Suspension for a washboard road

[n2osx]

I have an 81 3" body lift 4.56 gears header and weber and 33's.  I want to lift the suspention, I already have the chevy 63" rears and was thinking on the rear to front swap and shock hoops.  I'm not much into rock crawling, but I love slinging mud, snow, sand, and hill climbs.  This truck is one of my daily drivers (along with the 90 240sx and a 95 Grand Cherokee) and I want to lift it enough to get 37" tires eventually (with trimming Is ok).  My questions.  1- I want to be able to go down a washboard road or in the sand whoops with minimal bumping and slamming, how would I do this with a rear to front swap (how would I pack the springs) and with Chev 63" springs (Overloads?)? and what shocks would I use without braking the bank?  2-  Untill I get an ifs steering box set up what could I do about the steering with the rear to front swap?

Thanks for the info
Carl

[jimbo74]

for the steering you could run a dropped drag link...

[Gittinit]

for the steering you could run a dropped drag link...

Not with rears up front they move the axle forward for the stock push pull steering to work correctly.

Wash board roads will require a good set of shocks along with lower air pressure. Sand whoops are gonna require some progressive bumpstops and a soft set of springs.

You should be able to accomplish all these goals. I suggest a rear pack with 1st gen top leaves and some more rear leafs added for a total of 6 or 7 to get a comfy ride. Please install crossover on that thing. Steering is not the place to cheap out   

Those Chevy 1/2 ton truck springs will hinder your ride some, but I like them. They were originally meant for a heavier truck, and are a little stiff, on the road.

[n2osx]

For the rear pack, to more leaves, can I use some springs from the front?

[BLACKDOG]

Not with rears up front they move the axle forward for the stock push pull steering to work correctly.

Wash board roads will require a good set of shocks along with lower air pressure. Sand whoops are gonna require some progressive bumpstops and a soft set of springs.

You should be able to accomplish all these goals. I suggest a rear pack with 1st gen top leaves and some more rear leafs added for a total of 6 or 7 to get a comfy ride. Please install crossover on that thing. Steering is not the place to cheap out   

Those Chevy 1/2 ton truck springs will hinder your ride some, but I like them. They were originally meant for a heavier truck, and are a little stiff, on the road.

to help with the ride on the chevies, look for an older chevy, in a junkyard, that looks like it has spent its life working.  Basically, look for some springs that are pretty darn worn.  They'll be fine on the much smaller truck, and be a lot smoother of a ride than a newer set.

[n2osx]

For adding springs for the rear to front swap, can I use son leaves from the front packs?  Also what shocks could I use for a washboard road that wont break the bank.

[82 HiLux]

I was wondering the same thing.  I have 2 rear packs waiting to be built into my front suspension...and I wanted to add some of my existing front leaves into the rear packs, rather than going to the junkyard to get 2 more rear packs.   Save some $$$$