Does anyone have any experience with these? I am interested to see thoughts on the leveling kits that come with the rear leaf add-a-pack for my 2012 F350. The Pin Top 2.5 is out of my price range but the Commuter 2.0 may be within reason. How do the Bilsteins and the King shocks compare?

Here is what I am looking to get out of the kit. Level the truck. Take out some of the bounce I am getting on the freeway. It is enough bounce that it makes your voice shake if you are talking. I towed our 5th wheel last weekend, hauled 2 yards of wet soil Tuesday and will pull a gooseneck with 4 pallets of sod on it this weekend. I use the truck like a truck, but this bounce is ridiculous. I don't want to waste my money if the Carli kit won't smooth it out. I'd like to hear some real world experience.

Thanks.

Kyle

 

I am not sure how much this will help but.......

The commuter 2.0 still uses king shocks, 2" body instead of the 2.5" on the pintop.

I have the 6 leaf add a packs and I am told they are the same as the ones used for the level kits. I like them and I am happy with them. I haul 3,000 lb water tank in my truck often and it deflects 2".

I do not find the bounce bad at all, nothing compared to stock but in my experience the king 2.5" shocks are what makes the difference. I had to send my kings away to get fixed so I had some cheap (OEM like) shocks on there for a month or so. The bounce was unreal, almost to the point where I would not drive the truck. Honestly felt like the back wheels were off the ground at times. IMHO the add a packs do nothing for the bounce and may actually make it worse??? IDK but with crappy shocks it's no better.

A friend of mine got the carli pintop 2.5 (4.5" lift) with the add a packs. He was not happy with it. He said it still bounced.... I drove his truck a few times and I didn't find it that bad but he was not happy with it. He put on the carli full deaver rear springs and now he says the bounce is completely gone, the ride has smootherd right out and he is REALLy happy with it. BUT the full deaver packs (from what I am told) are a lot softer and deflect a lot more than the OE springs with the add a packs so that may not work for you..... That is the reason I am sticking with the add a packs.

I was told by Carli that they will have full deaver springs available for the level kits soon (and that was a while ago).

I have no experience with the 2.0 kings and have no idea how they will perform.....

I have found that with suspension systems... a lot of people expect too much and are dissapointed. It's still an 8,000 lb truck with a solid front axle.

 

Something to consider is the StableLoad product. They are going to address the sag and bounce issue for better drivability.
They have been used here on FTE with great results: https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...d-install.html

Here's a suspension upgrade comparison: stableload_trucku

 

I debated between the a Carli leveling kit and the 4.5" kit for many months. Personally I don't like the method of caster correction via ball joint eccentrics in a leveling kit. Also, when you step up to the 4.5" kit you get progressive rate coil springs.

I ended up going with the 4.5" pin top kit and full leaf packs. I knew from the start that I would be adding air bags to my truck, so it would have been foolish not to do the full spring packs.

Carli isn't joking when they say that the full leaf upgrade is the single most beneficial upgrade to the ride of our trucks. I agree with darren's comment, when my truck would hit certain bumps in the road, it literally felt like the back tires were bouncing off of the ground. The full leafs (and pintop shocks) have completely eliminated that. I will say, the progressive leafs do deflect significantly with load so I would only choose them if you tow infrequently or plan on adding airbags.

When I ordered my kit a few months ago, the commuter 2.0 shocks were shown on Carli's website, but when I contacted them they informed me that they were still in R&D. You may want to make sure that they are actually available now. I'm sure that the 2.0 shocks would fully handle the intended use of my truck, but I wasn't willing to wait around for them, especially considering all of the great reviews on the pin-top shocks.




Get real, that band-aid product will have absolutely no effect on unloaded ride.

I have a real problem with these saturday morning special products and their false and misleading claims.

This is an absolute load of horsecr@#
"Your vehicle engineers designed the weight to be carried over the progressive 4' rear leaf springs. On any heavy towing or hauling set up, to level the vehicle with airbags means you have to take a majority of the weight off the factory leaf spring suspension and are now carrying that weight on an area roughly equivalent to the size of a two footballs. This is why you can actually experience a considerable increase in unsafe handling such as sway, porpoising (bucking) and body roll even though the vehicle is now closer to level with the airbags engaged."

Take a look at how the leaf springs connect to the axle and compare it to how the airbags connect to the axle....

 

Thank you very much for the information darren and Slowlearner. You have both given me a lot to think about. I may just need to give Carli a call and talk to them about what I am looking to do. I should have mentioned I want to level the truck, but not necessarily lift it 4.5". My 5th wheel is already lifted and tows level with the current hitch height.

Torklift Jen, I appreciate the response I'm just not sure how that would solve my issue. I don't have any issues with towing or loaded. My issue is when I'm unloaded it rides rough. Not sure how that would help.

 

Carli did say that they were coming out with full deaver spring pack for the level kits. I don't see them on their web site but you may want to check with them.

Like slowlearner says, the full spring packs and air bags is probably the ideal set up. I THINK with that set up the king 2.0's would be more than fine.

Thanks

 

Honestly, I think short of jumping the truck or driving through continuous whoops the commuter 2.0 shocks will perform exceptionally well.

Also, I had full deaver progressive spring packs and firestone ride rite air bags on my 2005. Personally I think the limited travel of those airbags severely limits the ride improvement that the spring packs are capable of. For that reason I decided to spring for the carli long travel bags. They are salty expensive, but I wanted to see how they performed, and so far they perform fantastic. I'm not sure of the profit margin on those bags, but I would like to see the price point a little lower.

 

I think so too. I know the 2.5s are great.

Check this vid, these are pretty big speed bumps we are hitting at 70 - 80 KPH (50 MPH). I know its hard to tell in a video but the truck absolutely eats them up. If I did this on my stock suspension the thing would be sideways and off the road Rear end WOULD be off the ground.

20131102_083023_zpsebb6704d.mp4 Video by darren323232 | Photobucket

 

Agreed.... I find myself speeding up for speedbumps and ditches just so I can feel how awesome the suspension performs. It's fun until I forget about the sensitive / potentially fragile stuff i'm hauling in the bed at the time lol

PS love the giggling kids in the background

 

Hey,
Thanks for your reply and info. I'm sorry, I misunderstood your issue to be bouncing around while towing and hauling.

Appreciate the clarification.
Regards,
Jen

 

How much air do you run in those Toyo's??

 

55 front 50 rear but I haven't put enough miles on them yet to tell how they are wearing at those pressures.

 

Kyle, looks like you upgraded from the same truck as I did. I traded an 01 F250 7.3L long bed. How does the bounce on your 2012 compare to your 2002? My 01 was stock in the rear but had a 2" leveling springs in the front.
My 01' had more rear bounce then my 12'.

Is your 2012 a long bed?

-Bobby

 

Thanks for the fast response. I am sold on the king 2.5 kits. Can't decide on the 2.5" or the 4.5". I want to run the 295/65/20 Toyo on my stock wheels as I like them, I don't want anymore tire than that, and don't have to mess with the TPMS. I have two more questions. How did you decide on those 295/65/20 (35.4x11.8) over a 35X12.50? The reason I ask is I was told the metric version you run (and I prefer) relies on more air pressure for shape vs. rigidity of the sidewall so if you run air like you do in the 50's I was told you get bulge at the bottom. Also do you know of picks anywhere with that tire wheel combo on a 2.5" kit or do you know anyone running that combo at all? Trying to get some anecdotal info to inform my choice as I keep these trucks till they die, get stolen, or are totaled. This is my Christmas present to myself and will be pulling the trigger as soon as possible. Thanks in advance.

 

I know the 2.5" will fit the 295's fine, at least from everything I have read.

I plan on going to the same tires as you (295 Toyo's) as soon as my stock Michelin's wear out, and going with a leveling kit (undecided on the Carli, or Icon) at the same time.