A budget lift on the Power Wagon means front leveling coils or coil spacers on the solid front axle — $130 to $900, no cutting, no geometry kit required at this height. The rear five-link coil suspension stays stock: the factory nose-low rake is the whole problem, and 2"–2.5" up front cures it.
The Power Wagon runs a coil-sprung solid front axle — an AAM 9.25 beam located by upper and lower control arms and a track bar, with separate coil springs and shocks. There are no struts and no CV half-shafts up front, which is exactly why a budget lift is mechanically honest on this truck: you are swapping or spacing a coil spring on an axle that does not care much about 2" of extra height. The rear is a five-link coil setup, and it stays untouched — Ram builds the truck with the nose lower than the tail so it levels out under payload. Unloaded, that rake costs you visual stance and, more importantly, approach angle.
What 2"–2.5" of front lift buys: a level truck, meaningfully better approach angle for trail entry, and clearance toward 35" tires without significant trimming. What it does not buy: any of the geometry correction, longer-travel damping, or rear height that define a real suspension system — that territory starts at the mid-lift tier.
Coil spacers ($130–180). Rough Country's 2.5" kit stacks a spacer above the factory front coil. Cheapest path to level, fully reversible, rides exactly like stock because it is stock — same spring, same shock. The factory shock is near its extension limit at 2.5", so droop travel shrinks slightly.
Replacement leveling coils ($300–450). BDS's 2" kit and Thuren's 2" front coils replace the spring instead of spacing it. Thuren's coils are wound softer than factory for ride quality on washboard and are the standout at this price — this is where most owners who wheel the truck should land. Pair with fresh dampers if the factory shocks have miles on them; see the shock guide for what actually fits a leveled truck.
Coils plus matched shocks ($600–900+). Carli's leveling packages bundle their coils with tuned 2.0 shocks. This is the top of "budget" and the bottom of their real systems — buy it if the plan stops here, skip it if a full mid-lift is coming later.
The track bar and drag link now sit at a slightly steeper angle. At 2"–2.5" this is within what the factory geometry tolerates, but it is why the axle shifts a few millimeters toward the driver side and why the alignment matters. Caster stays close enough to spec that no correction parts are needed at this height — that changes above 3", which is one reason the mid-lift costs what it does. If the front end develops a shimmy after the lift, stop and inspect the track bar and its fasteners first; the Articulink front-end explainer covers how this axle is located and why the track bar carries the load. And before sizing tires around the new height, read the weight-reality guide — a 3/4-ton on 35s asks more of brakes and axles than the same tires on a half-ton.
| Part | Vendor | Est. price |
|---|---|---|
| Rough Country 2.5" Leveling Kit (coil spacers) for Ram 2500 4WD | Rough Country | ~$130 |
| BDS 2" Leveling Kit for Ram 2500 4WD | BDS Suspension | ~$300 |
| Thuren Fabrication 2" front leveling coils for Ram 2500 | Thuren Fabrication | ~$430 |
| Carli Suspension Leveling Kit for Ram 2500 (coils + shock package tiers) | Carli Suspension | ~$700 |
Written and maintained by an AZ wheeler and driveway wrencher. Always cross-reference your factory service manual — modifications affect vehicle safety and warranty. Work at your own risk.
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