so iv been thinkin bout liftin my truck 4-5 inches since these first gens look awesome lifted and I wantti fit 35's under it...
who all has a lift and whats your opinion is a 5" BDS suspension lift worth the almost 1000 dollars or would a Rough Country 4" do about the same for just under 700? im ruling out Sky Jacker because their "kit" doesn't include half the stuff and its around 850


BDS comes with new springs, shocks, steering stabilizer, ubolts, and steering block to compensate


Rough Country comes with same but without steering stabilizer

 

If you have a good lift with a good tight steering components you should not need a stabilizer as they are nothing more than band-aids to cover up other problems.

Rough Country = poor quality, terrible ride, little to no load capability when your done.

Sky Jacker - slightly better in quality, poor ride quality, poor load capacity.

BDS - I don't know anyone who has used one or even read about anyone on the various 1st gen forums so no clue.

You best bet is to use good springs like Alcan's, a rear shackle flip, and use cross-over steering to eliminate that lift block for the steering. But this is a more expensive option but if you want a good quality lift that will last and be trouble-free that is the way to go.

 

good to know bout the load capacity... in the summer I haul scrap with my truck... full bed and a full trailer goin across the scales at about 10,500 gvw... truck alone with trailer attached empty is 5100 so yeah I haul a lot of stuff..


thanks... BDS Suspension has a LOT of stuff and claim to be the best in the business... honestly the only reason id want a stabilizer is cuz I think they look cool its like dressing up your steering...

 

i just wanna be able to keep hauling stuff and have it look cool at the same time im not about to compromise for aesthetic reasons i was just cuious if i should spring for the almost $1,000 to buy a lift kit and have it put in at an additional charge... some of my buddies have BDS suspension systems but they teat their trucks like cars and use it just for show so i really have nothing to go on for them... other possibility was a spring re-arch or would that compromise anything?

 

sorry for all the bad spelling this keyboard is worn out

 

people say that rough country is bad, but iv had the rough country lift on my truck with rough country steering stabilizers and everything is fine. i have a 40 year old truck and i dont expect it to ride like a new one. maybe it will be a little better if you spend all the extra money, but i dont have much and rough country has worked great so far.. the old springs and shocks where way harder to ride on than the new lifted ones.

btw with the rough country kit you get a full leaf in the rear for 800.. or at least thats what my kit came with. and its way better than having a block. and it seems like i can haul way more than i could with the old springs.

 

I was wondering about that.. I didn't know if it just was a few extra leafs and a smaller block or if it eliminated the block all togther

 

I have a skyjacker 6" on my truck. The springs are stiffer than hell, which leads to a really rough ride. However nothing ive thrown in the back has even sagged the springs, If i had some E rated tires the load capacity would be crazy.

 

Re: the Rough Country lifts - my personal experience has been that RC solid axle spring lifts (not IFS lifts) are exactly as sls stated. I've gone through two 4" RC lifts, and both of them exhibited poor quality hardware. One got installed on a buddy's rig, and we pulled it off 6 months later because the ride quality was so bad. The other kit got returned.

The Alcan option for springs is a good one, but pricey. I've found that Tuff Country lifts are a decent, lower-cost option that slots somewhere in the middle for most folks.

This really is one area where you get what you pay for. I've ridden in lifted rigs that had some low-buck OOB kits installed and they rode and handled well for most "normal" stuff. OTOH, I've driven some trails in a friend's Jeep with custom springs (read: $$$$) and the difference in ride, handling and flex is amazing.

 

I did the 4" Skyjacker, and have been fairly pleased so far. The front springs actually give a little better ride than the stock ones did, and the rear are no worse. I did use an adjustable drag link because of the new pitman arm. At some point, I may drop in crossover steering, but I'm about to get underway on a '76 RC project, so all funds going there now. On the statement about poor load capacity, I can't say I noticed this yet. I pulled a 15K capacity tandem axle trailer with a 1977 M880 loaded on it, and I actually got the truck a little too far up on the front of the trailer. The rear of my truck barely squatted with the load, and drove and felt great with the load on it. I was pretty anxious about it, as it was the first decent load with the new springs, but I ended up very happy with the performance. They are pricey, compared to Rough or Tuff Country.

I'm going to look hard at the Alcans when I put a 2" kift on this RC.