Look into carli suspension, they have starter kits. The stock rear prings are rough. Also look at your rear air pressure. If its a e rated tire 80psi max, run them at 55 and it will soften the ride a little. Yeah Cali roads suck, especially the up and down roller bumb interstates

 

you kind of cant. ride has a lot to do with spring rate and shock movement. the rear stock leafs are pretty stiff so you're going to have to change the dynamics for a better ride which will hurt the towing. it's a "can't have your cake and eat it to" scenario. if someone could come out with the best ride and not touch towing, they'd be rich.

carli's kits are pretty good at finding a balance but you have to pay to receive. they have three different spring rates to choose from, to help find the right balance between towing and ride. the other alternative that a lot go with is the softer rate springs for ride and mobbing, then throw in timbrens for towing. there's a few super capable 6" carli setups that ride incredible and kill the desert, then when done, throw in the timbrens in 2 min and tow the 40' 5er back home.

a crappy lift will add height but not really add travel. you have to pay to play. you want more travel and good ride, you have to get a nice susp setup that will give you the travel but travel costs money. you can get kickass riding 3" setups with good travel if you go the right route. I'm a fan of Thuren when it comes to offroad, Carli is pretty damned nice as well. Use the timbrens for the towing needs. Get ahold of strapt and let them help you get it figured out. www.straptperformance.com

 

To smooth out the rear when empty and still tow heavy you would need to run something along the lines of a Carli/Deaver leaf and a set of Carli LT air bags. Combined with a good set of specifically valved shocks, this would be about the only reaonable way to have your cake and eat it too.

I run that setup on my truck and I run the truck competely empty during the week and tow various different trailers and loads on the weekends. I just add some psi to the bags when I am going to tow a trailer with a lot of tongue weight or put a lot of wieght in the bed.:thumbsup:

 

Yep. What he said. I have this set up also and it is the only way to go.
:thumbsup:

 

Same advice as above except that I would say you might want to look into carli/deavers an timberens.

 

so what about a guy with 10" of lift... what if I went with deavers, and they have an extreme arch in them due to being 10" of lift... would that also make the ride extremely rough?

 

An in-bed fuel tank or towing something will make the ride much better.

"household stuff" probably doesn't weigh much compared to a 200 pound fuel tank with 600 pounds of fuel in it.