Help needed to lower Ram 4X4

I need advice on lowering a 2015 Ram 1500 Outdoorsman edition 4X4 crew cab shortbed. I recently bought the truck as it fit my criteria for towing,utility and general use well with warranty and low mileage plus good condition and price. My only dislike so far and the same with SWMBO is getting in and out is a pain with the high ride height. I don't want to ruin the seats sliding off them and getting in is an effort. I also prefer to lower the truck over adding steps as it aligns the trailer better,allows for easier access to the bed and should make handling a bit better. It also makes it easier to wash or work on.

Some sources state the Outdoorsman is 2" higher and others state .7" higher than regular Ram 4X4. Is there a way to find what different OEM springs are for ride height? I would like to lower it approx 3" if possible while keeping the very nice ride quality and not messing up drive/half shaft angles or suspension geometry that can't be corrected with alignment.

It currently rides on OEM 275/60/20 tire/wheel combo that I may change to 275/70/17 (A factory size) to help lower it.

Any help or suggestions on where to find solid data on OEM and aftermarket springs with ride height or other info is appreciated.

Im too lazy to look it up but iirc the 2756020 is like 33" tall, i bet a 2657017 would drop you a little bit, and open up tire available and lower cost also

I have no information to offer you but I applaud your efforts. Modern trucks are getting ridiculously tall. I notice lift blocks on the rear axles on brand new rigs! This trend needs to go away. The trucks are becoming unusable for their intended purposes. Trying to load a heavy sofa or a yard of gravel into one of them is absurd.

Buy a lift kit and install it upside down?

Yes, I completely agree that this current crop of pick-up trucks is nearly useless as anything but GRPCs.

This morning I happened to see a new Colorado, 1980s F150 and late model Ram all parked next to each other. The Ram dwarfed them both, and from some angles the Colorado looked like it was bigger than the f150. It was definitely taller.

Yeah, but half a ton weighs a whole lot more than it used to.

tire size change as noted would lower the truck only app. 1/2".

Look for RWD springs? First thing that popped into my head.

What's funny to me is that the new 4x4 trucks sure seem to have way less ground clearance than the older ones. Seems like all the height now is in the bodywork and the bedrails.

thatsnowinnebago wrote: What's funny to me is that the new 4x4 trucks sure seem to have way less ground clearance than the older ones. Seems like all the height now is in the bodywork and the bedrails.

It's the independent suspension, plus moving the fuel tanks for crash protection, etc. They do have less clearance than some of the older ones, but they also have a lot less high and low spots underneath, so they're aerodynamically cleaner.

thatsnowinnebago wrote: What's funny to me is that the new 4x4 trucks sure seem to have way less ground clearance than the older ones. Seems like all the height now is in the bodywork and the bedrails.

QFT

It's not the suspension, it's the body, they are getting taller.

Honestly, I never liked step rails until I bought my truck. I'm 6'2" and my stock height ''08 GMC Sierra 2500 CCLB is still a good hike to get up in it and it's shorter than the CCSB.

Unless you get a lowering kit, I can't see you dropping it much and who knows how that will affect the 4WD. The Outdoorsman is less than an inch higher than a stock Ram.

SyntheticBlinkerFluid wrote:

thatsnowinnebago wrote: What's funny to me is that the new 4x4 trucks sure seem to have way less ground clearance than the older ones. Seems like all the height now is in the bodywork and the bedrails.

QFT It's not the suspension, it's the body, they are getting taller. Honestly, I never liked step rails until I bought my truck. I'm 6'2" and my stock height ''08 GMC Sierra 2500 CCLB is still a good hike to get up in it and it's shorter than the CCSB. Unless you get a lowering kit, I can't see you dropping it much and who knows how that will affect the 4WD. The Outdoorsman is less than an inch higher than a stock Ram.

Do you know that the Outdoorsman is less than an inch higher than a stock Ram for sure? I wonder how much is tire/wheel and how much is springs in the differences.

I'm all for going with smaller wheels for cheaper tires and going smaller size overall tires. The issues are speedo and odometer differences and how it would look if I can't lower it with small tires in big open wheelwells.

Stepping down to the 32" tall tires from the other models of the Ram will get you a 1/2" closer to the ground. Get some 2wd springs in there and you'll get another few inches (and less wheel gap).

Zeitgeist wrote:

SyntheticBlinkerFluid wrote:

thatsnowinnebago wrote: What's funny to me is that the new 4x4 trucks sure seem to have way less ground clearance than the older ones. Seems like all the height now is in the bodywork and the bedrails.

QFT It's not the suspension, it's the body, they are getting taller. Honestly, I never liked step rails until I bought my truck. I'm 6'2" and my stock height ''08 GMC Sierra 2500 CCLB is still a good hike to get up in it and it's shorter than the CCSB. Unless you get a lowering kit, I can't see you dropping it much and who knows how that will affect the 4WD. The Outdoorsman is less than an inch higher than a stock Ram.

Do you know that the Outdoorsman is less than an inch higher than a stock Ram for sure? I wonder how much is tire/wheel and how much is springs in the differences. I'm all for going with smaller wheels for cheaper tires and going smaller size overall tires. The issues are speedo and odometer differences and how it would look if I can't lower it with small tires in big open wheelwells.

I did a little research and anything I could find on the Outdoorsman said it was 0.7 inches higher than the standard Ram 4x4.

The stock Ram 4x4 sits fairly tall to begin with.

If it's only 0.7" taller, there's a good chance it's mostly or entirely in the tires, not the suspension.

the easiest way to fix this would be to find a different truck that fits you better.

I'd go to the Ram dealer and find a 1500 that sits where you want it. Then go into the parts department and ask for part numbers for the springs and see if they come with different bumpstops or shocks.

Keep in mind that when you take away suspension travel, you are going to affect the ride unless you mess with the spring rates. This is less of an issue with trucks than cars because they usually have more travel to begin with, but 3" is a lot.

Also, my stock height 2010 2500 4WD is at almost the perfect height for our car trailer. I think the hitch has about a 1.5" drop, just enough that the ball is lined up with the receiver. If I pump up the airbags to put the truck back to stock height, the trailer is perfectly level.

According to the GRM forum, the best truck ever is an old 2WD Ranger base model Everything else is too big, too heavy, too fancy, too tall and carries too much stuff.

I had to get a 7" drop ball mount to tow level with my '16 3500 4x4. Also had to get steps because it was almost putting my leg parallel to the ground to get in.

Ground Force makes 2/3 and 2/4 drop kits for your truck. It's springs and shocks and will run you about $900. Fancy steps are $400 and cheap steps like I got are $120.

novaderrik wrote: the easiest way to fix this would be to find a different truck that fits you better.

Since he likes the truck, it's probably more economical to get steps or running boards for access. Sales tax, tags and registration would probably cost more than any additional equipment.

I'm not sure how they mount, but maybe some retractable steps from a high end SUV.

The OP can also get a different ball mount for trailer alignment.

In reply to patgizz:

That sounds like a pretty low trailer. Lowest thing I've ever pulled was a friend's 2 horse trailer. Needed about 5" of drop behind a mid-2000s F-150 and about 4" behind my Jeep (after an inch of suspension sag). That same trailer behind a 4wd F-350 would have needed about 8" of drop.

For the amount you want to drop the truck I'd suggest a real lowering kit. The front will have dropped spindles so will keep full suspension travel and stock springs and shocks.

The rear suspension is more of an issue from the parts I've seen for sale. It uses the multilink coil spring setup. Lowering will require a shorter panhard rod or offset mounting bracket to keep the axle centered. I have not seen a kit that addresses the change in pinion angle and have seen claims of reduced towing capacity. The upper or lower links to the rear axle need to change length to put the pinion angle back where it belongs to avoid overloading the U-joints.

In reply to GreenVWs:

If he doesn't go below factory 2wd ride height, there are likely stock parts out there that'll resolve those issues.

I appreciate the detailed brainstorming and ideas. Just to help set the stage and clarify my position better. I hate trucks but they do what i need best so I have to have one. I had a 06 Silverado 4X4 but it was super tired at 200K but getting in and out was easier as it was shorter. I then got a 11 X5 thinking about better driving dynamics and secure cargo area. This did drive great for a truck but sucked for bikes,didn't work for taking yard waste bags and such to or from store and dump and it didn't fit larger items well like a door or trim moldings etc. It also needed an expensive hitch,trailer wiring trailer brake set up to be a proper tow vehicle. I sold that to get this truck. I would have prefered a lower truck but this had all the options I wanted with low miles 5/100k drivetrain and still 14k on bumper to bumper,bedliner winter package and so on for a decent price.

I don't need to go 3" lower I am just shooting for that to avoid step or running boards. If I can't find a proper way reasonably priced to get there I will go step or running boards. FCA says that tubular step that runs to rear wheelwell improves fuel economy .6% and aids in reaching into the bed. This would be the likely route I would go if going step/board. I don't tow a lot but like relaxed stable towing at highway speed of traffic after a long trackday and being tired. I use a 16' dove tail open trailer with elec brakes on 1 axle and the Ram has integrated trailer brake set up already and trailer sway control plus all the usual nannies. I tow an Exocet now but want to maintain the capacity for a larger heavier car that may be in the future or other than trackcar towing.

I contacted a friend at FCA to help look into the issue so hopefully some good info from the experts soon. The truck rides so well I don't want to ruin it even if I had to lose a little tow or hauling capacity I will never get close to it's limits so that isn't a huge concern. Towing 3500 load on 2000lb trailer with 500lb of extra stuff still is about max what I ever will tow. Now I am 1850 trailer 1575 Exocet and maybe 200lbs of track gear. I still have other truck duties so it stays a truck.

rslifkin wrote: In reply to patgizz: That sounds like a pretty low trailer. Lowest thing I've ever pulled was a friend's 2 horse trailer. Needed about 5" of drop behind a mid-2000s F-150 and about 4" behind my Jeep (after an inch of suspension sag). That same trailer behind a 4wd F-350 would have needed about 8" of drop.

nah, heavy duty 4x4 rams are just stupid tall