2001 F350 FPS SD. The front is right at 4" lower than the rear.
I am going to put some kind of leveling kit on my truck this year. They make a truck look great, and I am planning on buying a 5th wheel camper and can immagine the level truck is better for hauling.
BUT! I'm confused as to which design I should go with. Hangers? Spacers? Tortion keys? Etc.? I mostly drive on pavement but do get off road for camping/hunting, etc. Would like to maintain a smooth ride. I am a driveway mechanic and am confident in being able to perform lift myself.
Also . . . if I go with a 4" lift in the front, will I have to change shocks? Or anything else?

I may eventually bump up the tire size. What is a nice "conservative" tire size to go with such a leveling mod? I don't want it to look like some kind of military vehicle on steroids.

 

I just put a claimed 2.5" leveling kit on my 04 F350. I gained 3.25" inches of lift initially and it has since settled to 3" over stock. It consisted of a add a leaf "pack". 5 total leaves, each progressively longer than the one below it. It stacked under my factory leaf spring. A local guy around town did his F250 w/ the 2.5" hanger's and his sits 1/2" lower in the front than mine. Neither of us have the X or snow plow springs. If you have that, I'd expect a little more lift.

I didn't have to change shocks according to the manufacturer but I chose to switch to Bilstein's. Handling is much improved but the ride is a little rougher than stock, but not bone-jarring. It's reasonable. Also I added 10 ply tires which I'm sure adds to the rougher ride.

It took 2 of us 4 hours total to install the lift and 4 shocks. That was taking our time and fighting one of the trac arm bracket bolts for 30 minutes or more.

I'm now running 315/75R16 Toyo M/T's and I love them. I'm very happy with the stance of the truck. It is 3/4" lower in the front than in the back, but I can deal w/ that. My tires fill the wheel wells nicely but they do rub just ever so slightly at full lock. Again, I can deal with this. Good luck man!!

P.S. You can rule out spacers because you have leaf springs, not coil springs. Also you have a live axle so there are no torsion arms. You have the simplest and most heavy duty design of front axle. Long live the live axle!!! As far as a conservative tire size, I'd say a 285 or 305. Same height (33"), the 305 is a little wider.

 

You need to think this through some more. There are pros and cons to adding a leveling kit depending on how you are using your truck. You state that you are going to get a 5th wheel. Ford builds the rake (the 4-inch lower nose to your rear) for towing/hauling purposes. The idea being that when you add your 5th wheel the truck would then sit level due to the weight in the bed. If you level your truck then when you put your trailer on the truck would sit nose high. You could then correct that by adding air bags in back, but then you have to be concerned about if your 5th wheel will clear your bed rails. So make sure you buy the proper 5th wheel for your lift.

I do agree with you that I perfer a level truck due to in my case I plow and use to get axle wrap before installing my leveling kit. I don't like running weight in my bed when plowing as I then I would have to unload the weight when I would need to haul something back there (which I do often) so that was not an option. Currently I am not towing anything that heavy so I don't get the nose high attitude.

Yes you will have to change shocks with a leveling kit that is over 2-inches and at 3-inches you will want a drop pitman arm, drop trackbar bracket, and adjustable trackbar.

As for tires, if you are going to run the stock wheels you really shouldn't go any larger than a 285/75R16 tire. If you get aftermarket wheels I still wouldn't go any larger than a 33-inch tire unless you have the gears to turn them. You again have to be concerned about your 5th wheel clearing your bed rails depending on how tall of tire you get.

Now I have either completely confused you or shed some light on the topic for you.

 

Have You Ever Considered Doing A Big Wheel And Tire Set Up? To Improve Tire Mileage And Create A Safer Wheel And Tire Combo.....

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