Negatives of lowering?

So I see the positives, but what are the negatives? A 2/4.5 McG spindle drop kit seems to be the best from what I have read. With good shocks, how does it ride? Will it bottom out a lot? Clearance issues as far as just everyday driving? On a 2wd does it wear out any driveline components? Anything else I should be aware of or invest in to have it don right. Truck would be a daily driver, city and interstate, with the occasioanl towing of my motorcycle and trailer (2000LBS max) Sorry I realize these are noob questions but I don't want to invest in a different truck and all the parts and labor and I have 0 experience with lowered vehicles. Thanks ya'll.

I know of only one negative. Loss of towing, and bed carrying capacity. A good aftermarket lowering kit will retain about 90% of each. But a hack job will lose all towing and carrying capacity. Do it right and you will retain all towing and carrying capacity. Done cheap and wrong and you will regret it everytime you try to haul anything.

It seems the McGaughy's 2/4.5 spindle drop seems to be the benchmark in quality for lowering kits. Also I saw there are helper airbags you can add for towing...?

I have the McGaughy's 2/4.5 with spindles and flip kit and Belltech Street Performance shocks.

I can haul some things, but when I load the bed down I will bottom out; but that's what helper bags are for. I never have the need to haul or tow anything, so it's really not an issue for me.

As far as everyday driving, never had a problem. I did have an issue when I had 22's because they were so wide - would hit my front fenders on bridges and dips in the road - but with 20's it rides smooth.

This was my 1st lowered vehicle and I love it. Mine's a daily driver and I can honestly say I've never once had an issue because of it being lowered.

Ditto everything mentioned. The truck rides sooooooo much better lowered and if you're going to tow just get helper bags for the rear. I've got a 4/6 and I'll be doing what you're doing (towing a motorcycle) as soon as I finish building it.

^^what they said. You can get the Air Lift air bags that go inside the rear springs for reasonably cheap, less than $100 from Moes, and they are easy to install. All you have to do is adjust the air pressure for when you're towing or carrying a load.

Glad to know I can get helper bags for less than the 300 something dollar price for the McGaughys helpers.


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This is my alternative to airbags in the rear with no notch. It is a Tembren Spring rated at 660# each for an added 1220# of load and travel control. I use a similar spring in the front to control travel. This is dirt simple and totally passive.



I think the fronts are rated at 980# each.

My problem has been I want to go lower

My problem is deciding which of the third gens I like better. 02-05 or 06-08. I'm set on it being all white with chrome grill and bumper. Is the coil spring ifs of the 06-08 easier to lower than the torsion bars of the older models? I'm gonna use McGaughys spindle drop either way. Does one have a better lowered ride?


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FordConvert said:

My problem is deciding which of the third gens I like better. 02-05 or 06-08. I'm set on it being all white with chrome grill and bumper. Is the coil spring ifs of the 06-08 easier to lower than the torsion bars of the older models? I'm gonna use McGaughys spindle drop either way. Does one have a better lowered ride?


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Done right the ride on any truck should not be effected. As far as a lowered truck riding better, well that depends upon how it was done and what parts were used. Cheap parts or cheaply done lowering job equals a very bad handling truck.

Megamouse I couldnt agree more....Lowering or bagging the right way and NOTHING gets affected. I ditched all the leaf springs in the back in favor of a 4 link on my one ton dually...and yea the ride is like a caddillac.....air up the rear bags about 15 to 20psi, front at about 100psi to clear the front tires so i can turn...and its golden....and as for towing, even with all the underside mods mine'll tow just fine....there seems to be some rumor on the internet that bagged duallies or bagged trucks in general cant tow...now how anyone came to that conclusion is beyond me...a VERY reputable shop here in West TN tows a 48 ft tri-axle enclosed trailer to shows...and the dually that tows it was bagged on 24" semi wheels AND was body dropped....theres alot of pics of bagged duallies on the 'net towing...but for whatever reason people still dont think they can tow....Who knows!!!

My truck rides a lot better now that I replaced ball joints an tie rods, the lowering hadn't hinder the trucks handling but before I had drop spindals I had just 2" coils an the front seemed stiff. Just lowered the rear down to 6 the other day just need some shorter tires

Had a bit of an adventure yesterday when the fuel pump died. Had to get a rollback to drag Red home. I mention it here as getting towed can be difficult when lowered. I've heard of lowered trucks with tow service package being black listed and service refused. Basically the towing company's don't want to be liable for damage to the vehicle. So be aware if you are much more than 3/4.5 you could very well be in a jam when it comes to being towed, specifically the rear (roll pan) will drag and its a problem getting under the air dam in the front to hook up. Good luck..

Redtruck-VA said:

Had a bit of an adventure yesterday when the fuel pump died. Had to get a rollback to drag Red home. I mention it here as getting towed can be difficult when lowered. I've heard of lowered trucks with tow service package being black listed and service refused. Basically the towing company's don't want to be liable for damage to the vehicle. So be aware if you are much more than 3/4.5 you could very well be in a jam when it comes to being towed, specifically the rear (roll pan) will drag and its a problem getting under the air dam in the front to hook up. Good luck..

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Did you tell them you had a 4wd? This way they would send a flatbed?

I spoke to three tow truck services straight up not wanting any surprises. The last thing I wanted was a driver to have the wrong truck and/or not know what he was getting into. The first place I called was about 6 miles away and they said they couldn't do it with their truck. I told them my wife was with me and I needed to get back to my house to pick up her car. They told me no problem and sent a car out to me to take me home. The driver told me no charge when he dropped me off. Finally I told him the money wasn't for the ride, it was just to buy him lunch. Got the wife's car and headed to the closes town where there are two tow services. First one (recommended) was busy and they couldn't help until late in the afternoon. Second one was a typical old auto garage with a early chevy inside and a few old boys sitting around fixing lunch on a old pot belly stove. Walls covered with pinups and early car ****. Straight out of the sixties. Talked to the owner about what I needed. He jumped up and said "not a problem" Let's go... Off we went with him following me in a fairly new rollback. Loaded Red with him explaining what he was doing each step with absolutely no issues. Over all distance was right at 50 miles and cost me $130 including an extra $20 for his missed lunch. I find the best service comes from the folks/shops that are a little off center. This could have easily been a horror story but actually ended well in my book.

Good story!

Last time i had AAA flatbed the truck he called in to have it blacklisted. Had to have the Jeep flatbed and AAA guy said if its lowered. Advised it is stock height. He said cool as he never seen a trim like that before. Loaded up just fine and went our merry way.

Yep lowered vehicles do have their challenges at times.

I'd love to Lower my ram, but I'm not sure it's the best decision right now, for several reasons. Maybe one day.


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my only issue with being lowered is my 2.5" ground clearance, speed bumps are not my friends and i have to be on constant guard for large dips and parking lot entrances, lol, but its worth it