Despite frequent use of the phrase "no compromise," we'd like to back up, just for a moment, and shed light on reality. Every truck is a compromise in one way or another. Trophy Truck? Sure, it's the ultimate machine for taming the desert, but owning a TT also means you'll need a tow vehicle, a trailer, and lots of cubic dollars. Stocker? Trucks fresh from the dealer bristle with creature comforts and factory warranties, but they're a long way away from the hard-core off-road performance that enthusiasts crave. Most of our trucks fall somewhere between these two extremes: neither TT nor stone stock.
Our '03 F-350 Super Duty had had its bed space compromised to make room for a burly bed cage, a spare tire, and a quartet of high-quality, 17-inch-stroke, Bilstein 9100s. The cool factor was high. The utility factor? Sub-zero. While many Super Dutys are adept dirt bike and ATV haulers, our SD could barely squeeze a single wet-noodle mountain bike between the maze of 'cage tubing and the 38-inch spare tire. We wanted our bed back, but we didn't want to miss out on the suspension performance that the Bilstein dampers had spoiled us with.
We were in luck. We learned that Bilstein had already addressed the needs of SD owners looking for a long-travel shock capable of bolting to the stock mounts. Since the stock lower shock mounts hang down in harm's way, and since we gravitate toward doing things the hard way, we made our own mounts.
After much measuring, cutting, grinding, welding, and thinking, we've got our bed back, we've got our ground clearance, and we've got a pair of specially valved long-travel Bilsteins controlling it all. In other words, we've found a better compromise.
The Easy Way
We like our custom mounts, but the Bilsteins can be easily bolted in place using the stock shock mounts.
You'll need:
2 each, 1 per side: Bugpack/Prothane PN 19920BL(This bushing replaces the upper spherical bearing)
4 each, 2 per side: Bilstein PN 423437(These reducer spacers fill the gap between the lower spherical bearing and the stock lower shock mount)
 How pathetic is this? As...  How pathetic is this? As built, our F-350 could carry a single mountain bike, a couple of gear bags, and perhaps a small beverage cooler: a load more fit for a Honda Civic than a Super Duty. Before we get pelted by the peanut gallery, we'll state that we're well aware that Greg Foutz has raced a Super Duty in the Stock Full class for several seasons now, and that Donahoe Racing built and raced a Super Duty in the 2005 Baja 1000. Just the same, with a crew cab and a burly Dana 60 solid front axle, our SD's platform is best suited to general off-road work and cargo hauling. |  A look at the 17-inch shock...  A look at the 17-inch shock shafts revealed that the shocks were using less than half of their travel. |  While we were very impressed...  While we were very impressed with the workmanship of the bed cage, it still had to go. A few hours, a Sawzall, and a grinder brought us to this point. Where a mountain bike barely fit before, we've now got enough space for a Yamaha Rhino. |
 Here's the stock shock mount....  Here's the stock shock mount. Simple, durable, and ready to snag itself on all sorts of trail obstacles. |  We took some measurements...  We took some measurements to begin the design process. We selected locations on the axle and on the underside of the bed, and measured from these marks. The upper shock mounts wouldn't be attached to the bed, but we wanted to tuck the upper mounts as high as possible. We also wanted to keep the shocks at a reasonable angle. Sure, it's possible to mount long shocks at severe angles, but severe angles make the shocks' valving ineffectual. We began by measuring our reference points at ride height. |  With the help of the Echo...  With the help of the Echo Metalworks forklift, we measured our reference points while the axle was articulated, and while the axle was fully drooped. |
 Bilstein's 7100-series shocks...  Bilstein's 7100-series shocks feature a self-adjusting deflective disc valving system, independent rebound and compression tuning, spherical bearing rod ends, and a 2-inch-diameter shock body. Although this pair is custom-valved for Super Dutys, 7100s are also customer-revalvable and customer-rebuildable. The Super Duty 7100s boast a 14-inch stroke in minimal mounting space thanks to a short shock body. |  To help the brainstorming...  To help the brainstorming process, we paid a visit to McKenzie's Performance Products and came away with a variety of tabs, bushing kits, and washers. Premade items such as these speed up the fabrication process and help to produce a cleaner final product. |  We needed room to work, so...  We needed room to work, so we unbolted the bed and spaced it away from the frame. Yes, we set the bed atop (gasp) cinder blocks, which we'll have to qualify by stating: do as we say and not as we do. Wooden blocks would've been better, and removing the bed and setting it aside would've been the best, but we didn't have the storage room. |
 We mocked the shock into the...  We mocked the shock into the approximate upper mounting position. We wanted to tuck the upper mounts as high as possible but keep them under the bed. With better access to the framerails, we could reach the vestiges of the old bed cage (arrow). Our final mounting position was outboard from our original reference points. We mounted the shocks along the OEM path but raised both the upper and lower mounts for better ground clearance. |  We used a flap disc in our...  We used a flap disc in our grinder to smooth the offending metal away from the top of the framerail. Two factory frame rivets were ground down in the process: we drilled them out and replaced them with Grade-8 bolts. |  After business hours and lacking...  After business hours and lacking a single tube of sufficient length, we spliced our crossbar together from 1.5-inch, 0.120-wall tubing, which fit perfectly inside 1.75-inch, 0.120-wall tubing. We added strength and maximized the weld area by fishmouthing the ends of the fatter tube and by drilling holes for plug welds. These tubes are staying put. To stabilize the tubes on the table during welding, we used a pair of machinist's 1-2-3 blocks. Even if you have no intention of ever machining anything, these blocks are handy items to have around the workshop. |