My truck sits way up in the back, to the tune of almost 3 full inches higher than the front! The rear leaf pack has an "add-a-leaf" in the back, which I was thinking of taking back out. But then I got to thinking about what is missing from the rear of the truck: the entire rear spare tire assembly and spare tire itself, a bed mat, and a Class IV trailer hitch.

I don't know how much the spare tire (stock 235/75R 15") and assembly weighs, or the bed mat, but the trailer hitch will add about 50 lbs. to the back. Do you think the extra weight of these items will bring the rear of the truck down an inch or so?

 

I thought the rake was by design? And that's what leveling kits are for

If no one has an answer I'll weight my tire tomorrow for you when I take it back off. Based on handling it today I can say it's approximately moderately heavy.

 

I do want to retain a rake, but the back of my truck sits a full 3" higher in the rear, and I have a short wheelbase truck! (The stock rake is between 1.5" - 2" for a 2wd truck.) Mine looks a little ridiculous as it is now. And my truck already has front leveling springs, but the previous owner also added an "add-a-leaf" to the back. I was wondering if I should take the extra leaf out (but I don't want to do that because that would lose all of the rake, and then I would have to go and get a 1" or 1.5" leveling block to re-establish the factory rake), or will the weight of the items I listed above bring the rear of the truck down some?

 

The weights are in the Parts Catalog (text section) someplace up near the top, within the first 100 or so pages.

 

I think a bed mat, spare tire plus holder, and 50 pound hitch will lower your rear end, but probably not by much. Maybe 1/2" to 1" or so.

I think that because placing a 55 pound hitch in my bed, above where it would mount, only barely lowered my rear end. Lowered it about 1/8" if memory serves (I measured before and after).

But a bed mat can be pretty heavy, and the spare wheel/tire is maybe 25 pounds (I'm just guessing).

So my guess would be to expect some lowering with these components, but not 3" of lowering. Altogether adding these items might just give you the "slight rake" you want! I'll bet your truck would also handle a little better with the extra weight in the rear.

 

Thanks, Galendor. I am glad you responded, because your truck is about what I want mine to look like.

Except I would like the back of my truck to be an inch or so higher. How are your Moog CC820 springs holding up? Any settling since you installed these? Is your truck still perfectly level?

 

Hello Lariat, been awhile, but I should be back on here more often. The rake in my 85 F-350 in all stock, but the back sits up a lot higher than the front. (1 ton set up) It really handles much better when I am towing or got a good size load in the back also noted by Galendor. Do you do much hauling with your truck?

 

Once you estimate the combined weight of the desired components (probably somewhere around ~125 pounds), you could put that weight in the bed and see how much it lowers. Maybe using a barbell as the weight.

As for the Moog CC820 springs, I believe they may have settled a little bit. Maybe 1/4" or so, just based on visual observation. But I would need to measure again on level ground to be sure. Weight on the front of my truck is whatever comes with having the 300 I6, AC, and extra cooling radiator.

So although my truck was perfectly level when the Moog CC820's were added, I think it might have a very slight rake now. My bed has a plastic liner, full spare tire assembly, and truck box. It does not have helper springs.

 

Hello, Coneynew! It's good to see you back on the forums again. I love the trim gallery you have on your page. VERY informative!

I don't do a lot of towing, but I am going to be pulling a small trailer on occasion. My truck sits like this now, but it isn't stock:




As you can see, the back is almost 3" higher than the front! Does that look right, or is it a bit excessive? From the top of the front tire (255/70R/15) to the fender lip is 4.5". From the top of the rear tire to the fender lip is 7.25". However, the spare tire, bed mat, and trailer hitch is missing. Also, my truck doesn't have a stock suspension, so I am trying to figure out where to begin. This was my father's old truck, and when he bought it, the previous owner put in the "twist-in" style coil spring spacers, which completely leveled the front with the back. The only problem with this is that whenever my father had so much as 100 pounds in the bed, the bottom would squat down real low, so he installed a set of long rear "add-a-leafs."

I think you can settle this for me, Galendor. Will you measure the distance from the top of the front tire to the front fender lip on your sexy truck as soon as you get the chance? If it is lower than 4.5", I am going to have to get taller springs than the CC820s you have now. Thanks!

 

Lariat, I would lower the rear vice raising the front. And if you then need more load capacity, air bags. BTW, a 10psi change will raise the rear of my SuperDuty 1", and does not change ride dramatically. I can get 2.5" rear lift just by pumping up the bags.

 

Good luck on your endeavors. I had some heavier duty springs installed on the front some time ago, but here is the only pic of my truck (side view) I could find. I have the spare tire in the bed (now mounted under the bed), a full bed toolbox and frame mounted hitch and both tanks full. It is somewhat deceiving because where I am parked, the driveway slopes down at the back of the truck, but I like the driving characteristics where some weight in the back.

 

Yes I will. But where my truck is parked is fairly sloped so it will have to wait until I drive my truck somewhere and park on a flat surface.

You current rake is a bit too much. One very simple test you could do is lean a yardstick against the back bumper and climb up into the bed yourself. How much does the rear settle with your body weight? It will settle only about that much with addition of a bed mat, spare tire, and hitch.

 

X2 what Don said. If you already have high lifted springs in the front, it is the back springs that are extreme. I would want to lower the back 2 inches rather than raise the front any further (e.g. camber and other suspension issues).

 

GREAT idea! I don't know why I didn't think of that. I did this simple test and I get 7" when I stand in the back. (I weigh about 170 lbs.) That is down about 1/2". The rake is better, but is still a bit extreme compared to the front. At this rate, my new coil springs either need to get me to at least 5" in the front (measured from the top of the front tire to the fender lip) or else I need to lower the rear somehow.

The front springs are original, but have twist-in coil spacers wedged in the coils (courtesy of the first owner 20 years ago) to raise it up. I am not sure how much sag my current springs have, because I am sure they have settled some over the years and I hear the coil spacers only accelerate wear and sag. So I am not sure where new replacement springs are going to put me, and which ones to get. That is why I would like to know what your measurement is from the top of the front tire to the fender lip, Galendor.

If your measurement is less than 4.5", I would need to either go with the taller Moog CC822 coil springs to look right with the rear or else lower the rear to get the right rake proportions.

But if your measurement is 4.5" or a little more, I will go with the same springs you have right now, the Moog CC820, and leave the rear alone.

Looking forward to your answer, Galendor.

 

If your front tires are wearing normally, then putting in taller front springs will wear the outer edge of the tires.

Yes, coil spacers do bad things to springs.

My 82 has 4.5" from the tire to the fender lip.

Drop the rear.