Thanks to the aftermarket, dual-rear-wheel trucks have enjoyed as much customizing ability as their ½-ton brethren. With so many lift and lowering kits available today, it has become as simple as dialing up the desired company to order the components that will make your dualie your own. We can’t help but love the extra-wide rear ends of the 1-ton dualie trucks and how they lend a much more aggressive appearance than their regular-bed cronies. Whether hugging the tarmac or reaching for the sky, customized dualie trucks are definitely a cut above in the cool department.
McGaughys Suspension, located in Fresno, California, is no stranger to innovation. As soon as truck manufacturers release new suspension designs, McGaughys has always responded quickly to fill the marketplace demand for properly engineered lift and lowering systems. Since the Ram 3500 was upgraded with a restructured front suspension system consisting of a radius arm in place of the well-known four-link, we decided to catch up with the crew at McGaughys and peek at what was being designed for the new Ram 1-ton. Steve McGaughy showed us his newly fabricated parts before pointing us in the direction of a brand-new 2014 Ram 3500 4x4 all ready for its dose of attitude.
| 2014 Ram 3500 McGaughys Suspension 6 Inch Lift Kit 01
Healthily optioned with the well-appointed Laramie package and a 6.7L Cummins under the hood, this 2014 Ram 3500 Dualie was no slouch from the get-go, but its stock height wasn’t doing much for the fun factor.
| 2014 Ram 3500 McGaughys Suspension 6 Inch Lift Kit 02
Since the truck was safely on a lift and prepped for surgery, we jumped right in by unbolting the front sway bar endlinks and dropping the factory shocks from the Ram.
| 2014 Ram 3500 McGaughys Suspension 6 Inch Lift Kit 03
Live-axle Ram trucks are susceptible to steering problems if the drag link angles aren’t kept in proper range. To make way for the necessary changes, the drag link was unbolted from the pitman arm.
| 2014 Ram 3500 McGaughys Suspension 6 Inch Lift Kit 04
A new pitman arm was included in the McGaughys kit, so the original was unbolted before a two-jaw puller freed it from the steering box.
| 2014 Ram 3500 McGaughys Suspension 6 Inch Lift Kit 05
Enough parts had been unbolted from the front axle to allow sufficient droop to liberate the original front coil springs.
| 2014 Ram 3500 McGaughys Suspension 6 Inch Lift Kit 06
The front track bar bolt was removed to make way for the McGaughys drop bracket.
| 2014 Ram 3500 McGaughys Suspension 6 Inch Lift Kit 07
While the axle was lowered a bit, it was the perfect time to cut off the front bumpstop mounts. We were careful to only cut through the weld and not the frame or bumpstop cup.
| 2014 Ram 3500 McGaughys Suspension 6 Inch Lift Kit 08
McGaughys added 6 inches of lift to the Ram with longer front coil springs, fabricated radius arms, rear lift blocks, and all the accompanying brackets and hardware necessary to make everything work as the factory geometry was originally fashioned.
| 2014 Ram 3500 McGaughys Suspension 6 Inch Lift Kit 09
Even though the bumpstop cups were welded on, matching holes in the frame and cups allowed McGaughys to design a bolt-on bracket to lower the bumpstops for proper function with its lift kit.
| 2014 Ram 3500 McGaughys Suspension 6 Inch Lift Kit 10
Track bar angle was repositioned to stock with a new bracket that bolted into two stock frame locations, with a third requiring drilling through the support crossmember.
| 2014 Ram 3500 McGaughys Suspension 6 Inch Lift Kit 11
Only three bolts held each radius arm on the Ram. To make the swap easier, both factory radius arms had to be removed before proceeding.
| 2014 Ram 3500 McGaughys Suspension 6 Inch Lift Kit 12
The new McGaughys radius arms were fabricated from thick-plate steel, fit with stock-style pivot bushings for longevity, and powdercoated in brilliant metallic silver.
| 2014 Ram 3500 McGaughys Suspension 6 Inch Lift Kit 13
McGaughys designed its new front coil springs with a rising rate to allow a compliant ride under normal conditions, while still being able to perform under harsher conditions.
| 2014 Ram 3500 McGaughys Suspension 6 Inch Lift Kit 14
Large-bore, gas-charged shocks came with the kit, but Steve chose to option this dualie with Fox 2.0 shocks for a more compliant ride.
| 2014 Ram 3500 McGaughys Suspension 6 Inch Lift Kit 15
You might be fooled into thinking the dropped pitman arm wasn't low enough to be effective, but there was more to the install.
| 2014 Ram 3500 McGaughys Suspension 6 Inch Lift Kit 16
Ram designed its drag link with these offsets so the adjustable end could not be installed the wrong way.
| 2014 Ram 3500 McGaughys Suspension 6 Inch Lift Kit 17
To accommodate the McGaughys design, the offsets had to be chopped off flush with the threaded portion of each end.
| 2014 Ram 3500 McGaughys Suspension 6 Inch Lift Kit 18
Once threaded back together, we flipped the drag link end over so it mounted through the new pitman arm from the bottom up. With the modification and the dropped arm, the drag link laid at the same angle as factory.
| 2014 Ram 3500 McGaughys Suspension 6 Inch Lift Kit 19
New mounting brackets held the sway bar and allowed the stock ball joint endlinks to be reused on the front axle.
| 2014 Ram 3500 McGaughys Suspension 6 Inch Lift Kit 20
The aft suspension began by removing the factory shock absorbers and original U-bolts.
| 2014 Ram 3500 McGaughys Suspension 6 Inch Lift Kit 21
Lowering the axle away from the leaf springs allowed room for the lift block to be slipped into position.
| 2014 Ram 3500 McGaughys Suspension 6 Inch Lift Kit 22
New, longer U-bolts were fit around the axle and cinched tightly.
| 2014 Ram 3500 McGaughys Suspension 6 Inch Lift Kit 23
No cutting was required to relocate the rear bumpstops. Everything simply bolted in place.
| 2014 Ram 3500 McGaughys Suspension 6 Inch Lift Kit 24
Completing the rear suspension was another pair of Fox's 2.0 shocks designed to soak up bumps with oversized tires.
| 2014 Ram 3500 McGaughys Suspension 6 Inch Lift Kit 25
Wheels and tires can make or break a truck's look. We chose 22x8.25-inch American Force Evo wheels and 35x12.50R22 Toyo Open Country M/T tires to complete the Ram's transformation.
