::P72Ford's 1997 Ford F-250HD XL::

[nfldfordltd]

I thought I needed more clean OBS in my life; seeing that picture simply confirms it. Awesome truck.

[Tiggie]

The $15k doesn't surprise me! OBS are hot!

[His Royal Ghostliness]

Jesus $15k can buy an unmolested Cummins in a nice 4x4 truck, and not necessarily of the Dodge variety! And you're not even done spending money on this here thing! I'd have taken the money and run, lol, but it is your truck and if it is everything you ever wanted it to be then I can easily see why you chose to keep it.

BTW with an RSK up front you'll need more than the 4" blocks on the rear axle, I'm thinking it's best to just lose all that bullshit (them tall blocks are a lousy setup from the factory anyways, their only merit being they're cheap) and go either proper lift springs or keep your factory springs and flip the shackles instead.

[P72Ford]

Putting this thread to bed!

I sold this truck back in June (I think), to a semi local guy. The fuel mileage made it borderline unusable; I never noted better than 10, and I never beat on the truck. I think I put about 1000 miles on it in 18 months of ownership. It was a beautiful example of a mid 90's work truck, but for what I sold it for I would have been a fool not to.

I replaced it with a '14 Ram Express, quad cab short bed towards the end of July. Obviously the new truck is white, 4WD, Hemi, 8 speed, 3.21 limited slip. It has all the right "truck stuff"; factory spray in liner, integrated brake controller, limited slip, etc. Not too snazzy, although it has 20s and color matched bumpers and stuff; very basic monochromatic interior (sub SLT). It had 26K on it when I bought it, for right about $20K under the sticker of a new one. I would have loved a Ford, but they're just too much money. I use my trucks when I need them, and the remainder of the time they live in the garage. So far I've put about 3K miles on this one, and have gotten as good as 23 MPG (all highway). It is much more comfortable and user friendly than the OBS, albeit obviously more expensive. Mods include a muffler delete, window tint, b pillar blackout, rear lowering springs (to level it), debadge, replaced Hemi badges with the small Challenger style ones, a shorter antenna, and that's about it.

[His Royal Ghostliness]

It has all the right "truck stuff"

Somehow this statement doesn't really jive with this one:

rear lowering springs (to level it)

Unless you have air ride. Every time I see e leveled-out truck I'm thinking hey here's another person who only hauls assembled cardboard boxes and bubble wrap, lol

Don't take me wrong, for a DD new trucks are awesome, super comfortable and excellent fuel economy for what they are - which obviously makes them ideal for longer road trips as well. I'm glad the new truck fits your needs better than the old one, ultimately that is what matters most - the coolest truck in the world doesn't do you any good if you can't afford to feed its thirst for fuel and it gives you a stiff back after mere 15 minutes of driving.

But I still think a truck that is leveled-out no longer looks like a truck, as the moment you put anything heavy either in the bed or on the bumper you get the idiotic California lean (which apparently has now migrated to the Carolinas). May I suggest that you leave the factory suspension as is, and instead sell the stupid 20s and get something smaller in diameter with some taller-sidewall tires? You'll end up with a truck that actually still looks like a truck, and it will probably ride a bin nicer even (albeit not handle quite as good), and you won't have to cringe every time you hit a pothole (few things suck more than hitting a "bump" in the form of a 6" ledge on the highway on a road trip and bending a wheel or worse).

Oh yeah, Dodge >>> Ford when new trucks are concerned, and least as far as styling goes, so you did good there

[gadget73]

I always figured that if you put weight in the bed it took care of leveling it out, so there was no point in changing the springs. I permanently leveled mine, hauled more weight than it was rated for and the springs are slightly fucked now. Protip, do not attempt to carry a ton of wood pellets in an S10. It doesn't like it.

[His Royal Ghostliness]

I know someone with a GM truck who levels his by cranking the torsion bars up in the front. Then when it's time to hook a trailer up torsion bars get adjusted down, so the thing stays level again even with the load. That's some dedication there, lol. Me, I just push buttons and truck goes up/down as needed on its own

[sly]

I know someone with a GM truck who levels his by cranking the torsion bars up in the front. Then when it's time to hook a trailer up torsion bars get adjusted down, so the thing stays level again even with the load. That's some dedication there, lol. Me, I just push buttons and truck goes up/down as needed on its own

I'm with you on this one... though I don't have the push-button system in my 93, but I hook my compressor to the Schrader valves for the air bags and fill until it looks level (or I reach 35PSI).

[tjc78]

I always figured that if you put weight in the bed it took care of leveling it out, so there was no point in changing the springs. I permanently leveled mine, hauled more weight than it was rated for and the springs are slightly fucked now. Protip, do not attempt to carry a ton of wood pellets in an S10. It doesn't like it.

I did the same thing to my S10 when I had it, except with pieces of rocks and cement from my yard.

[DerekTheGreat]

I remember my Ranger had the payload package in it, ass was in the air big time. Only time it ever leveled out is when I was hauling about 1,200lbs of paint to my buddy on a pallet. Rode so good, like a box. He forklifted it out onto his '92 D350 dually and it didn't even make a dent in his suspension haha.

[P72Ford]

The OBS was definitely a truck's truck. I turned 30 a few months ago, and I've gone soft! I chose to level by lowering the rear because I hate jacking with front suspension geometry. Plus, with stock size all seasons, it would have looked pretty dumb. I tow a trailer with my truck here and there, and occasionally move power equipment, wood, etc around in the bed. My family has real trucks for when there are big things to move! The rest of the time I just need something comfortable and semi efficient to haul my poser ass around. This truck has an absolutely epic exhaust note too.

[sly]

The OBS was definitely a truck's truck. I turned 30 a few months ago, and I've gone soft! I chose to level by lowering the rear because I hate jacking with front suspension geometry. Plus, with stock size all seasons, it would have looked pretty dumb. I tow a trailer with my truck here and there, and occasionally move power equipment, wood, etc around in the bed. My family has real trucks for when there are big things to move! The rest of the time I just need something comfortable and semi efficient to haul my poser ass around. This truck has an absolutely epic exhaust note too.

Exhaust note: video required

[His Royal Ghostliness]

The OBS was definitely a truck's truck. I turned 30 a few months ago, and I've gone soft! I chose to level by lowering the rear because I hate jacking with front suspension geometry. Plus, with stock size all seasons, it would have looked pretty dumb. I tow a trailer with my truck here and there, and occasionally move power equipment, wood, etc around in the bed. My family has real trucks for when there are big things to move! The rest of the time I just need something comfortable and semi efficient to haul my poser ass around. This truck has an absolutely epic exhaust note too.

So how does it ride with the lowering springs? I'm asking cause I see this as an issue on GM boards, yes the truck is lower now but it often either rides like a dump truck on Hendrickson rubber blocks or even so much as putting a bed cap on bottoms it out. Just curious...

[P72Ford]

So how does it ride with the lowering springs? I'm asking cause I see this as an issue on GM boards, yes the truck is lower now but it often either rides like a dump truck on Hendrickson rubber blocks or even so much as putting a bed cap on bottoms it out. Just curious...

I did not note any difference in ride quality. Haven't really loaded it up and noticed a difference in spring rate either, for that matter. Keep in mind this is a coil spring rear.

[His Royal Ghostliness]

Duh, forgot about the coils there - which is funny considering I was driving those well before they became available to the general public way back when. But yeah, you got your tuning options nice there, lol, and hell you can toss the factory coils back in for a long road trip with a camper in tow or something along those lines. Tho honestly, I'd say fuck it and do air ride, you're basically 90% set up for it already, and it is a factory option that should not be too hard to retrofit with manual controls, then you can do whatever you want with it and have it sit however you want it without getting out of the cab