First off let me say I wish you luck and I hope all goes well for you with this.

Now I have to say reading what I had quoted above, it brings back some very bad memories. I won't go into it as some of you have read it here and on the other site.

I will just say MW, make sure that when you get the new RC shocks, they measure no more than 2" longer than the stock ones in length when fully extended.

RC sent me their "rear lift kit" including shocks. Well those shocks, which they said "were correct for my truck with their lift" were 6" too damn long"

If you need any help or advice, just ask. I have been thru just about every problem you can have with RC's "kit" and also many others.

Good luck and let us know how things go.

 

6" too long? Damn no wonder why they don't list them on the site. What the hell are they from that they are half a foot longer? I sure hope they bolt up, cause I will be really pissed off lol.

So when you let the suspension droop all the way down with the 2" blocks on them, theres still half a foot of shock to go? They had to have made a mistake with your order. (i hope)

Wasn't there a guy from Rough Country that came on this site with his Raider, with pics of the kit fully installed and everything? How did he get the shocks on? lol.

I'll let you know how it goes. The only reason I jumped on them was the $34.99 price tag. If they don't work out I will have to return them and get the bilsteins part # you suggested.

 

I won't let the rear go into full droop with no shocks. It would have ripped my brake lines right off.

The shocks are 6" too long when compared to the stock ones. Both fully extended. They said "right shocks".

The guy from RC with the Raider? Well I did also talk about that in some posts. Long story short....

His was a V6. The V6 has a smaller rear diff, which means smaller axle tubes. So not only did I get shocks that were grossly too long, I got u-bolts to f'n small. I have a V8

Short story longer, they would have taken back the u-bolts if I paid and shipped them back. They admitted fault, but I was told that "sending out a call tag to pick them up would cost them too much".

F' Rough Country! I took every item I bought from them and got rid of it. Not one pc, is on my truck and it never will have any. Or my Bro's, or my GF's truck, my sisters, Bro inlaws, etc. You get the idea.

I still have the shocks,,.,,, just as "new" as I got them. I can't even sell them to the lifted Ram guys. No one wants them. I tried.....no luck. So I can't even recoup a few $s that I lost.

Every chance I get, I either tell people how they f'd me, or I direct them to my posts.

I may have eaten the cost of all those parts (which I was even over charged for!), but I will do all I can to cost them customers. Nothing they can do about it either, as it is all the truth and 99% is in writing. Mine and theirs. Here and other places.

 

NJ,

Do you have a thread with pics of your front suspension? If I have it right we can run a daystar or equivalent spacer ontop the shock, a tm inside the spring and get 3.5 inches of lift, then you would need to fabricate a 1.5 inch drop kit for the front axle using some small quarter inch thick mild steel. The only thing left would be the ball joints and upper c arm. Making the truck hard to get aligned correctly.

How is your alignment? Where is the upper c arm when the truck has the front fully drooped? Is it resting on the balljoint or the spring?

I say this because I am working on fabricating some upper arms with aftermarket ball joints and some drop brackets for our front axle. I want to buy a welder but since that isnt an option right now I have a shop on my military installation that has more then enough stuff for me to weld.

I crawled under the truck and took some measurements, we can safely drop the front axle down about 1.5 inches to make up for some of the cv angle issues and allow us to run a full 3.5 inches but the c arms and ball joints have me concerned the most at this point. Custom tubing and adjustable c arms with aftermarket ball joints is the only way I see us getting to the 3.5" mark.

However you are already there. Can you tell us more about your front end?

 

I am really interested to see how this turns out. Even though I am quitting at 2" front and rear, mainly because I already got my alignment this morning (i work overnights) and never plan to pay for an alignment again, because I never have before (lol).

The toe was off btw, not a whole lot, but it was off, camber was SLIGHTLY off, nothing MAJOR. In fact, If I had known I might not have aligned it at all.

It's funny because when I fished around on threads with leveling kits, one chevy guy was telling people left and right that a 2" leveling kit or less an alignment was just not required, and to save your money (based on his tire wear for 3 different trucks). He wasn't too off from the truth.

But at least it is done "right" now. Now I am waiting on the final step, my longer shocks for the rear, I will let you know how all that pans out. I am really happy with everything on the truck though, seems to ride great.

I think we are making some good progress with this thread too, alot of good information for an owner who wants to lift his/her 3rd gen dakota, maybe it should be a Sticky?

 

I will answer in bold in your post. I will try and answer as best I can, as the truck is in the garage under its blankey (sp) for the winter.

Remember I have a 2wd. My setup will not work on a 4wd. It will tear the CV joints apart even when just driving down the street and making a sharp turn. Don't ask how I know, but I do.

 

NJ why not contact the BBB?

 

You mean for Rough Country?

 

Correct?