I think it would be fun to see a graph of desert truck build costs....
X-axis: Desired maximum speed across the desert
Y-axis: Cost of components to build
I'll betcha it's a non-linear function that looks exponential after maybe 20MPH...
-G
I think that graph would have a few steps before it goes vertical, little plateaus where you can get a lot done with a reasonable amount of cash and where the hardware is very durable and re-usable in different systems.
I took a little trip down to the Baja to watch the race a couple weeks ago and ended up running a lot of race course with our '99 UAK2500, an 84 K4 on a TCI 3"/flip setup with 5150s and Fred Williams' 4WOR "cheap truck challenge" 'burb on a 4"/flip system with white body shocks. All of us got around OK, drove down there and back and had fun but I can tell you the custom leaf/King 2.5 shock combo on our K2500 was REALLY nice to have. We didn't ever make much speed over serious whoops but it's really nice to be able to handle washboard and small chop comfortably and over the long term. We put several hundred miles on the trucks on dirt over the better part of a week and the fade resistance on the bigger shocks was very apparent. I'm surprised the white bodies didn't puke while we were there and the 5150's were consistently hot enough you didn't want to touch them much less hold onto them. The kings hardly ever got too hot to touch. Keep in mind good quality shocks like King and Bilstein can run hot and not die since too hot to touch may not even be 200 degrees but the fluid gets pretty thin at that point and damping goes downhill if you don't tune for high heat, etc, etc.
You really need the good springs to get a good ride. You really can't damp a stiffer short travel spring enough to make it work right. Start with the springs and if all you can afford is a cheap shock you'll at least be able to enjoy the ride. From there it comes down to all the shock and bumpstop you can afford.
Our stock mounting point front springs actually end up at 48.5" long and typically run 10-11" of vertical travel. A set of 52's in the rear is going to do a little better, around 12-13" and a set of 64's in a tension shackle system will do 16-ish without too much hassle. I would recommend around 4" of lift to get the bump travel clearance and at this point the arch is not bad in a 64" rear if you keep the tension shackle. Handling is what it is but the only real way to improve it is to start linking things and in the front that doubles the cost. A crossover steering system is a good idea and it will have some bumpsteer.
Another "step" in the performance/cost graph is our coilover system (or similar) in front and the same custom leaf/2.5" shock rear system. This is one that I think works VERY well and is a point I'm really happy with several trucks. Handling, ride and overall travel are really good, durability is good and the next step in the go fast world is a bypass shock that's fairly easy to add. That said, the 2.5" coilover can handle way more than most guys will ever use and unless you're going to be spending a lot of time on race courses the bypass will be a waste of your money.
We also need to differentiate between "desert running" and "dune running". In the dunes you're driving more like a short course vehicle, bigger suspension events for shorter periods of time. Shock fade is probably not an issue for you in dunes. In the desert you could be looking at 50+ miles of rough dirt road and shock fade IS an issue. A smaller shock and good bumpstop could work for you in dunes, in the desert I'd take a bigger shock and no bumpstop if I had to.
whew, so much fun stuff to talk about here, I'll let this go for now.
