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How much sag in the rear?

DadJokes

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For now, I don’t plan on a roof top tent. I might get a light removable rack for a couple of items like recovery boards and a rotopax.

I currently have 1” of rake front to back but need to raise the front back up 1” after a winch and bumper install. That would be no rake at all if I just raised the front so then comes the rear. 1/2”, 3/4”, 1” are available but I am trying to keep stock components and if I go too far, I’ll need relocation brackets or a rear adjustable track bar, correct?

What are you seeing? Have you needed to install a spacer?
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BroncoHound

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Depends on your loadout. Completely unloaded, with steel bumper group and a Warn 10S winch, I had a 1-1/2" rear to front rake on my JLUR. I installed 2x 0.5" Teraflex spacers on each front coil spring which gave me 7/8" effective lift and left me with 5/8" rear to front rake when unloaded.

Before spacers:
Jeep Wrangler JL How much sag in the rear? IMG_3170

After spacers:
Jeep Wrangler JL How much sag in the rear? IMG_3178


Now once the back end is loaded up for an extended trip (cooler, fuel cans, camping gear, food, dog, etc), the Rubicon springs like to sag a pretty great deal. It's not terrible, but it is definitely noticeable.

Jeep Wrangler JL How much sag in the rear? IMG_3354

Jeep Wrangler JL How much sag in the rear? IMG_3357

Jeep Wrangler JL How much sag in the rear? IMG_3423
Jeep Wrangler JL How much sag in the rear? IMG_3424


The conclusion I arrived at, after my first big shakedown run, was that I needed stiffer springs (potentially a multi-rate) in the rear. The tricky balancing act with these Jeeps being so refined and comfortable of vehicles nowadays is that many of us put them in dual duty: empty cruiser on the daily, and loaded adventurer when the time comes. This makes it tough to decide on lifting the rear. Do you add lift to the rear so that it balances out when loaded for the backcountry and live with a larger rake during the unloaded times? Or do you stance it for the daily driving and live with the sag? For me, I think I'll be going for a progressive rate spring with a higher load rating so that it can reduce the sag to a point where I don't have to choose between excessive rake while unloaded or excessive sag while loaded. I've no idea which spring I'll be going with when that time comes, but I know there are options out there that are sized close to the Rubicon springs so, if you went that route, you shouldn't have to worry about kicking any of the rest of your suspension out of synergy.

And then there's always airbags for the rear, too. Adjustable for the load/conditions, but adds a level of complexity. I've had them for years on my pickups that tow and love them for that application and have seen available kits for the Jeep JL's but that personally isn't a road I'm too interested in going down at the moment.
 
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DadJokes

DadJokes

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Depends on your loadout. Completely unloaded, with steel bumper group and a Warn 10S winch, I had a 1-1/2" rear to front rake on my JLUR. I installed 2x 0.5" Teraflex spacers on each front coil spring which gave me 7/8" effective lift and left me with 5/8" rear to front rake when unloaded.

Before spacers:
IMG_3170.jpg

After spacers:
IMG_3178.jpg


Now once the back end is loaded up for an extended trip (cooler, fuel cans, camping gear, food, dog, etc), the Rubicon springs like to sag a pretty great deal. It's not terrible, but it is definitely noticeable.

IMG_3354.jpg

IMG_3357.jpg

IMG_3423.jpg
IMG_3424.jpg
Thanks for sharing your experiences. By the pics, it does seems to sag pretty good loaded so I might want to keep more rake.

And the Magruder Corridor is one of my near future trails. We were supposed to go there and other spots this Summer but Covid happened.
 
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BroncoHound

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Thanks for sharing your experiences. By the pics, it does seems to sag pretty good loaded so I might want to keep more rake.

And the Magruder Corridor is one of my near future I plan to see. We were supposed to go there and other spots this Summer but Covid happened.
The Corridor was still open! Those pictures on the Corridor were from last August. But, the air quality was pretty bad then as well. The best possible time to run the corridor would probably be in late May-early June. It's a great stretch of America!
 

BroncoHound

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Oh, and this was the amount of gear that caused that much sag. I've become a bit of an overpacker as I've grown older.

Jeep Wrangler JL How much sag in the rear? IMG_3286
Jeep Wrangler JL How much sag in the rear? IMG_3288
Jeep Wrangler JL How much sag in the rear? IMG_3289
 

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DadJokes

DadJokes

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Oh, and this was the amount of gear that caused that much sag. I've become a bit of an overpacker as I've grown older.

Jeep Wrangler JL How much sag in the rear? IMG_3289
Jeep Wrangler JL How much sag in the rear? IMG_3289
Jeep Wrangler JL How much sag in the rear? IMG_3289
I’m sure that’s what ours will look like lol. Our plan was July but we ended up making other plans due to the uncertainty of travel restrictions.
 
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DadJokes

DadJokes

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With end goal in mind, I’m thinking go with a 3/4” spacer to get the front back up. Doing that I think I’ll be dead level or nose up just a bit unloaded. Obviously worse when loaded. I like the stance now so I guess I should go 3/4” all around.
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