Carli 2.0 commuter system

[El_PWR]

How does it ride?

It’s a planted and cushiony feeling, I took it on a road trip from northern Nevada to California coast and I was very impressed. I would say it’s better than stock. The stock suspension always felt almost too soft and sloppy if that makes sense. Lowering the psi to 40 made it even more comfortable. I did loose mpg with the 35s and level. Previously I’d at best get around 23 highway at 80mph since I live at 5500 ft of elevation and now I get around 20 at 80 mph which is still pretty good. I will be doing some off roading and trailering here in the next months and update on the ride quality.

 

[E.Hands]

It’s a planted and cushiony feeling, I took it on a road trip from northern Nevada to California coast and I was very impressed. I would say it’s better than stock. The stock suspension always felt almost too soft and sloppy if that makes sense. Lowering the psi to 40 made it even more comfortable. I did loose mpg with the 35s and level. Previously I’d at best get around 23 highway at 80mph since I live at 5500 ft of elevation and now I get around 20 at 80 mph which is still pretty good. I will be doing some off roading and trailering here in the next months and update on the ride quality.

Do taller tires "slow down" the odometer just as much as the speedometer?
If so then that alone reduces your calculated MPG by the same percentage. Be it calculated on the dash or by hand.

 

[SlayerM82A1]

I hate to jump into this conversation midway but I've being doing research nonstop and need some owner feedback. I've been calling Carli dealers here in California and have some more information (some of it repeated by others). Yes, the Carli Commuter 2.0 system has been update to now use in-house components. The reason, the fox shocks were not achieving the posted lift on the front end (a complaint many of you have stated). This was more apparent on Rebel trim and ORG equipped trucks who already have a factory lift compared to standard 4x4s. Instead of waiting for Fox to make the recommend changes they decided to go inhouse to have more control over the development and updates to the system. As such some dealers has recommended avoiding the older kits (which have been discounted) if you have a ORG or Rebel truck as you wont see any improvement on the front.

With all that information. Does anyone have any experience on the updated Carli Commuter 2.0 with the inhouse shocks? I have a 2021 Ram 1500 Built to Serve (BTS) Crew Cab with the 6'4 box and the 5.7 Hemi E-Torque that's factory (other then some Mopar accessories) and I looking at upgrading my suspension to something that's more bang for the buck then all out performance. I'm stuck between the Carli and the Fox Racing 2.0 Performance Series. As much as the Carli Performance is a awesome setup, 9k all said and done is way to much for my truck and my budget.

Any information will be of great help or direction of other threads the have compared other setups would be awesome. Thanks.

 

[H2OMAN]

I hate to jump into this conversation midway but I've being doing research nonstop and need some owner feedback. I've been calling Carli dealers here in California and have some more information (some of it repeated by others). Yes, the Carli Commuter 2.0 system has been update to now use in-house components. The reason, the fox shocks were not achieving the posted lift on the front end (a complaint many of you have stated). This was more apparent on Rebel trim and ORG equipped trucks who already have a factory lift compared to standard 4x4s. Instead of waiting for Fox to make the recommend changes they decided to go inhouse to have more control over the development and updates to the system. As such some dealers has recommended avoiding the older kits (which have been discounted) if you have a ORG or Rebel truck as you wont see any improvement on the front.

With all that information. Does anyone have any experience on the updated Carli Commuter 2.0 with the inhouse shocks? I have a 2021 Ram 1500 Built to Serve (BTS) Crew Cab with the 6'4 box and the 5.7 Hemi E-Torque that's factory (other then some Mopar accessories) and I looking at upgrading my suspension to something that's more bang for the buck then all out performance. I'm stuck between the Carli and the Fox Racing 2.0 Performance Series. As much as the Carli Performance is a awesome setup, 9k all said and done is way to much for my truck and my budget.

Any information will be of great help or direction of other threads the have compared other setups would be awesome. Thanks.

I've seen a lot of reports about the quality of the ride declining on the Fox 2.0's. You might want to look into a Bilstein kit. You can get the 6112 kit with springs and UCA's for about $1500. It's a solid kit.

 

[boogielander]

I hate to jump into this conversation midway but I've being doing research nonstop and need some owner feedback. I've been calling Carli dealers here in California and have some more information (some of it repeated by others). Yes, the Carli Commuter 2.0 system has been update to now use in-house components. The reason, the fox shocks were not achieving the posted lift on the front end (a complaint many of you have stated). This was more apparent on Rebel trim and ORG equipped trucks who already have a factory lift compared to standard 4x4s. Instead of waiting for Fox to make the recommend changes they decided to go inhouse to have more control over the development and updates to the system. As such some dealers has recommended avoiding the older kits (which have been discounted) if you have a ORG or Rebel truck as you wont see any improvement on the front.

With all that information. Does anyone have any experience on the updated Carli Commuter 2.0 with the inhouse shocks? I have a 2021 Ram 1500 Built to Serve (BTS) Crew Cab with the 6'4 box and the 5.7 Hemi E-Torque that's factory (other then some Mopar accessories) and I looking at upgrading my suspension to something that's more bang for the buck then all out performance. I'm stuck between the Carli and the Fox Racing 2.0 Performance Series. As much as the Carli Performance is a awesome setup, 9k all said and done is way to much for my truck and my budget.

Any information will be of great help or direction of other threads the have compared other setups would be awesome. Thanks.

where you got that $9k for 2.0 Commuter Pack from?

https://www.carlisuspension.com/product/dodge/ram-1500/suspension-systems/2019-suspension-systems/commuter-system-2019/

$2500 comes with everything you need. install is probably another $700.

at $9k you're looking at the Dominator Kit for 2500s!


alternatively, ironman 4x4 is also a great choice.

Foam Cell Pro 2" Suspension Lift Kit Suited For 2019+ Ram 1500 - Stage 2

Ironman 4x4 America offers off-road parts, accessories, and equipment for the off-roading enthusiast. Check out our website for more information.

ironman4x4america.com

comes with everything you need.

send me a msg if you're local in socal.

 

[SlayerM82A1]

where you got that $9k for 2.0 Commuter Pack from?

https://www.carlisuspension.com/product/dodge/ram-1500/suspension-systems/2019-suspension-systems/commuter-system-2019/

$2500 comes with everything you need. install is probably another $700.

at $9k you're looking at the Dominator Kit for 2500s!


alternatively, ironman 4x4 is also a great choice.

Foam Cell Pro 2" Suspension Lift Kit Suited For 2019+ Ram 1500 - Stage 2

Ironman 4x4 America offers off-road parts, accessories, and equipment for the off-roading enthusiast. Check out our website for more information.

ironman4x4america.com

comes with everything you need.

send me a msg if you're local in socal.

I was referencing the Carli Performance System all said done (Tires, Wheels, Installation, Alignment and Labor) at 9k based on what another user who posted on this Forum stated his total cost was to installed that kit to his truck (Carli Performance 2.5" Install and First Impressions). With the kit costing just short of 6k alone, as much I would love the kit, I don't know if you get as much bang for buck for it compared on other kits. Hence asking for people's reviews on the Carli Commuter kit or other kits out there.

I know that Tire, Wheels, Labor etc. are all needed regardless of the kit (I'm in NorCal and shops have quoted me around 1k for labor). But 6k is still out of my price range. I'm looking at a budget of around 3k-4k for the kit itself.

And with perfect timing, I have a question Boogielander. You seemed to have done a combination of Fox and Carli. Running Fox Shocks (Performance Elite 2.5s), with Carli UCA, Rear Springs, Rear Sway Bar End links. How has this setup served you? And what reason brought you to this decision?

 

[SlayerM82A1]

I've seen a lot of reports about the quality of the ride declining on the Fox 2.0's. You might want to look into a Bilstein kit. You can get the 6112 kit with springs and UCA's for about $1500. It's a solid kit.

I've heard the same thing. I have you heard anything with the updated kit now using Carli shocks instead of Fox?

 

[H2OMAN]

I've heard the same thing. I have you heard anything with the updated kit now using Carli shocks instead of Fox?

I have been told they are gtg. But you should probably look for some independant reviews. Carli is a trusted name. And... Barretts are wicked badazz.

 

[boogielander]

I was referencing the Carli Performance System all said done (Tires, Wheels, Installation, Alignment and Labor) at 9k based on what another user who posted on this Forum stated his total cost was to installed that kit to his truck (Carli Performance 2.5" Install and First Impressions). With the kit costing just short of 6k alone, as much I would love the kit, I don't know if you get as much bang for buck for it compared on other kits. Hence asking for people's reviews on the Carli Commuter kit or other kits out there.

I know that Tire, Wheels, Labor etc. are all needed regardless of the kit (I'm in NorCal and shops have quoted me around 1k for labor). But 6k is still out of my price range. I'm looking at a budget of around 3k-4k for the kit itself.

And with perfect timing, I have a question Boogielander. You seemed to have done a combination of Fox and Carli. Running Fox Shocks (Performance Elite 2.5s), with Carli UCA, Rear Springs, Rear Sway Bar End links. How has this setup served you? And what reason brought you to this decision?

ohh i was confused because the thread is titled for commuter 2.0 not 2.5 Performance lol
honestly, IF you do go wheel a lot and enjoy driving fast on the trails and "accidentally" hitting those bumps and whoops at speed, the 2.5 Performance will be the best bang for the buck you can get, BUT it seems like that's not your use case so the next best is the 2.0 Commuter. BUT if you can stretch your budget and run trails a lot, you will appreciate it. Those Performance shocks do have more travel than stock King or Fox 2.5, and has better valving when on dirt to prevent bucking around in the rear and bottoming out in the front. Those are going to be the best kit you can get performance wise. No other kit will come close to that, not even my Fox 2.5 DSC PE.

For your tires and wheels, Methods was running a sale a few weeks back (unfortunately you just missed it) and tbh Method is gonna be the best choice to get for wheels as it's strong and yet lightweight enough and affordable enough. Tires pricing is everywhere these days. I'd say just go with Wildpeak AT4. Those are some good combos that I personally run and not too expensive.

(Obviously, pricing reflected set of 5, going off what was posted MSRP in April 2023. Talk to a few shops, usually shops can get these for less than posted MSRP)
Labor is around what we charge at our shop down in SoCal, without the homie hookup (like $60 difference or so). All that said, what I'm saying is, if you hit trails a lot and enjoy going fast, postpone the install and purchase and save up some more. Don't rush it. If you don't hit the trails a lot then it's okay for 2.0 Commuter, since it's more valved for commuting and occasional offroad (hence, "commuter" name)

So for my personal truck:
First off, reason why I did this combo is simply because Kings were on national backorder at the time when I ordered my parts in 2022. I ordered my truck on June 30th, 2022 and started to order parts on July 1, 2022. With the goal of completing the built by 12/31/2022 to be ready for Alaska in summer 2023, I wanted to have at least 6 months before the big trip to dial in and dry run everything. Having an idea of how the auto industry was at the time of order, I estimated Kings would take around 12 months of lead time BEFORE getting to Carli, while Fox I estimated lead time of up to 6 months. (I do these installs so I estimate based on the time frame between we order parts for customers and parts actually show up). That'd be not enough time to meet my deadline of 12/31/2022 to complete the build.
Then my estimate was right on. Truck arrived at my door November 8th, 2022, Fox shocks arrived a week or two after. I installed everything over Thanksgiving weekend when the shop was closed. IF there was no national backorder, I'd gone Carli Performance Pack instead.

Now, experience with the Fox 2.5 DSC PE and Carli components. This is gonna be a two part answer:
Fox 2.5 DSC PE:
The valving on these are pretty on par with non-Carli Kings, but I do like the dual speed compression adjustability. This allows me to have on-road and off-road mode on my shock package. Had I went kings, I'd swap out the reservoir from King's mid-speed to Fox's DSC resi (yes, they do work like that). With my on-road settings, when I go up the mountains with all the gears, I can still overtake regular traffics in corners without losing traction or feel like I'm going to top over. It is planted and controlled. With my off-road settings, I can hit Mojave desert going 50-60MPH, skipping through the whoops at no problem at all. The shocks never overheated and the strokes kept up with the terrain, and soaked up the small jumps pretty well. I've never bottomed out even with full overlanding weight.
HOWEVER, the droop on these are not as good as the Carli Performance Kings (i think Carli has an inch or so more). That became an issue when Crawling or when hitting big jumps and whoops. More droop means your tires touch the ground earlier, and your shocks got more travel to absorb the impact of landing. Just like for men, every inch counts.

Carli Components:
The UCA and other components are not much to report about, other than they are designed and manufactured to do their jobs for hitting desert and the trails. Keep in mind, if you go 2.0 Commuter and opt for UCA, that unlocks more droop for you and therefore, requires you to run their extended brake lines (i just thought of that so i put it here). The components are built tough with proper bushing materials and design, so they CAN take a lot of abuse. For my UCA, I personally grease them every other oil change (if I don't go out a lot) or every oil change (if that 5k mile period saw a lot of dirt).
The rear springs, however, are something to rave about. With the tender spring design, it handles the camper+drawer+gear weight perfectly. The rear doesn't sag with all the weight, and the dual rated springs still perform even with all that weight. With ~100lb less weight in the bed (prior to CAMPER but with bed rack and roof tent), the handling and ride characteristics are very similar. Those are the springs that can handle the weight!

Verdict:
Mine setup is not the #1 ideal setup I'd go with, but given the constrains at the time of ordering, it is the second best that one can get off the shelf. Of course, the absolute best off-the-shelf setup, at least for me who has the know-how and the tools, would be Carli King + Fox Resi that offers more travel AND dual speed adjustment. Or, if I don't have to stick with off-the-shelf systems, would be custom tuned Thuren Kings (since Thuren doesn't touch Fox anymore)
BUT, aside from (compared to Carli Kings') not-so-much droop, Fox 2.5 DSC + Carli components is probably the best of both worlds factoring in on and offroad performance. Carli Performance is GREAT for offroad, but can be slight harsher ride on pavement. The Fox 2.5 DSC gives you the ability to tune it on how you want it to be for that optimal ride quality.
I would recommend if you want to go that route.

(Pricing as of 2022)

 

[SlayerM82A1]

ohh i was confused because the thread is titled for commuter 2.0 not 2.5 Performance lol
honestly, IF you do go wheel a lot and enjoy driving fast on the trails and "accidentally" hitting those bumps and whoops at speed, the 2.5 Performance will be the best bang for the buck you can get, BUT it seems like that's not your use case so the next best is the 2.0 Commuter. BUT if you can stretch your budget and run trails a lot, you will appreciate it. Those Performance shocks do have more travel than stock King or Fox 2.5, and has better valving when on dirt to prevent bucking around in the rear and bottoming out in the front. Those are going to be the best kit you can get performance wise. No other kit will come close to that, not even my Fox 2.5 DSC PE.

For your tires and wheels, Methods was running a sale a few weeks back (unfortunately you just missed it) and tbh Method is gonna be the best choice to get for wheels as it's strong and yet lightweight enough and affordable enough. Tires pricing is everywhere these days. I'd say just go with Wildpeak AT4. Those are some good combos that I personally run and not too expensive.
View attachment 182760
(Obviously, pricing reflected set of 5, going off what was posted MSRP in April 2023. Talk to a few shops, usually shops can get these for less than posted MSRP)
Labor is around what we charge at our shop down in SoCal, without the homie hookup (like $60 difference or so). All that said, what I'm saying is, if you hit trails a lot and enjoy going fast, postpone the install and purchase and save up some more. Don't rush it. If you don't hit the trails a lot then it's okay for 2.0 Commuter, since it's more valved for commuting and occasional offroad (hence, "commuter" name)

So for my personal truck:
First off, reason why I did this combo is simply because Kings were on national backorder at the time when I ordered my parts in 2022. I ordered my truck on June 30th, 2022 and started to order parts on July 1, 2022. With the goal of completing the built by 12/31/2022 to be ready for Alaska in summer 2023, I wanted to have at least 6 months before the big trip to dial in and dry run everything. Having an idea of how the auto industry was at the time of order, I estimated Kings would take around 12 months of lead time BEFORE getting to Carli, while Fox I estimated lead time of up to 6 months. (I do these installs so I estimate based on the time frame between we order parts for customers and parts actually show up). That'd be not enough time to meet my deadline of 12/31/2022 to complete the build.
Then my estimate was right on. Truck arrived at my door November 8th, 2022, Fox shocks arrived a week or two after. I installed everything over Thanksgiving weekend when the shop was closed. IF there was no national backorder, I'd gone Carli Performance Pack instead.

Now, experience with the Fox 2.5 DSC PE and Carli components. This is gonna be a two part answer:
Fox 2.5 DSC PE:
The valving on these are pretty on par with non-Carli Kings, but I do like the dual speed compression adjustability. This allows me to have on-road and off-road mode on my shock package. Had I went kings, I'd swap out the reservoir from King's mid-speed to Fox's DSC resi (yes, they do work like that). With my on-road settings, when I go up the mountains with all the gears, I can still overtake regular traffics in corners without losing traction or feel like I'm going to top over. It is planted and controlled. With my off-road settings, I can hit Mojave desert going 50-60MPH, skipping through the whoops at no problem at all. The shocks never overheated and the strokes kept up with the terrain, and soaked up the small jumps pretty well. I've never bottomed out even with full overlanding weight.
HOWEVER, the droop on these are not as good as the Carli Performance Kings (i think Carli has an inch or so more). That became an issue when Crawling or when hitting big jumps and whoops. More droop means your tires touch the ground earlier, and your shocks got more travel to absorb the impact of landing. Just like for men, every inch counts.

Carli Components:
The UCA and other components are not much to report about, other than they are designed and manufactured to do their jobs for hitting desert and the trails. Keep in mind, if you go 2.0 Commuter and opt for UCA, that unlocks more droop for you and therefore, requires you to run their extended brake lines (i just thought of that so i put it here). The components are built tough with proper bushing materials and design, so they CAN take a lot of abuse. For my UCA, I personally grease them every other oil change (if I don't go out a lot) or every oil change (if that 5k mile period saw a lot of dirt).
The rear springs, however, are something to rave about. With the tender spring design, it handles the camper+drawer+gear weight perfectly. The rear doesn't sag with all the weight, and the dual rated springs still perform even with all that weight. With ~100lb less weight in the bed (prior to CAMPER but with bed rack and roof tent), the handling and ride characteristics are very similar. Those are the springs that can handle the weight!

Verdict:
Mine setup is not the #1 ideal setup I'd go with, but given the constrains at the time of ordering, it is the second best that one can get off the shelf. Of course, the absolute best off-the-shelf setup, at least for me who has the know-how and the tools, would be Carli King + Fox Resi that offers more travel AND dual speed adjustment. Or, if I don't have to stick with off-the-shelf systems, would be custom tuned Thuren Kings (since Thuren doesn't touch Fox anymore)
BUT, aside from (compared to Carli Kings') not-so-much droop, Fox 2.5 DSC + Carli components is probably the best of both worlds factoring in on and offroad performance. Carli Performance is GREAT for offroad, but can be slight harsher ride on pavement. The Fox 2.5 DSC gives you the ability to tune it on how you want it to be for that optimal ride quality.
I would recommend if you want to go that route.
View attachment 182769
(Pricing as of 2022)

I actually discovered your blog shortly after my last post and see that while my use case has some similarities to yours it is quite different. I am looking for more slow speed crawling over obstacles and traveling along fire trails in BLM and National Forest/Wilderness areas here in NorCal. I not looking at high speed desert running and hitting small jumps at speed. Maybe the occasional pot hole or speed bumps at a lil speed but not at all the same as I saw your Rebel doing. With a more focus on the slow speed, I saw the Commuter as the best option as the Fox 2.5 or Carli Performance benefits in those high speeds not being used and hence a waste of money on a use case I wont be exploring. Along with the ability to later upgrade the shocks to allow the same level of travel as the Performance shocks using the UCAs and Brake kit (as you mentioned) seemed like the perfect two stage plan.

Wheels being a personnel preference matter, I've been looking at Raceline, Fuel Off-Road or Method and seeing what goes on sale. However with my focus being slow speed, would going to a beadlock capable wheel something I should consider? Tires are the harder problem but I've narrowed it down to the one you recommend the Falken WildPeak A/T4Ws or the Toyo Open Country A/T IIIs. Though I feel either one will work great.

Your blog was very helpful and provided me alot of information. It helped me decide what my goal was and what parts were needed to accomplish what I have planned (tho a short bed would helped alot more ). In the end the Commuter 2.0 checks all the boxes without over spending on features that might be nice to have in my situation would be over kill and probably not used to their full capability. The only problem I have is not a lot of customer feedback on the Commuter package.

 

[H2OMAN]

I actually discovered your blog shortly after my last post and see that while my use case has some similarities to yours it is quite different. I am looking for more slow speed crawling over obstacles and traveling along fire trails in BLM and National Forest/Wilderness areas here in NorCal. I not looking at high speed desert running and hitting small jumps at speed. Maybe the occasional pot hole or speed bumps at a lil speed but not at all the same as I saw your Rebel doing. With a more focus on the slow speed, I saw the Commuter as the best option as the Fox 2.5 or Carli Performance benefits in those high speeds not being used and hence a waste of money on a use case I wont be exploring. Along with the ability to later upgrade the shocks to allow the same level of travel as the Performance shocks using the UCAs and Brake kit (as you mentioned) seemed like the perfect two stage plan.

Wheels being a personnel preference matter, I've been looking at Raceline, Fuel Off-Road or Method and seeing what goes on sale. However with my focus being slow speed, would going to a beadlock capable wheel something I should consider? Tires are the harder problem but I've narrowed it down to the one you recommend the Falken WildPeak A/T4Ws or the Toyo Open Country A/T IIIs. Though I feel either one will work great.

Your blog was very helpful and provided me alot of information. It helped me decide what my goal was and what parts were needed to accomplish what I have planned (tho a short bed would helped alot more ). In the end the Commuter 2.0 checks all the boxes without over spending on features that might be nice to have in my situation would be over kill and probably not used to their full capability. The only problem I have is not a lot of customer feedback on the Commuter package.

Beadlocks would be very expensive as they are illegal on the road. You'd have to have two sets of wheels. Otherwisw your choice of wheels and tires are top shelf.

 

[boogielander]

I actually discovered your blog shortly after my last post and see that while my use case has some similarities to yours it is quite different. I am looking for more slow speed crawling over obstacles and traveling along fire trails in BLM and National Forest/Wilderness areas here in NorCal. I not looking at high speed desert running and hitting small jumps at speed. Maybe the occasional pot hole or speed bumps at a lil speed but not at all the same as I saw your Rebel doing. With a more focus on the slow speed, I saw the Commuter as the best option as the Fox 2.5 or Carli Performance benefits in those high speeds not being used and hence a waste of money on a use case I wont be exploring. Along with the ability to later upgrade the shocks to allow the same level of travel as the Performance shocks using the UCAs and Brake kit (as you mentioned) seemed like the perfect two stage plan.

Wheels being a personnel preference matter, I've been looking at Raceline, Fuel Off-Road or Method and seeing what goes on sale. However with my focus being slow speed, would going to a beadlock capable wheel something I should consider? Tires are the harder problem but I've narrowed it down to the one you recommend the Falken WildPeak A/T4Ws or the Toyo Open Country A/T IIIs. Though I feel either one will work great.

Your blog was very helpful and provided me alot of information. It helped me decide what my goal was and what parts were needed to accomplish what I have planned (tho a short bed would helped alot more ). In the end the Commuter 2.0 checks all the boxes without over spending on features that might be nice to have in my situation would be over kill and probably not used to their full capability. The only problem I have is not a lot of customer feedback on the Commuter package.

dang i wouldn't crawl with a full size lol our approach, breakover, and departure angle sucks.
but yes you got most of the suspension part right. the commuter kit can be a perfect 2 stage plan for your use case. For wheels, Method has those bead grip wheels that you can consider. I wouldn't run beadlock 24/7 though, just because they require more care and stuff.

My build philosophy is always overkill/ over engineer it. I see it as if it can handle jumps and high speed desert runs, it can handle anything and everything else because there's nothing more demanding on the suspension than high speed desert runs and jumps. I think of it this way: on a scale of 1 to 10 of stress on parts, crawling is probably a level 7 stress while desert runs and jumps are level 9 or 10. If my shock package can handle level 10 stress, handling level 7 is nothing and i can probably do level 7 more than say, a shock package built to handle level 7 or under, before i need a rebuild.

i'm glad my blog helped you out! that's one of the reason why i did it. really, i'm paying annual fees to keep and host the domain (and the shopify that I'm not selling anything just yet) so it really means a lot to me that some members find it useful!