Modernized Air Suspension
| Before
With all the debate out there focusing on suspension setups, we figured it was about time to put some suspension myths to the test. For years, fabricators 'bagged trucks day in and day out using a standard notch and bridge, with the airbags mounted directly on top of the axle, and never really thought much about it. Well, times have changed, and air setups have certainly come a long way. Lately, we've been seeing systems designed with the 'bags mounted on link bars, giving the suspension a mechanical lever advantage for lift, along with a better ride.
| After
In the hard-core suspension world, some will tell you that a reverse four-link is unsafe and by nature cannot function correctly. However, CanDo Specialties in Oroville, California, put this myth to rest. The CanDo reverse four-link was created about four years ago with the help of Brian Jendro. It is designed to provide enough lift so that you can remove the biggest rims you can stuff under your mini without any complication. The kit has 10-12 inches of lift with shocks properly installed and can be installed with the stock lowered suspension in place. According to CanDo's spokesperson, "As long as your setup is designed properly, keeping the pinion angle in check throughout the range of travel, and installed correctly to avoid axle wrap, then you're good to go." Brian Jendro pioneered this setup in the mid-'90s, and it has been put to the test time and again ever since.
You can now easily 'bag your truck and maintain ride quality. For this article, we focused on what it takes to build a rear suspension setup that rides as good as it lays. This weld-in kit is also currently being designed with bolt-in applications for most mini-trucks. Follow along as CanDo installed its weld-in reverse four-link, which has been tested to be "safe and reliable with more than 60,000 miles on a daily driven truck to prove it." For more information, contact the company listed in the source box.
