I want a more capable trail rig

[Vexy]

So I have a 96' Mazda B4000 4x4, and I guess you can call it a Daily Driver, but I rarely drive far. So its more of a trail rig. I am interested in making it more capable offroad in general, not a dedicated mud truck or crawler. I'd love any criticism...good & bad!

Here is what I have done to it so far:
-4" Rough Country Lift w/ stacked blocks in the rear
-3" PA Body Lift
-33x12.50R15 Wrangler Duratrac's
-F250 Shock Tower Mod w/ Rancho RS9000XL Shocks
-M5OD-R1 Swapped in
-Explorer 8.8 Rear w/ Limited Slip & FRPP 4.56's
-D35 Regeared to 4.56's w/ Lock-Right locker & C-Clip Mod
-Front & Rear Sway Bars removed
-1 Piece Driveshaft Swap

I know my truck has a lot of room for improvement, and i'm aware of that!
And sorry for the messy cluster of mods, but if you can make it through all that & give me some feedback, it would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Bennybooster]

real rear locker, real rear springs. Extended radius arms, ect. Look at some ttb builds

 

[509lifted]

ok if u want it more capable... take out the blocks, u shouldnt stack them in the first place cause i believe that causes axle wrap. Then take the rough country springs out and get yourself some taller/softer coils in pair with some longer shocks to acomdate the more amount of travel with the taller coils. Then add what bennyboster said and u will have a very capable ttb set up that will handle mud/trails/mild desert use/ and mild rocky obsticles. sorry if i went the total opposite direction u wanted to go.

 

[Vexy]

ok if u want it more capable... take out the blocks, u shouldnt stack them in the first place cause i believe that causes axle wrap. Then take the rough country springs out and get yourself some taller/softer coils in pair with some longer shocks to acomdate the more amount of travel with the taller coils. Then add what bennyboster said and u will have a very capable ttb set up that will handle mud/trails/mild desert use/ and mild rocky obsticles. sorry if i went the total opposite direction u wanted to go.

Yea stacking blocks sure is frowned upon, but that's what the RC kit has ya do! That's what I paid for with a $400 suspension lift haha! I forgot to add that I did the F250 Shock tower mod and have some monster rancho shocks up front now, so that's already out of the way. I might look into some jeep coils and then do the chevy 63/64 inch leaf swap with flipped shackles. Seems like a good way to go

 

[Vexy]

ok if u want it more capable... take out the blocks, u shouldnt stack them in the first place cause i believe that causes axle wrap. Then take the rough country springs out and get yourself some taller/softer coils in pair with some longer shocks to acomdate the more amount of travel with the taller coils. Then add what bennyboster said and u will have a very capable ttb set up that will handle mud/trails/mild desert use/ and mild rocky obsticles. sorry if i went the total opposite direction u wanted to go.

Yea stacking blocks sure is frowned upon, but that's what the RC kit has ya do! That's what I paid for with a $400 suspension lift haha! I forgot to add that I did the F250 Shock tower mod and have some monster rancho shocks up front now, so that's already out of the way. I might look into some jeep coils and then do the chevy 63/64 inch leaf swap with flipped shackles. Seems like a good way to go

 

[PlumCrazy]

Start with a rear locker. Lose the blocks for actual lift leaves or Chevy springs. Longer arms and soft coils will help, but keeping it street friendly may be hard with real soft coils. Not sure if the RC lift still uses the drop plate or not for the passenger beam, but more travel will require you to get a SkyJacker or the like to prevent busting a hole in your diff.

-PlumCrazy

 

[86isuzu]

real rear locker, real rear springs. Extended radius arms, ect. Look at some ttb builds

+1

I'd also say get some better rubber too. Swamper TSLs come to mind.

 

[Vexy]

Start with a rear locker. Lose the blocks for actual lift leaves or Chevy springs. Longer arms and soft coils will help, but keeping it street friendly may be hard with real soft coils. Not sure if the RC lift still uses the drop plate or not for the passenger beam, but more travel will require you to get a SkyJacker or the like to prevent busting a hole in your diff.

-PlumCrazy

Yeah RC has a drop plate and I actually already busted a nice hole in my old third member! I think that will be my first purchase just to prevent that from happening again because changing that D35 ain't hard, but it isn't a walk in the park either...

And yeah, I definitely need a locker in the rear. Even with one just in the front, its amazing how much of a difference it made! Money well spent.

 

[bobbywalter]

rear locker, tires, traction bar/s, big bump stop on piglet side......get it awn.

 

[Vexy]

rear locker, tires, traction bar/s, big bump stop on piglet side......get it awn.

Are traction bars really that big of a benefit offroad? I know their use on street/strip applications, but never really heard a ton of stuff about them offroad.

 

[PlumCrazy]

With soft springs or blocks, axle wrap will destroy joints and shafts. I used to wrap the rear axle enough to bind up the rear joint. So I was sure to build a traction bar before I built my doubler. My single bar setup with a shackle does not hinder my rear suspensions ability to flex at all either
-PlumCrazy

 

[4x4junkie]

EB coils up front (XJ coils can work if your truck is Reg Cab), Extended radius arms, K-link steering, Rear locker, 63" Chevy springs.

I would hold off on the traction bars until you get the Chevy leafs (or something other than stacked-up blocks) installed, then you can assess whether you need them then.

 

[Vexy]

EB coils up front (XJ coils can work if your truck is Reg Cab), Extended radius arms, K-link steering, Rear locker, 63" Chevy springs.

I would hold off on the traction bars until you get the Chevy leafs (or something other than stacked-up blocks) installed, then you can assess whether you need them then.

Thanks Junkie. So I'd like to stay at the 4" suspension lift mark, I found a thread you replied to with a fancy conversion and said to look for a coil that is 20" unsprung and 300PPI, but he was running a different suspension setup and I believe his truck was lighter with the 3.0. I have a 96 4.0, so i'm not sure if that would change anything?

 

[4x4junkie]

I'm pretty sure the 3.0L and 4.0L are within 100 lbs of each other (the 2.3L is lighter).

 

[scooter]

Are traction bars really that big of a benefit offroad? I know their use on street/strip applications, but never really heard a ton of stuff about them offroad.

EVERY hard core leaf spring rig i have seen have em.
They are one of the most important things to do to a leafer.