lifted trucks and towing.. blocks or springs in the rear?
 

Im considering a lift on my truck. Ive just purchased a work truck so Im kind of retiring mine to a life of haulin toys.

Heres what Im considering, please feel free to chime in with any issues you think i should know about.

The one thing i will NOT do is give up my towing capacity and stability. I plan on doing some long-distance tows this coming year to the poker runs and don't want to affect safety.

I currently have a 2.5" coil spacer and tracbar relocation kit. with larger tires and stock wheels. It tows just fine. I need longer shocks thuogh.
Im looking at doing a DR racing 4.5" lift in combination with my 2.5" should give me about 7" of lift in the front. One the rear Im not sure if I should have a spring pack or a block. I WILL be adding airbags for the rear to level out after loading.
Id like to run 22" rims with 37" or 38" tires.

What do I need to look for in rims and tires to make sure they are up to snuff for towing duties?

what about braking? Will slotted rotors and new pads handle the wheels and tires with towing?

sorry, the truck is a 06 F250 diesel 4x4

Then stop right now.

Lifting a truck ruins it as a serious tow vehicle. Raising the center of gravity introduces instability that cannot be compensated for. Increasing wheel diameter has the effect of increasing leverage on your braking system, reducing overall capacity. I don't know of anyone making "E" rated tires in 22" and lastly, virtually all policies exclude lifted vehicles unless specifically endorsed. If your insurer would write a rider, they would most likely exclude towing.

We got pretty deep into the physics of how lifting affects vehicle dynamics a few months back- if you want the science behind all this, run a search.

good advise on the gravity issues.i'd keep it stock if it were me,but would change out the rims for sure.

How much does the 32 sunsation weigh? If that's the heaviest thing your pulling I think you'll be fine. 37's are pretty tall..... you're gonna need lower gears as well as upgraded brakes. The nice thing about the larger wheel are that you have less sidewall flex. But you definently want "E" rated tires..... the center of gravity issues previously mentioned can almost be completely offset with wider tires with less sidewall flex.

My chevy "feels" more stable towing now with a 6" lift and 35" E-rated tires on 18" wheels than it did when it was stock on the mushy OEM tires.

As to your original question..... I think most people opt for the block in the rear to maintain a "stock" ride. Add a leafs or a spring pack with more arch will ride rougher.

If you are going to use blocks I would defiantly recommend traction bars. I am running a 8 inch kit with 38's and 20's and it tows awesome with the air bags and traction bars. Let me know if I can help.

Who is the manufacturer of the traction bars? Did they make the replacement radius arms too?

my buddy7 had an f350 we did 12" of lift 42" tires and hauled my 1999 33 scarab around with it with no troubles. He had the tall gears from the factory and his rig was a V10 and even with the taller tires it had no troubles. I would highly reccomend the springs over blocks along with trac bars for the rear, I have seen some blocks split down the side and seen them get spit out.

definitely go with the springs .blocks only amplify the spring wanting to wrap up . I have a crewcab with 38's and it now has a wider wheelbase than stock it tows awesome

If it was my truck I would go with springs. You probably are still going to run the factory block with the new springs. I do not like idea of stacking blocks, and the kits hardly ever give you a single block. As stayed before the block will create more leverage. I am not sure if 7.5" will clear 38's. It might depending on the width of the tire, offset, and rim size. Typically 8-10" is need for the fords to clear 38's

Also i would upgrade the brakes for towing. 22's are some big rims, and 38 is a lot of rubber. You might be fine with the stock gearing. The diesel is pretty stong just remember you are now chaging the overall gearing and your speedo will be off.