did my air bag spacers, the ride was horrible. The bag was rock-hard. I moved the position of the sensor, and it made a huge difference.

 

[Tom716]

Tom - sounds like you made a good choice. I did almost the exact thing and I think it came out great. Also, Cody and Cole at CJC are amazing at everything they do. The only things that I did differently are: I wet with the 2.5" Carli leveling springs, so, no radius arm drop brackets to install, and I went with the Fox 2.0 remote reservoir shocks. I sit about 3/4-1" high in the rear, and love the look and ride. Oh, and I didnt do the track bar yet. Next on my list is the Carl sway bar.

One trick: on the leveling sensors, there is a 10mm bolt (?) that holds the bracket to the frame. You are able to adjust the amount of air in the bags by loosening that bolt and rotating the bracket so that it positions the sensor a bit different. When I first did my air bag spacers, the ride was horrible. The bag was rock-hard. I moved the position of the sensor, and it made a huge difference.

Thanks for the heads up. Almost everything has arrived, just waiting on the track bar and sway bar links. Did you notice a difference in the shocks/front springs as compared to stock? I am not sure I will get to install this setup this week as I am pretty busy but I will update this post. Thanks again !

 

[jpidgie]

Definitely a bit smoother. Hard to quantify after having the rear airbags overinflated, causing a much rougher ride for about a week before I was able to dig into the issue some more. The suspension components, along with aired down 35's, yes the improvement is noticeable. Very Nice truck, you have good taste cant wait to see it when you are done.

 

[Tom716]

Definitely a bit smoother. Hard to quantify after having the rear airbags overinflated, causing a much rougher ride for about a week before I was able to dig into the issue some more. The suspension components, along with aired down 35's, yes the improvement is noticeable. Very Nice truck, you have good taste cant wait to see it when you are done.

Well, I had some time yesterday and while everything was in except for the track bar I went ahead and installed everything. When I set it down on the ground, WOW is what came to mind right away. Pictures don't do the lift justice. I took it out for a ride and was real happy with it. The rear didn't change much if at all but the front seems to glide over small bumps in the road now. I'm glad I dove into this and did it. all in all it took me about 10 hours but a lot of that was reading and re-reading. Off to go fuel her up and give it a good run !

 

[jpidgie]

Looks great! how bad were the radius arm drops to install?

 

[Tom716]

Looks great! how bad were the radius arm drops to install?

They weren't to bad. You have to drill one 3/4" hole in the frame and the brackets come with a hole saw. You then have to drill a 1/2" hole on the other side of the frame. The kit also comes with a bushing/alignment tool to get it perfect. The only problem I ran into was needing a 90 degree drill with a 1/2" chuck or a 1/2" drill bit for a 3/8" drill chuck. I have a 90 degree drill in a 3/8 chuck. So I took a 1/2" drill bit and turned the shank down on a lathe. Worked perfect and it all bolted up nicely. On the right side, in order to drill that hole I had to remove the air tank. 3 bolts and 1 air line. Pretty easy.

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