RobertShively
New Member
What sort of ball joints do you plan on running? I know Chevy ball joints are prone to failure due to the fact that they are responsible for holding the weight of the vehicle for the suspension, as well as act as the main pivot point for steering... it's a lot of abuse for one joint to withstand!
Edit:
I'm also curious as to what sort of spring/shock/coilover/strut combo you are planning to run. I've been looking into ORI struts for my jeep, as they are a single unit that both supports and dampens, sense sideways force, and act as a bumpstop, all in one clean and very cool package. They are a little spendy, but will run roughly the same price as a decent set of coilovers and air-bumpstops. You can also scrap the need for a sway bar, which further cleans up and simplifies a build.
Edit 2:
Read your first post and saw you plan to go with king's. ... but I'll leave that info on the ORI's because they are super cool haha.
At the moment we plan on using Rock Krawler Ball Joints, here. As I get closer to completing the design, I can get a better idea to how much it will weigh, then I plan on contacting Rock Krawler to get some numbers on how much weight their joints are designed to hold. Their parts are only built for Jeeps, but with all of the aftermarket parts you'd expect on a lifted Jeep, bumpers, light bars, roll cages, etc, I don't see an issue with their joints. If they don't meet our expectations, we might end up going with after market ball joints for a Chevy/GMC 3500HD, and that size truck weighs about the same as what I'm guessing the hog will weigh.
As for the shocks or coil overs, like you noticed, we plan on running King 2.5 or 3.0 coil overs with a separate bump stop, as well as limiting straps to not over extend the shocks. They're expensive, but from what I've heard about them, and seen of them in use, they're top of the line. We're still a little ways off from purchasing any of the parts yet, so I'll definitely look into the ORI struts.