Bolt-in Suspension Enhancements

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December 8, 2008

 

The positive side of the changing economy is that many businesses are offering more diverse product lines to serve new customers. Those of you that are familiar with Henderson’s Line-Up and our manufacturing division, SuperSteer, already know that we have made a name for ourselves servicing, repairing, and producing aftermarket products for RVs.

While we have always serviced both cars and trucks, I’m pleased to announce that we are continuing to expand our product line for pick-ups. A few months ago, I wrote a post called “Care for Truck and Camper” where our new Trac Bar for Dodge trucks was detailed. We have since introduced a similar product for 1500 series GM trucks, and are working on new trac bar applications for Toyota Tundra and Nissan Titan as well.Here’s a photo of our Dodge trac bar (top) and our new Titan trac bar:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Historically, we have not been a shop that installs lift kits, but we recently became a Revtek Suspension dealer (revtek.com). We were impressed by the quality of Revtek’s products and their common sense approach to suspension systems. By “common sense” I mean that many consumers, and certainly most  RVers are not willing to install a big lift system on their truck that requires irreversible modification. Almost all of Revtek’s kits are bolt-in, requiring no permanent modifications to the truck to install. But what was even more appealing to me was their complete line of moderate lift and “leveling kits” that give trucks a level ride height instead of the “stink bug” look with the rear of the truck several inches higher than the front.

A lot of truck owners don’t like this look, so they lower the rear to compensate for it. This is really the wrong way to go, because the rear will sag when a trailer or camper is placed on it, and it reduces suspension travel as well. The right way is with a leveling kit, which uses spacers at the top of the coil spring pack to raise the front end, usually about two inches. This gives the truck a level appearance. These kits work within the stock suspension geometry and don’t require different springs or shocks, so ride quality is unchanged. Here’s a photo of the Revtek two-inch leveling kit and one of it installed on the vehicle:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aside raising the front of the truck, a leveling kit will also allow you to use larger wheels and tires to get that rugged look, and to provide additional ground clearance when driving off-road. The best part is, these kits won’t affect the usefulness of your truck as a tow vehicle.

 

 

 

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4 comments

  1. Hello Darryl,
    Our shop is in Grants Pass, OR , 541-479-2882, as well as on the road. We’ve even been known to make house calls if we are near you. Currently we are in Quartzsite, AZ at the Kenny King Show.
    Best wishes, Robert

  2. Darryl stein

    Were is Henderson’s shop
    No contact info anywere

  3. Hello MR Whit,

    You can install air bags on your Dodge. We are currently using the new PAC Brake air bags due to the no drill heavy duty brackets and bags. If you look on our post called ” Care for aTruck and Camper you can read about the “fix” we did for the 2006 Dodge pick-up owner. Thank you, Robert

  4. Hi Robert,
    I have a 2006 Dodge 3500 4X4 and pull 35′ 5th wheel. my question is when i hook up, my head lights are mis aligned. my hitch is a “clamp” style onto the frame. can air bags be installed to help level out my rig-whit