Reduce rake by adding weight in JT bed

[Patrick Montgomery]

So it's ok to haul stuff in it and not be dragging my butt?

Nice to see so many naysayers but they are all wrong ....
Works great for folks like me who are capable of pushing 4 containers from back to front if they ever need room or of loading mulch bags on top for the 10 minutes home
And way better than modifying the engineering of the jt with $150 worth of bumper which might increase wear on swing arms etc ..

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[Patrick Montgomery]

What is the question exactly? Are you asking if that’s why they designed it with “rake”? Because that’s always been my impression: it’s a pickup - so when you’re carrying load, it flattens out instead of having a Carolina squat. I’d take daily rake over squat under load ??‍

And the Jt handles better with those bags in back!

 

[Patrick Montgomery]

And the Jt handles better with those bags in back!

I take neither. Much better
What I wondered is really only whether 1.5 spacers do nothing to drive or wear
Whereas my solution changes nothing except yields better drive and no squat as all adjustable

 

[Rocksalt]

I have 2 70lb sand bags in back for winter. Yes truck handles better with a little weight in back.
But I also thought factory rake too much. Added 3/4" pucks in front. Happy with it .

 

[Patrick Montgomery]

Thanks
I just didn't know if there has been any negative input from jeep engineering or other engineers re wear etc from spacers...

 

[Rocksalt]

3/4" spacers in front suspension don't really put things out of geometry

 

[Patrick Montgomery]

I have a winch and recovery gear in bed as I didn't want to add more weight in front and increase rake if no spacers used etc

 

[Patrick Montgomery]

3/4" spacers in front suspension don't really put things out of geometry

It might be a matter of degree ...
Since many say that 2 inches does ... so not sure if 3/4 is only a bit out - or not at all...
But thanks for your experience as I was thinking I might risk 3/4 myself

 

[Rocksalt]

3/4" will make a change but not enough to throw anything off.

 

[Patrick Montgomery]

Thanks

 

[ShadowsPapa]

And way better than modifying the engineering of the jt with $150 worth of bumper which might increase wear on swing arms etc ..

So, how is a bumper going to increase wear at all but 250 pounds in the back not?
That's not at all where the wear is on the control arms.
No way you are "wearing the swing arms" as you say with a new bumper - the only bad is if you don't loosen the control arm bolts and retorque them at the new normal ride height.
The only thing about always carrying weight above and beyond curb weight is you have those control arm bushings always wound up a tiny bit. Any time you change ride height of a vehicle you should release the clamping force and re-torque the control arm bolts to make that the new normal. Even putting in spring spacers, or adding a bumper weighing another 150 pounds, loosen the bolts and re-torque them as that is your new normal.

The front of mine has a net change of about 1.25" from stock, that's enough it threw the front axle off center and made the steering wheel off-center. Since things swing in an arc and not straight up and down, the more or greater the change, the more the geometry changes. The first 1/2-3/4" isn't much but the next 3/4 changes things more than the first 3/4 changed things.

 

[Patrick Montgomery]

Meant bumper winch ... increase weight and rake so have to do a lift . Vs winch in bed for hitch. I only used my last winch twice in 5 years

 

[sharpsicle]

Nice to see so many naysayers but they are all wrong ....
Works great for folks like me who are capable of pushing 4 containers from back to front if they ever need room or of loading mulch bags on top for the 10 minutes home
And way better than modifying the engineering of the jt with $150 worth of bumper which might increase wear on swing arms etc ..

It seems you know just enough to be dangerous, but not enough to be effective. Don't discount what's been said in this thread just because you disagree with it. You're causing more wear and more variability than a leveling kit would ever introduce.

You asked for thoughts, I hope it was to learn and not just to start an argument.

 

[guntrust]

I'm new with JT ... I didn't like the 2" rake but not sure about adding front spacer..... so I experimented with putting about 250 pounds inside tailgate. This leveled the truck and I can remove the weight when I need the room for cargo...
Any thoughts ?

https://decked.com/products/decked-jeep-gladiator?variant=15836002615362&year=2020

 

[CrazyCooter]

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