Installing a Rear Airbag Suspension Kit on a 97-04 Dodge Dakota - Draggin Dakota

  |   dodge Dakota front View Back in the Sept. '07 issue of ST, we showed you Chassis Tech's new Street Scraper bolt-on rear airbag suspension kit and Plug-n-Play air supply system. That setup was innovative because not only did the suspension parts bolt on, but the air management system was packaged in a small box and the whole deal was installed in less than one day. We've received quite a bit of mail asking if the Street Scraper is available for trucks other than Chevys, and we are happy to report that Chassis Tech just released a new kit for '97-'04 Dodge Dakotas.   |   dodge Dakota airbag Kit This kit will enable your truck to lay frame on 20-inch wheels and tires up front, when the air is released from the 'bags, provided you do a small amount of cutting in the front fenderwells. Of course, the rear end will want to smash into the bed floor, and the wheels will hit the factory wheeltubs, so those areas will have to be removed just like any other air kit requires. The bolt-in step notch will accommodate as much as a 24-inch wheel-and-tire package if it's less than 30 inches in diameter. Fittin' big rims on your Dodge is no problem with this kit. Like the last Chassis Tech kit we reviewed, the rear suspension bolts on completely. The truck in this story is equipped with a manual transmission, but Chassis Tech reports that even with an automatic trans the truck will lay nice and flat. You will have to cut a notch out of the rear framerails for the rear axle though. If you want the truck to lay hard, you'll also have to cut out the front spring pockets and weld in new cups. Chassis Tech's spring pocket eliminators are another nice feature, and welding them into the framerails will actually strengthen the area rather than weaken it. The front shock relocators are also weld-in units. This kit offers a ton of suspension travel. In the up position, the truck will be 2 inches lower than a stock Dakota, and like we said before, it will lay flat on the framerails. Let's take a look at the parts.

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The Final Word
At $2,595, the Street Scraper is a great buy. The parts are engineered to work, built strong, and finished in a durable powdercoat. When you combine it with the Plug-n-Play air management system, the cost jumps to $2,704, and it's an even better buy because you could install this entire setup in your garage with the help of your friends over the course of a weekend and be cruising to work the next Monday. Think of how impressed your boss will be.