Carli Rear shackles with factory springs

[Avslash]

Curious to see what you think, been thinking about one as well with stock suspension.

I'll let you know in a couple weeks. I'm interested to see how it works as well.

I've considered doing the full Carli thing and still might, but I'm a bit leery of reducing payload and I would really prefer not to make the truck any higher than it would be whenever the Duratracs wear out and I move up to 37" tires. So start in the middle I decided to do the shackles and sway bar to see how much that softened it up. I'll decide where to go next.

 

[MrFancypants]

Carli shackles aren't really known to drop the ride height. It's not a thing to worry about.

Unloaded, no, but loaded yes. Given that so many people on this thread are installing them it would be good to collect some more definitive data.

 

[Stroke250]

First drive on normal roads and there does seem to be subtle improvement with harshness in the rear on bumps. Or this is placebo and me telling myself it was worth the price. Either way I’m happy and will report back after exploring some mountain roads.

 

[majorbison]

I regularly bumper tow 6k pounds with the stock leafs and Carli shackles and it rides amazing. Now I have onboard air I’ll maybe do the Carli leafs with bags at some point

 

[Utah Ford]

Got mine installed the other day and I am very pleased with the ride quality. There's less of an initial jarring over small bumps and highway expansion joints. The truck doesn't seem to get that "harmonic" bounce either over the expansion joints either.
I towed my camper a few miles as well from my house to where I store it and the ride seemed improved as well towing.

I guess it's hard to quantify the improvements but for the $$ I think this upgrade was well worth it.

 

[bugeyedmonster1]

For those that have installed these, any tips/tricks/pointers you could provide would be greatly appreciated. I have shocks, the rear shackles, and rear shock protectors all going in at the same time.

I have a total of 4 jack stands and two jacks, so I should be good. From what I've seen in various posts, I should be good to go with just jacking up the rear and nothing needed for the fronts other than cranking the wheel side to side.

 

[Utah Ford]

I jacked from my trailer hitch to raise and lower the rear to get to a point where there was no load on the bolts to easily remove/install them. It would help to have someone else run the jack for you so you're not crawling all over the place.

I originally tried to jack just a corner at a time and that actually puts some twist in the springs that makes the bolts bind up. So yeah, jack from the hitch

 

[bugeyedmonster1]

I jacked from my trailer hitch to raise and lower the rear to get to a point where there was no load on the bolts to easily remove/install them. It would help to have someone else run the jack for you so you're not crawling all over the place.

I originally tried to jack just a corner at a time and that actually puts some twist in the springs that makes the bolts bind up. So yeah, jack from the hitch

Did you need to pull the wheels off the rear? Where would you suggest to put jack stands while lifting at the hitch, or are you doing this with the rear wheels on and no jack stands?

 

[HeavyAssault]

Place the jack stands just inside the bottom mounting plate for the U-bolts on the axle tube. Drop the spare tire out the way, remove one rear wheel at a time. DO NOT let the cable from the spare contact the hair on the back of your neck or rub along the back of your neck.

 

[bugeyedmonster1]

Place the jack stands just inside the bottom mounting plate for the U-bolts on the axle tube. Drop the spare tire out the way, remove one rear wheel at a time. DO NOT let the cable from the spare contact the hair on the back of your neck or rub along the back of your neck.

awesome, thank you!

 

[Utah Ford]

I just left the tires on and didn’t use any jack stands. The sweet spot is to jack it just before the tires lift off the ground.
M I’m not really sure if having jack stands is beneficial from a safety point of view either. If the jack slips the real risk is pinching your hands on the springs

 

[MrFancypants]

I finally took the plunge on the Carli shackles. My only complaint is their instructions are ridiculous. You don’t need to disconnect the rear shocks, you don’t need to remove the entire spring pack. As others have said you just have to unload the rear suspension. I used a lift but you could also use a jack under the hitch.

The driver’s side took some tapping with a hammer to get the lower mount pressed into place, but the passenger side went in easy peasy.

As for ride quality, it is a MAJOR improvement. Every Tremor owner should install these. The juddering over small stuff is completely gone. My only regret is waiting so long to do these. Another great Carli product!

 

[AZsurveyor]

Unloaded, no, but loaded yes. Given that so many people on this thread are installing them it would be good to collect some more definitive data.

I carry about 2,000 pounds of gear in the bed at all times and with a full S&B tank of fuel plus that weight, the rear does tend to droop a bit.

From what you’re saying, it sounds like I’d see even more of that with these shackles?

For the price, I’m considering them, but I have no complaints about my ride—honestly, I love how the added weight keeps the truck planted and stable at all times.

 

[MrFancypants]

From what you’re saying, it sounds like I’d see even more of that with these shackles?

I will be towing the trailer in a few weeks and will let you know. In theory it should sag a bit more but I doubt more than 1/2”.

 

[HeavyAssault]

I carry about 2,000 pounds of gear in the bed at all times and with a full S&B tank of fuel plus that weight, the rear does tend to droop a bit.

From what you’re saying, it sounds like I’d see even more of that with these shackles?

For the price, I’m considering them, but I have no complaints about my ride—honestly, I love how the added weight keeps the truck planted and stable at all times.

There's a give-and-take with the Carli shackles. I'd say for you @AZsurveyor that the shackles might not be what you want to use. Your OEM shackles are a design to use as you describe. Carli is there to "improve" the ride, which their design does, but at the price of potentially added "sag".
The "sag" just comes from the added range of motion (less restriction) on the Carli shackle, it's not a poor design it's just HOW that design works.

 

[26PlatinumPLUSAG]

I installed my Carli shackles a couple nights ago, so got to spend my first full day with them yesterday. They seemed to have rounded some of the hard edge off the rear suspension. For the money and time I think it was worth it at this point.

Ordered the Carli sway bar yesterday, so we'll see how that goes with an otherwise stock suspension.

@Avslash did you get your sway bar in and could you tell a difference?

 

[majorbison]

These trucks are meant to be loaded so it probably rides better with that weight

 

[MrFancypants]

I have some more driving impressions I think are worth sharing.

In retrospect, the sensation you get with stock shackles is like the truck being "bumped" as you drive down the road. This makes sense to me now because the factory shackle is fighting the leaf spring's ability to extend, which actually puts a lateral (front to back) force against the truck. After installing the Carli shackles, there is zero lateral "bump", even though the springs are still very stiff. This is very different than just changing the spring rate of the truck.

The other place they make a huge difference is when turning on uneven pavement. Previously the truck would bounce and chatter really badly. In retrospect, it's just a more pronounced version of the above because the two leaf springs are being flexed at different times and bumping the truck on alternating sides. With the Carli shackles, the truck is remarkably more planted when turning, much like when you remove the rear sway bar. Of course, you should still use a sway bar with a camper, but letting those two stiff leaf springs operate independently makes for a way better ride on bad roads.

I'll be testing for increased squat with the trailer in a couple of weeks. I also need to play around with the settings on my Performance Elite rear shocks to see if I can dial things in even better.

 

[Poor White Boy]

I have them on all and every f350 I have owned and do own . Major difference in ride quality .I'm older and down here in south Florida, roads and land of speed bumps

 

[gmbpilot757]

Following for the “sag” aspect while towing. Curious about increased sag with a 5er. @mrmag00 , thoughts?