Lifting/Leveling 2019+ Rebels and ORP-Rams

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Waterfowler41

Senior Member
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Jul 26, 2018
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126
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Location
Chicago
Ram Year
2020
Engine
5.7
Over the last couple of days I have been on a fact finding mission and wanted to share some of the key takeaways when it comes to lifting or even leveling Rebels or Rams with the ORP package (this is for non-airride trucks only).

First, 2019+ Rebels and ORP Rams come from the factory with 1" taller springs than the non-Rebel and non-ORP equipped Rams. However, every 2019+ Ram 1500 uses the same upper control arm regardless of whether it has the ORP springs or not.

Disclaimer: these are my opinions based off of installing the Motofab DR-2 kit on my 2020 Rebel.

When you choose to level or lift your truck I would STRONGLY recommended you also replace your upper control arms and I would recommend a lift/leveling strut in lieu of a top-hat style spacer, here's why:
  1. Total lift ends up 3" or more even with leveling: Let's say you want to add a 2" leveling spacer on your Rebel or ORP Ram. You will ultimately end up with a 3" lift (i.e. 2" level plus the 1" spring = 3" lift). General rule of thumb with leveling and UCAs is if you lift beyond 2.5" you should replace UCAs. When you add a 2" spacer you need to remember that your control arms are the same as the non-ORP so you are getting pretty risky with your angles.
  2. Bulky poly factory UCAs: Factory UCAs are some sort of polymer material. I am sure a lot of engineering went into designing these but one thing you will notices with these is they are extremely bulky. They have to be in order to have the structural integrity to be safe. This presents an issue when you level with spacer. The ball joint cup is so bulky on these factory control arms that as the suspension travels downward, the UCA will get very close if hit your spring.
  3. No bump stops: There are no bump stops on Rebels. Unsure about other Ram trims but my 2020 Rebel does not have a bump stop to limit travel so this means my suspension relies on the strut to bottom out and act as a bump stop. When you add a top hat style spacer kit you are effectively offsetting the amount of travel of your strut so now your suspension has to travel and additional ~1.25" (width of the spacer which doesn't tie equally to the resulting lift) before it hits the bump stops. If you run a factory control arm this means that control arm has to articulate much lower. In the case of our poly UCAs, this extra travel results in the control arm making contact with the spring because of the bulky ball joint cup.
Since hindsight is 20/20, here is my recommendation for anyone considering lifting your 2019+ Rebel or ORP equipped Ram.
  1. Replace upper controls arms. Readylift, Rough Country, Tuff Country, Icon all make great UCAs. They will correct your ball joint angles and be able to handle the articulation of a lift/level. I installed Rough Country aluminum control arms and really like the upgrade.
  2. Ditch the spacers and use Bilstein 5100's. 5100's will use our ORP springs and with the circlip on the #5 position, they will give us a 2" lift over our factory height (aka a 3" total lift compared to regular Rams). This is my next step.

Anyways, just wanted to do a quick brain dump on this topic as its come up quite a bit and I needed a place to throw this info in.
 

SOL-man

Junior Member
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Mar 18, 2021
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Location
Delco, PA
Ram Year
2021
Engine
5.7L
Waterfowler41: Thanks for the info. I was just following up after you installed the Bilsteins now that you've been rolling for 4 months... Any issues with your mod?
 

desperadoxxxx

Junior Member
Joined
Aug 31, 2021
Posts
2
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Location
89503
Ram Year
2019
Engine
Hemi 5.7
Over the last couple of days I have been on a fact finding mission and wanted to share some of the key takeaways when it comes to lifting or even leveling Rebels or Rams with the ORP package (this is for non-airride trucks only).

First, 2019+ Rebels and ORP Rams come from the factory with 1" taller springs than the non-Rebel and non-ORP equipped Rams. However, every 2019+ Ram 1500 uses the same upper control arm regardless of whether it has the ORP springs or not.

Disclaimer: these are my opinions based off of installing the Motofab DR-2 kit on my 2020 Rebel.

When you choose to level or lift your truck I would STRONGLY recommended you also replace your upper control arms and I would recommend a lift/leveling strut in lieu of a top-hat style spacer, here's why:
  1. Total lift ends up 3" or more even with leveling: Let's say you want to add a 2" leveling spacer on your Rebel or ORP Ram. You will ultimately end up with a 3" lift (i.e. 2" level plus the 1" spring = 3" lift). General rule of thumb with leveling and UCAs is if you lift beyond 2.5" you should replace UCAs. When you add a 2" spacer you need to remember that your control arms are the same as the non-ORP so you are getting pretty risky with your angles.
  2. Bulky poly factory UCAs: Factory UCAs are some sort of polymer material. I am sure a lot of engineering went into designing these but one thing you will notices with these is they are extremely bulky. They have to be in order to have the structural integrity to be safe. This presents an issue when you level with spacer. The ball joint cup is so bulky on these factory control arms that as the suspension travels downward, the UCA will get very close if hit your spring.
  3. No bump stops: There are no bump stops on Rebels. Unsure about other Ram trims but my 2020 Rebel does not have a bump stop to limit travel so this means my suspension relies on the strut to bottom out and act as a bump stop. When you add a top hat style spacer kit you are effectively offsetting the amount of travel of your strut so now your suspension has to travel and additional ~1.25" (width of the spacer which doesn't tie equally to the resulting lift) before it hits the bump stops. If you run a factory control arm this means that control arm has to articulate much lower. In the case of our poly UCAs, this extra travel results in the control arm making contact with the spring because of the bulky ball joint cup.
Since hindsight is 20/20, here is my recommendation for anyone considering lifting your 2019+ Rebel or ORP equipped Ram.
  1. Replace upper controls arms. Readylift, Rough Country, Tuff Country, Icon all make great UCAs. They will correct your ball joint angles and be able to handle the articulation of a lift/level. I installed Rough Country aluminum control arms and really like the upgrade.
  2. Ditch the spacers and use Bilstein 5100's. 5100's will use our ORP springs and with the circlip on the #5 position, they will give us a 2" lift over our factory height (aka a 3" total lift compared to regular Rams). This is my next step.

Anyways, just wanted to do a quick brain dump on this topic as its come up quite a bit and I needed a place to throw this info in.
Thank you for the Awesome Info.! Per your Option 1 & 2, I Ordered the Bilstein B8 5100's Height Adjustable Shocks and the RC Forged Aluminum UCA's (see attached).
 

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SnowboardDEN

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Sep 16, 2021
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Atlanta
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2022
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V8 Hemi w/ e-Torque
Waterfowler41, thanks for all the info! This was some really good stuff. Do you have any before and after pics of your lift/truck you’d like to share?
 
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