Coldwater, MI: BDS Suspension adds to its lineup of heavy duty upper control arms (UCA) with new kits available for the 2006-2018 RAM 1500 model 4wd trucks. These new UCAs are designed for improved strength, great looks, and increased suspension travel out of your stock, leveled or lifted RAM 1500 vehicle.
The new performance control arms are built from high strength 1.5" OD x .120-wall tubing, gusseted for strength and durability. They use an indexed ball joint cup to correct the ball joint positioning for when used with leveling or full lift kits. The frame mounting ends feature durometer-specific rubber bushings. At the other end they use an indexed ball joint cup with and premium greaseable MOOG-brand ball joints for smooth, quiet operation and superior durability to arms that feature uniballs, poly bushings or heims. These control arms come finished in a durable semi-gloss black powder coat and include a billet aluminum machined ball joint dust cap. They integrate a mounting tab for the factory brake lines so there's no need to zip tie the lines as is the case with other kits on the market. The control arms come fully assembled for easy install right out of the box compatible with most leveling and lift kits on the market to increase wheel travel. Take your RAM 1500 to the next level with these performance upper control arms from BDS Suspension.
Kit Info
#122251 - $735.79 MSRP
Vehicle Fitment
2006-2018 Dodge/RAM 1500 4WD*
*excludes 1500 megacab
Product Description
BDS Performance Upper Control Arms
for Dodge Ram 1500 4WD Trucks
BDS Upper Control Arm Features
- High strength tubular construction
- Heavy duty MOOG ball joints
- Clevite rubber frame bushings
- Includes brake line mount & steering stops
- Full assembled, ready to install
UCA Compatible With
- FOX 2.5 Factory Series Coilovers (0-2")
- Most Other Leveling & Lift Kits
Important Notes
- Designed to work as stock replacement for 0-3" lift kits as well as BDS 6" systems. Not recommended for BDS 4" systems due to ball joint angle at that ride height.
- Aftermarket wheels with 5" BS will clear up to 12.50" wide tire.
- Works with stock wheel-tire combo.
© BDS Suspension, 491 W. Garfield Ave. Coldwater, MI 49036
(517) 279-2135 | bds-suspension.com | sales-bds@ridefox.com
Waiting for the 2019 stuff! When?
Hey Jason, we have a number of kits in development for the 2019 RAM 1500. That said company policy dictates we can’t discuss product details or expected release dates on new product development topics. Once kits are on the shelf ready to release we’ll be sending out announcements, adding them to our website and promoting through various media outlets.
Do these allow additional tire clearance over stock UCA’s? I have a leveled 2012 Ram 1500 with 295/60R20 tires and if i turn all the way in one direction or the other the tire rubs the front of the UCA’s. Not bad enough to leave a mark on the tires, but still would rather have no rubbing at all
Stock wheels
Hey Richard, our UCAs will not increase tire clearance, they are designed to have similar clearance to stock UCAs. Your clearance issue is due to the larger tires mounted on a stock wheel with large backspacing. Aftermarket wheels with smaller backspacing or a set of wheel spacers would help with clearance to the suspension components, although if pushed out too far you may run into clearance issues between the tires and bumper/fender depending on the lift and wheel specs. We list our recommended wheel/tire specs with each lift kit we offer
Have a 6” pro comp lift and installing Bilstein 5100 set at 1.4” on a 1/2 ton 2015 ram. will the BDS #122151 uca kit work better than the oem uca?
Hey Jesse,
Our UCAs will be an upgrade to the factory UCAs in strength as well as improve the operating angle of the upper ball joint
Guys on the ram forums with the 5th gen Ram DT’s have installed after market control arms designed for the 2006-2018 on their 2019 trucks becuase they didn’t want to wait and claim they fit perfect and alignment was perfectly in spec. Have you guys tried the 2006-2018 arms on the new 2019 Ram?
We have a number of lift kit and accessories in the works for the 2019 RAM 1500 trucks. That said, none of them have been officially released (approved for use by our engineering dept) at this time. As kits and components are released we’ll be sending out announcements so keep an eye out for upcoming press releases.
Will the upper control arms work on factory air suspension,? Ram 2013 4×4 1500
Hey Rudy,
while our UCAs are a direct bolt-in heavy duty replacement for the factory UCAs on standard/air-ride equipped RAM 1500 4WD trucks, they are designed with an indexed ball joint cup to improve the ball joint operating angle when used on a truck that has a leveling kit or full 6″ lift installed (not recommended for stock height or 4″ lift kits due to ball joint operating angle). Ultimately it’d depend on the ride height of your truck, has the factory suspension been modified? The concern with using them on an air ride truck is the ball joint operating angle. For instance on a stock height air-ride truck while these would work well in the taller ride height modes, in the lower modes the ball joints may limited up travel and be in a bind during a hard compression.
Would these work on the air ride suspension with the 4in bds lift kit for a 2016 ram rebel?
Hi Mike,
short answer is no, these UCA kits are not recommended for the RAM Rebel applications. Reason being our 4″ kits are designed to correct and retain OE suspension geometry (i.e. UCAs are operate at the same angle as stock height truck). Our UCAs are designed with an indexed ball joint cup to be used on aplications with a bit more UCA angle (i.e leveling kits or 6″ lift kits). We don’t recommend our UCAs at 4″ of lift. The Rebel’s air ride complicates the matter more as the lower ride height modes set ride height even lower causing the UCA’s ball joint to me maxed out during up travel.
How come these upper control arms do not come for the 2005 models?
Hi Auric, the 2002-2005 RAM 1500 used a different UCA design that was switched in 2006 and has been used up through the current model years. While we offer UCAs for the current model RAMs, we are not offering them for the earlier models.
Why not make joint and bushings greasable?
Hey Jeff, thanks for reaching out. The ball joint we use is greaseable, you would just need to remove the protective dust cap to access the fitting. As for the frame mount bushings rubber bushings (stock or aftermarket) don’t require regular greasing for durability and quiet operation where polyurethane bushings would require geasing. We use OE-durometer rubber bushings in our upper control arms rather than polyurethane bushings.
Thanks follow up
Was the ballpoint engineered for this application or is it an off the shelf moog used for the UCAs?
Also is the Balljoint replaceable IE able to be pressed in/out?
Sure thing Jeff, these are an off the shelf ball joint so if ever needed it can be sourced locally and pressed in/out. For more on the exact replacement part number I’ll need to refer you over to our tech support team for assistance, tech-bds@ridefox.com
I was wanting to upgrade my upper control arms because the factory ones are weak, but I am planning on lowering my ram 2″ front and 4″ rear, would the new control arms be okay and function properly with the lowered suspension?
Hey Jason, short answer – No – we wouldn’t recommend using our UCAs in your situation. These are designed with an indexed ball joint mount to designed to leveling/lifted trucks. At stock height or lowered the ball joints angle would be less than ideal.
I have a 2014 ram with air ride. I have leveling links ordered and was wondering if these would work as an upgrade since I will be leveling the truck. Do these uca have the mounting point for the air link or do they need drilled and tapped for the ball mount?
Hey Shane,
While these UCAs will physically bolt into place all RAM 1500 4WDs, they are not designed with a provision for the ride height sensor linkage so officially we do not list them as compatible with Air Ride models.
upper control arms work on my 2009 ram1500 slt 4×4 5.7 hemi with a procomp 6″ lift?
These arms have been tested and approved for use with BDS kits in the range of 2-3″ and 6″ lift heights where the ball joints are at a bit more angle than stock (not recommended for stock or 4″ lift heights). We haven’t tested our arms with the procomp 6″ kit, but assuming your UCA/ball joints are at a bit more angle than stock these will work.
Just put on a 3 inch leveling kit on my 2018 ram. I wanna upgrade to these in the future for a smoother ride and better geometry then the stock upper control arm. Just wanna clarify.if these will offer that
Hey Jacob,
these will definitely improve control arm/ball joint geometry over the factory UCAs with a 3″ kit installed. That said the ride quality won’t really be affected by the UCAs other than the jarring when the suspension droops out due to the limitation of the factory arms.
Will this fit on my 2021 ram 1500 classic warlock with some bilstein 5100’s at 2.75 level setting?
Why is it 4WD specific? These look like they’d fit perfectly on my 6inch lifted 2 wheel drive.
These UCAs were designed around the 4WD models alongside out suspension lifts, we have not tested them on the 2WD variants to confirm/deny compatibility so by default we list that they are compatible with 4WD only.
Will these fit and work properly on a 2015 ram 1500 w airride and yalls 4 inch lift
Hi Noel, these UCAs are not compatible with Air Ride models
I had a set of the uca’s on my truck and the ball joint broke on me driving down the road. I have the coilovers and a BDS 6″ kit. Apparently these don’t work with the coilovers that you sell with your kit even though they state that they work with 6″ kits. I have already had to replace a cv axle, a tire, abs sensor and return to stock uca. This does not include the down time and damage to surrounding metal.
What can you do about this?
Hey Dean, sorry to hear you’re having an issue with the ball joints in the UCAs. Contact our customer service team at (517) 279-2135 or for assistance.