Lowering ride height of 2500 HD

whmayhew · March 15, 2007

I bought a 2003 Chevrolet 2500HD last week and my wife does not like how high it sits in the air. When I went through the RPO codes Sunday I see that the HD has a 2 inch factory lift versus the 2500. How do I take it out? Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Ranger · March 15, 2007

Can't, the body's basically engineered with them I think. Tell the wife to get a Corolla and be happy.

Lesson number one- never get married

chevymatt · March 15, 2007

Do you have a nerf bar? They look great and my kids can get in without help. If that doesn't help, I'd go with the el camino.

Draenor · March 15, 2007

I guess you can turn down the T-bars and remove a leaf out the back suspension. Another option would be a lowering kit(if they make them). I think your wife will just have to adjust to the ride height.

Jimmy J · March 15, 2007

Don't go messin' with the ride height, unless of course your adding a lift kit. But to drop it a few inches isn't even worth the trouble, let alone the expense, IMHO. Take the easy route, tell the Mrs. lowering the ride height will compromise the structural integrity of the truck. Then tell her you'll get her a set of step tubes! Not only do they look great, but they're functional as well!

My wife complained about the same thing when we first got our rig. I added the step tubes and that was the end of the bitchin' & moanin'.

95Sierra2500 · March 15, 2007

Nerf bars are the quick and cheap way out. They can be had for at most a couple hundred bucks, look better than a lowered truck, and won't compromise your ability to actually haul a load.

silverado3500 · March 15, 2007

Removing a leaf from the rear spring packs kind of defeats the purpose of buying a 3/4 ton truck, as you effectively reduce the payload capacity.

As for the body raise, it is basically a body lift engineered into the chassis (or to be more accurate, a lower front bumper in proportion to the body) , so the floorpan can clear the allison transmission. This is why the front bumper cap is taller on the 2500hd/3500.

Best to do like the others have suggested and throw on a set of step bars.

Ranger · March 16, 2007

Or trade the truck in for a 1500. 2500s are not designed to be grocery getters. I guess steps will help a little, just get a spacer for the mounts so they drop a little lower. But my 80 (thereabouts) year old great grandmother can get into my truck with a little effort.

Bruce03Silverado · March 16, 2007

Get a 1500 or a Colorado/Canyon. Lowering the HD will totally negate what it was designed for. Does your wife have a vehicle? Do you tell her what to do with it?

Add step bars or get rid of it and get something smaller if it's that big a deal, but don't go lowering it!! My wife loves it being bigger - I had a 3" BL on my 1500 and now that I have the HD it's stis even higher with my 285's than my 1500 did with the BL. 2500's are big trucks and they were designed that way. If you're gonna go any direction you should go up!!

whmayhew · March 16, 2007

Get a 1500 or a Colorado/Canyon. Lowering the HD will totally negate what it was designed for. Does your wife have a vehicle? Do you tell her what to do with it?

Add step bars or get rid of it and get something smaller if it's that big a deal, but don't go lowering it!! My wife loves it being bigger - I had a 3" BL on my 1500 and now that I have the HD it's stis even higher with my 285's than my 1500 did with the BL. 2500's are big trucks and they were designed that way. If you're gonna go any direction you should go up!!

I had a new 1500HD in 2005 and would like to get it to the same height. I pull at the fairs and need to be in the half ton class to compete with the hemi's. The ride height of the 2500HD is pretty obvious. My wife already has a 2006 half ton. The 1500HD pulled my camper good at a lower height also. And I also drive a big truck for a living. Thanks for the info, I guess I need to compare the 1500HD side to side with the 2500HD.

Silverado4x4 · March 16, 2007

There is not much differance in height between the 1500 and the 2500 maybe an inch if that, get the step bars.

Silverado4x4 · March 16, 2007

Or trade the truck in for a 1500. 2500s are not designed to be grocery getters. I guess steps will help a little, just get a spacer for the mounts so they drop a little lower. But my 80 (thereabouts) year old great grandmother can get into my truck with a little effort.

I dont think the big 3 design anything other then cars to be grocery getters.

whmayhew · March 25, 2007

There is not much differance in height between the 1500 and the 2500 maybe an inch if that, get the step bars.

Update. I took the chrome step bars off my wife's 2006 and put them on the 2500HD. Bolted directly on. About a half hour job. She's happy and that makes me happy. Do you suppose that Chevrolet will notice them missing at the end of the lease in 2 years?

Jimmy J · March 25, 2007

There is not much differance in height between the 1500 and the 2500 maybe an inch if that, get the step bars.

Update. I took the chrome step bars off my wife's 2006 and put them on the 2500HD. Bolted directly on. About a half hour job. She's happy and that makes me happy. Do you suppose that Chevrolet will notice them missing at the end of the lease in 2 years?

Atta-Boy!!! Think of it this way...you've got 2 years to get some replacements. Check the web. You can find 'em all over the place for less than $200.

DirtyDave · March 25, 2007

Anyone feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the HD has a 2" body lift from the factory. This is necessary to clear the much larger Allison transmission.