AEV Dualsport Lift and Teraflex Spacer installed -- review & photos

[5adventurers]

Yeah the Clayton guys are nice, but they gave me some bad info about their kit and the Falcon 3.3 shocks which backfired and cost me a ton of money for nothing...I am looking at the AEV kit now because of the tuning...I feel that may be the missing link in solving my ride quality issues...

Fair enough...
Maybe try the AEV..

UPDATE TO RIDE QUALITY: since it was me and a few buddies doing the install I paid attention to any rattles, shakes etc. on the way to work (20 miles) then on the way home (20m back) as normal since morning went well....and noticed a lot less body roll and was averaging about 16.8-17 MPG AT 70MPH. Honestly, not too far off from stock. Probably 1 mpg ish.

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[hickman785]

From what I understand Clayton does make some good stuff, but for a particular user, and there was a ton of marketing and fandom which I think talked people into their products who really aren't in line with the designed use. Tires do play a big role, especially if they are a higher load rating. There is another thing to consider - weight and spring rate. What springs do you have? And have you added up weights as you built your truck or gone to a CAT scale? If the springs are made for a heavily loaded rig, and your stock unloaded, that will not have a good ride no matter what lift you use. But I also have heard plenty of talk about the falcon shocks being really stiff - and excessively stiff for those who are lower on the weight scale. It also might be worth thinking back if your ride quality was fine when it was stock, just to rule out some other cause. It would be crappy to switch lift products and still have a problem because something else is broken or not right.

If you do go AEV, which I personally would recommend especially if you only do mild or less off-road, it would be good to get their standard duty springs first. Reason being is because you can buy their HD springs standalone for 600 bucks. This way, depending on where your rig is in the build process, you have the option of switching to a heaver weight spring as you add weight. The other reason being they don't sell the SD springs standalone like they do their HD's.

When I added the Clayton kit I had between 600-700 pounds on the rear of the truck and about 200-250 on the front. I springs didn't give an inch. When I took the weight off I had to remove the rear springs because the truck was pointed at the ground and it rode even worse.

My truck actually rode amazing for about year. For about 6 months of that the truck was carrying 500-600 pounds. Then one day it started bouncing and the ride quality went to hell, and it has never improved since then.

So far I've spent about $6000-$7000 on suspension and tires trying to address the horrible ride with no improvement .

 

[chorky]

When I added the Clayton kit I had between 600-700 pounds on the rear of the truck and about 200-250 on the front. I springs didn't give an inch. When I took the weight off I had to remove the rear springs because the truck was pointed at the ground and it rode even worse.

My truck actually rode amazing for about year. For about 6 months of that the truck was carrying 500-600 pounds. Then one day it started bouncing and the ride quality went to hell, and it has never improved since then.

So far I've spent about $6000-$7000 on suspension and tires trying to address the horrible ride with no improvement .

Hmm. That sounds a little suspicious since it rode great then suddenly changed. Have you done a full look over to make sure nothings broken, bent, or missing?

Yeah that cost is one of the top reasons I did not want a full control arm replacement lift. Thats a lot of cash to be disappointed.

 

[hickman785]

Hmm. That sounds a little suspicious since it rode great then suddenly changed. Have you done a full look over to make sure nothings broken, bent, or missing?

Yeah that cost is one of the top reasons I did not want a full control arm replacement lift. Thats a lot of cash to be disappointed.

Yeah it's been in 6 different shops in the Nashville area...I've had the suspension, drive line, rear end, axles, hubs,wheels and tires and frame inspected. No one can find anything wrong.
My opinion is that something small is bent or warped. Something small enough that it is easily overlooked or missed.

If the car market was not as crazy as it is I would have already traded it but at this point it's still cheaper to keep trying to find the issue than give it away to a dealership and get stuck with a huge payment.

 

[chorky]

ed. No one can find anything wrong.
My opinion is that something small is bent or warped. Something small enough that it is easily overlooked or missed.

If the car market was not as crazy as it is I would have already traded it but at this point it's still cheaper to keep trying to find the issue than give it away to a dealership

look at the spring perches. The YouTubers epic family roadtrip realized their JL, which was even heavier than me, on the AEV HD springs plus airbags on top of that - their spring perch actually broke away from the frame. Who knows if the weight caused it or rust or whatever, but thats something not many people look at and once I saw that video I thought it was worth keeping an eye on. I would also look for stress cracks forward of the rear axle - thats a high stress load area for heavy vehicles. But probably need to find the source of whatever is busted before just swapping out to another lift.

 

[Sarge502]

Wanting to go with the dualsport eventually. Running the AEV spacer lift currently. I personally don't mind the rake.

 

[5adventurers]

Wanting to go with the dualsport eventually. Running the AEV spacer lift currently. I personally don't mind the rake.

It was a lot of back and forth for me....a lot...as in claimed it, ready to make the purchase and then....I'd be back to thinking full dualsport. My thing was if I'm gonna pay the money and do the work, might as well spend a little extra and do a little more. No regrets at this point, but it makes me think the 2 inch spacer would have been fine too. And for most people it will still do what they need to off-road....heck even stock in it'll do a lot more than the majority will ever test.

 

[Great Offender]

Going the "DIY" route myself in the spring. Job well done!

 

[hickman785]

look at the spring perches. The YouTubers epic family roadtrip realized their JL, which was even heavier than me, on the AEV HD springs plus airbags on top of that - their spring perch actually broke away from the frame. Who knows if the weight caused it or rust or whatever, but thats something not many people look at and once I saw that video I thought it was worth keeping an eye on. I would also look for stress cracks forward of the rear axle - thats a high stress load area for heavy vehicles. But probably need to find the source of whatever is busted before just swapping out to another lift.

The spring perches idea is definitely interesting. I had not thought of that, but it would make since if there was even a small crack allowing some flexing or small amount of movement. Right before all of this started I had added a camp kitchen that weighed about 150 pounds. The ride quality went to hell not long after that. I have always thought that maybe that extra weight finally bent or cracked something. The truck suspension was all factory at that time.

 

[chorky]

The spring perches idea is definitely interesting. I had not thought of that, but it would make since if there was even a small crack allowing some flexing or small amount of movement. Right before all of this started I had added a camp kitchen that weighed about 150 pounds. The ride quality went to hell not long after that. I have always thought that maybe that extra weight finally bent or cracked something. The truck suspension was all factory at that time.

I made a post about this
gladiator-‘overlanding’-weights-and-implications.72463

It's kinda hard to think you would have broken or bent something just adding a fridge - but what is your total estimated weight? I'm probably in the top 5% of weight on this forum, only behind those with the alu-cab (I think anyway). No prblems thus far - however I am also a cautious operator. If you have weight, and go bombing down crazy bumpy roads hard, theres a higher chance of something bad happening of course.

 

[hickman785]

I made a post about this
gladiator-‘overlanding’-weights-and-implications.72463

It's kinda hard to think you would have broken or bent something just adding a fridge - but what is your total estimated weight? I'm probably in the top 5% of weight on this forum, only behind those with the alu-cab (I think anyway). No prblems thus far - however I am also a cautious operator. If you have weight, and go bombing down crazy bumpy roads hard, theres a higher chance of something bad happening of course.

Before the fridge slide was installed I was around 500-600 pounds...the fridge slide and fridge added another 150ish pounds.

The truck began to sag with that extra 150ish pounds and ride definitely changed. Everything was fine until then.

 

[Blitzinger]

How much of a lift is that? Looks like more than 2.5 or 3

 

[5adventurers]

How much of a lift is that? Looks like more than 2.5 or 3

It's the 2.5 dualsport. I never measured. But I did put in the 1/2 spacer up front to account for rake and future weight, installing the winch right now actually ...

 

[Blitzinger]

It's the 2.5 dualsport. I never measured. But I did put in the 1/2 spacer up front to account for rake and future weight, installing the winch right now actually ...

Dang. I was looking at the kit with 3” hd but the 5100s instead of the larger ones with reservoirs

thing is, I figured that and 35s would look alright but seeing yours with 37s, I’m not so sure

 

[Wheelin98TJ]

Before the fridge slide was installed I was around 500-600 pounds...the fridge slide and fridge added another 150ish pounds.

The truck began to sag with that extra 150ish pounds and ride definitely changed. Everything was fine until then.

If 150 lbs made your truck sag, your coils are no good. Seems very odd to me though.

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