Up travel so so over-rated. Stuffing a tire is not doing a thing for you, Ian. Take a look at any rockcrawler or well build rig; the bump stops are mounts within 2" of the axle. This allows the wheel being tucked up to hit the bump stop suddenly, and begin applying force to the opposite side - thus more traction.
On my truck, loaded down, the bumps stops are within 1" of the axle. I've applied so much force to one side before, that the round 1/4" spring retainer (bigger in diameter than the spring) actual spread the spring open and popped out. That's not going to happen on a truck where the axle is just "floating" on the springs. When the spring popped out, that wheel lost it's traction.
All the "up travel" is only going to screw you. If this Travis' bronco had more up-travel in the rear, he would have rolled:
Same story with Kevin's Heep:
Now, just because you're limiting the upward movement, does not mean you're loosing "stability". That wheel is going to tuck no matter what you. Only now, it's going to pivot on your bump stop.
In this picture, the drivers side wheel is bumped on the bump stop. The force is pushing the passengers side wheel down, and pivoting the drivers wheel up and into the fender. Does it look unstable?
I wish I had pictures of my new set-up in situations like this to help you better understand.
But, here is a D1, 5" lift, 35" tires. Very little fender trimming needed with D2 fender flares.
Then, notice how much tripping I needed with a 3" spring, 1" spacer, and 2" body lift to fit 35's. It's a big difference.
Only thing I agree with you on is fitting the biggest tire possible with the least amount of lift.
