Carli Suspension CS-DRBD-1875 Rear Bumpstop Drop Leveling

The Ram 2500 evolved into something different in 2014. The days of an upper overload on the rear leaf spring pack and higher rated door sticker being the only separation between a 2500 and 3500 are long gone – hell, a 2500 isn’t even straight forward anymore. We live in the age of the internet – long before hitting a dealership, people hit the web in search of their next, new vehicle. Afterall, there’s enough information online from which one could learn all they’d need to know – dealerships are selling a commodity, pricing is really all that sets them apart (think Dave Smith Motors, for example). Bargain shoppers narrowing their truck search by price and available rebates, with no knowledge of the available rear ends and their respective applications, may find themselves purchasing a vehicle 180° from their intended purpose. Conversely, people duped by the allure of “air ride” purchasing the specialty model in starry-eyed remembrance of the childhood cruise in the backseat of grandpa’s 1989 Lincoln Towncar will be sorely disappointed in the lackluster ride of an air-ride HD truck. It aint your grandpa’s Lincoln…

We’ve done a TON with the coil spring rear ends – everything from Fox 2.0″ Shocks (Commuter) for the truck that stays on-road all the way to the 3.0″ Kings front and rear (Dominator) for a truck equally comfortable passing side-by-sides in whoop sections as it is on the tarmac. The only shortcoming of this platform is its ability to haul. A quick search on enthusiast forum reveals inumerable complaints of stock trucks with sagging rear ends and rhythmic sway on the highway when loaded near capacity. Ram must’ve realized the shortcomings of this platform and, in preparation, designed the Air-Ride.

We’re now comfortably versed in this platform. Simply explained, it’s identical to its coil sprung counterpart but swaps the spring for an airbag. Don’t let the simplicity of this change this fool you; this truck is a totally different animal. We tested the truck to capacity – nothing phased it. We hit some hard and fast dirt roads to find there’s nothing magical about these airbags – they ramp up in spring rate very quick like any other; thus, they’re rough in the dirt when compared to the coil spring trucks. Extensive R&D of our 2.5″ and 3.25″ Systems confirmed flawless operation of all air-ride functions with our modifications. As the chassis and geometry is the same, our lifts for the platform are essentially the same up front.