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2015 F350 - Carli vs Icon question

50K views 162 replies 19 participants last post by  txbonds 
#1 · (Edited)
Coming in from 2 lifted 4runners and most recently a lifted tundra. I'm looking to do a level lift to get larger tires and better ride on my brand new bone stock F350. I don't want to loose any load carrying ability as we haul a 31' travel trailer and are thinking of going to a larger 5th wheel in the next year or so as well.

I've been looking at the Icon Stage 3 and the Carli Back Country as these two are similarly priced.

Can anyone shed any light on which of these might be a better way to go for a truck that will see lots of road use, lots of towing, and limited off road travel at low speed? Maybe I'm even pushing past where I need to be like the Icon stage 1 or Carli starter setup but didn't know what made most sense and bang for buck to meet my goals and allow me to get a 34ish" tire on like a KO2 35x12.5x18.

Thanks.

The F350


And the prior trucks
Tundra with OME full lift

5th Gen 4runner with Radflo full lift kit

3rd Gen 4runner with Bilstein 5100/TRD spring lift kit
 
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#2 ·
A co-worker of mine has an Icon leveling kit on his 2013 F150. In less than 10,000 miles and one rear shock blew out and the other was leaking oil. I just ordered a Carli Pintop 4.5" lift kit but it's still in the shipping process so I can't comment on the ride yet. But I still vote for Carli, plus their customer service is second to none!! Dan is always on here helping people out and answering questions. Sorry I can't help out more.
 
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#3 ·
Icon seams to build some nice stuff, but the Carli crewhave countless hours fine tuning the shocks and suspension on these trucks. No one in the industry can make that claim. To get these trucks to ride like they do you have to have a serious commitment to shock valving and customer feed back...

Great group of guys!
 
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#4 · (Edited)
Thanks guys. So couple of follow up questions.

I keep reading that the pintop setup with the Kings is the only way to go. I can't drop that much money right now so would buying the starter setup with the Billie shocks work fine now and be as simple as come back the following 6 months or year and swap in the shocks? As in, is everything else the same and would it be as simple as unbolt and swap the shocks at that point?

Am I correct in thinking that on a 350 I would get a 1" rake with these kits unless I switched to a 250 rear block? If so that's okay as that would be a very small rake and would help with a more level ride when towing I would think.
 
#9 ·
Everything they sale can be upgraded over time. If you could spend money anywhere I would try and save for the full leaf spring they sell. That is one of the best upgrades you can invest in.

If it's something you can not splurge on yet then you will need the f350 blocks.

If you have any questions I know the guys from CJC have their F250 built along the same lines as your thinking. They could give you some real world comparisons. They started with Bilsteins then prototyped the Fox kit for Carli and now I think it's rocking the Dominator shock at the 2.5" ride height.

If it's any indication how well it rides, the owners Dad won't give them the keys back..haha

They should have never ridden in mine. It's a slippery slop
 
#6 ·
what sold me on carli was the idea that all they do are these HD trucks. i had an icon setup on my f-150 and loved it, but the support from carli on here and the idea that they only do HD trucks was great as they obviously spend all their time on them and know what they are talking about.

my 2.5" backcountry kit is AWESOME, have had it on for 1000 miles now, couldnt be happier with road performance. Plus now that my wife has seen it she is encouraging selling the RZR and upgrading the F250 to the dominator setup to allow the kids to ride along off road with us.

wes
 
#10 ·
It's funny you say that. I've got a few buddies that are always trying to get me to buy one and I refuse to until they have a/c in one.. haha It's hard to beat driving my truck that's for sure
 
#13 ·
Yes, the u bolts will work. We had a customer in our shop that wanted us to put them in to see how it looked. In my opinion and his it was way too tall and we removed them. However, everything did work fine. Ride quality wise, Carli is going to have the advantage by leaps and bounds. I drove our 2011 with the Commuters daily for a couple months and absolutely loved the ride quality. Also, one of the benefits of Carli parts is the strong resale value of the parts if you decide to upgrade shock packages down the line.
 
#14 ·
For towing I would go with an Icon kit. Especially if you get a larger fifth wheel trailer in the future.

You will have to buy the bags if you tow with Carli. They are pretty dang expensive.
 
#16 ·
I think I've decided on the 2.5" Carli Back Country 2.0 to get best ride quality. I will say I'm apprehensive that im making a mistake when it comes to towing as I Don't want to have to keep tuning the system and really want to get it right the first go round.

Regarding towing my current trailer tongue is around 900 lbs loaded now but I do foresee a 5th wheel in our future that could have a 1500 to 2500 lb pin weight depending on design and storage locations. I'm guessing with that much weight I would be using bags regardless but I don't know if I would be better off with the icon approach or not at that point.

This truck will spend 95% of time on pavement and will tow around 6,000 miles per year. Offroad will be dirt roads, light trails and the beach. Nothing high speed or extended high speed other than an occasional dirt road.

I hate buying these types of things over the Internet.
 
#26 ·
Carli in my opinion is not a setup for a guy who tows with his truck a lot. You will need the airbags and you may need their special long travel bags. You can't take out a stiffer OEM spring and put in a softer one without some drawbacks. Then you may need traction bars to deal with the additional axle wrap and shifting issues when you tow.

Then Carli is the only lift kit company who designs their suspension around smaller wheels and bigger underinflated tires to get the ride quality to its best. If you were just to take your stock truck and put a smaller set of wheels and some different tires and dropped the air pressure down to 35-45 psi, it would make a HUGE difference just in stock ride quality. You would be amazed at how much a difference just in air pressure affects your ride quality. It almost like night and day, it feels like you changed out the entire suspension...LOL People don't realize how much this affects the ride.

What you really ought to do is put the lift kit on. Then go drive it with the stock wheels and tires and see how much of an improvement it is over stock. Then you can really compare everything about the kit, the handling and driving characteristics of the truck compared to stock. Then put your new wheels and tires on at your towing air pressure. Drive it, then drop the air pressure. See what that does. But most people put the entire kit and are unable to feel what each component does.
 
#17 ·
If you are adding air bags, then why worry about the rear set up? Get the add a pack and have a smoother ride, along without losing payload capacity.
 
#18 ·
I don't want to force the necessity for them. Cost is a factor so going full rear leafs and airbags goes over desired budget. I might add bags later but that would be when we moved up to heavier 5er.
 
#19 ·
He's saying to get the add a packs with your lift not the full springs. They give you desired lift, a slightly better ride, and doesn't affect towing capacity. They are standard on the backcountry.
 
#21 ·
Just sent PayPal to CJCOffroad for the Carli Backcountry 2.5" setup. Will see if bags are needed first and then go from there. Hoping to not need them until we move up to a 5er down the road.

Anyone care to speculate what sized tire I can fit and what 18x9 wheel offset will work without rubbing? What fits stock 18x8 wheels and Does a 35x12.5x18 fit on any aftermarket wheel without rubbing?

Thanks guys for all the help.
 
#42 ·
You can clear up to a 36" tire on 9" wide wheels with a 5.75" backspace. With a little trimming you can go up to a 37" tire.

Here is my truck with a 2.5" system, 315/70/R18 Toyo MT's on 18x9 Methods with a 5.75" backspace. The tires measure out to 35.7x13x18 and just barely kiss the radius arms at full lock. I have since swapped them out for 37" Toyo RT's on 17x9 BMF wheels with some trimming of the inner fender liners:

 
#22 ·
I'd say stick to a 5" backspacing. I'm running 325/65r18s on stock wheels at stock height. Only rubbing was on one corner of my mud flap but I drilled a hole in it and tie wrapped it back, and I rub my radius arms. If you do go with a 4.5" bs you might need to do some metal trimming, and 5.5" bs might still rub the radius arm. Maybe some with more experience can better clarify but from the reading I've done, this is the info I've gathered.
 
#23 ·
4.5" to 5.5" BC will work for you. Closer to 4.5" and adjusting bumper/slight pinch weld trim might be necessary with a 37 tire. I run a 9.5 wide wheel with 4.75" BC and a 37x13.5, but my truck is a 08. Several people have fit 37s on 2.5", 35s will be no problem at all. George from 8lug truck gear is installing 37x13.5 Toyo RTs on his newer year model on 2.5" and should be posting picks up shortly with mods needed. If you like 18s, look at the 36" Toyo MT. Won't have to worry about anything with those unless you don't prefer MTs since your towing.
 
#27 ·
This is all keeping me very confused. Wish I was in California so I could go to the shops that sell and install this stuff to see it in person.

I keep getting opinions that the Carli setup won't reduce load capacity or towing and is the superior ride followed by comments like yours that lead to the opposite opinion if one is towing and make me fear that replacing the rear stock leafs is a mistake for my use. That makes me think I'm better off with the icons or a more basic front lift and rear shock only setup.

Talked to CJC and put order on hold till morning so I can sort this out further as its costly if I make a bad decision and I don't want to have to rework the rear multiple times.
 
#28 ·
Call up an outfit like Truck Toyz Performance in Texas or I am sure there are others that install a lot of different lift kits. Talk to them about what you are doing.

Give Icon a call, see what they tell you what would work best for your application.

Then I would even call Carli or whoever is going to sell you the kit and talk to them as well.

Then once you are done and you get that good feeling about what you are going to buy, then get it.
 
#29 ·
Didn't talk to icon direct yet but CJCoffroad here on the forum sells both the Carli and icon stuff and they feel the Carli setup will give the better ride but I guess my worries are more related to towing. Just hate to pull the rear packs apart for better street ride if it is going to lessen my towing stability. And this is where the conflicting opinions keep coming from as some folks say it will be the same with the Carli pack and others say it won't be as good as the factory leafs for heavy towing.
 
#30 ·
I would still call other people and talk to them. The only thing in CJC sig is Carli, so I would suspect that he likes Carli kits. Nothing wrong with that, but I would get more opinions. Even this forum is more pro-Carli then other forums.
 
#32 ·
I just talked to icon direct as well. They offered some information but not much from a comparative standpoint. Didn't help much in making a decision really as I came away with just as many questions but liking the idea of simplicity of not changing rear leafs, but that doesn't mean much from standpoint of deciding.
 
#36 ·
Thanks for the response Dan. It's tough to figure this stuff out when shopping on the Internet for sure. Seeing pictures of super duty trucks with the Carli suspension and large trailers and 5ers is reassuring and I like the system approach to your products.

I'm going to stick with the Backcountry as ordered from Cody and give it a try. Thanks again.
 
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