POLL What is the last suspension lift / leveling kit brand you purchased?

[Jim Oaks]

Times change. In the early days of TRS most of the members were driving and modifying 1983-1997 than 1998-2011 Ford Rangers. New we're in a whole new generation with the 2019+ Ford Rangers.

I know some suspension companies don't offer kits for the older Rangers anymore.

For those of you that have installed a new or used lift kit or leveling kit, what brand did you buy?

I'd also like to see people take it a step further and post what they bought and what year Ford Ranger they mounted it on.

Thanks!!

 

[Shran]

Here are my experiences:

James Duff - I currently own a 3" Explorer Stage 1 lift and I helped my buddy install a 6" Stage 3 lift in his Ranger and got to drive it a bit. The build quality of their lift parts blows everything else out of the water. Just incredibly good stuff and my only complaint is that the 3" lift doesn't come with a drop pitman arm.

Rough Country - I owned their really cheap 4" TTB lift for a short period of time and while it did the job, it was good for height and that was about all.

Rancho - helped remove and then reinstall a full size TTB lift. It was OK stuff I guess. Better than RC or TC but nothing special. This was an old lift from the early 2000's though.

Skyjacker - I bought their 6" top of the line lift with all the good stuff and almost immediately bent one of the radius arms and one of the drop brackets. Their kit came with a 4" drop pitman arm and still does, to my knowledge. It also came with 4" lift springs and you were expected to use 2" blocks. I have bent two pairs of their leaf springs - I've wheeled other vehicles harder than this one and never bent a spring like that. The tubing they used for their radius arms and trans crossmember is really thin. Their tech support was not very nice to me two times. They are marketed as a premium product but for a small amount more you can get several other brands which are WAY better.

Solo Motorsports - my buddy bought a whole bunch of TTB stuff from them including cut & turned Dana 44 beams, radius arms, etc. It is marketed as high end desert race parts and that did appear to be the case. They use really heavy duty materials. However he was bending both the beams and the radius arms during every race. That was in an 80's full size Bronco with a roll cage, 35's and slightly better than stock drivetrain. Maybe it was a matter of needing more shocks or something, I honestly don't know, but we raced a very similar truck with all stock suspension components, the same exact type and number of shocks, and were not ruining anything except coil springs. Those were sacked out pretty quick. Same race courses, same drivers.

 

[Robertmangrum.rm]

I'm running a 2.5 inch leveling strut spacer in the front made by Torch Offroad. In the rear I have a Stage 3 Motosports add a leaf which gives me about 1.5 inches. Besides that, I have stock struts and shocks. I'm hoping to change that soon.

2020 XLT Sport if you guys didn't know.

 

[Tomm1468]

I'm running a 2.5 inch leveling strut spacer in the front made by Torch Offroad. In the rear I have a Stage 3 Motosports add a leaf which gives me about 1.5 inches. Besides that, I have stock struts and shocks. I'm hoping to change that soon.

2020 XLT Sport if you guys didn't know.

Same for me, haven't had a problem with it, but I'm not a fan of having to have cranked the torsion bars so much.

 

[Rick W]

Missing Linc came with 2-1/2 or 3” lift.

The pieces are black, but I don’t know if that’s the original color.

As they’re made out of metal.

Is that enough info?

 

[JohnnyO]

It's not on the list but I had a Truxxx front and rear lift on my old '08 Sport Trac as it was the only lift made for them. Stout laser cut and powder coated steel, quality product, good price.

When I wanted a level for my '20 Ranger I went back to Truxxx. Would highly recommend for a late model leveling kit. They have 1.5" (mine), 2.5", and 3.0". The front-only level is about $95.
My rear suspension is stock height with plain ol' Monroe gas shocks.

www.Truxxx.com

 

[don4331]

DJM lowering kit for a '98

 

[Jim Oaks]

It's not on the list but I had a Truxxx front and rear lift on my old '08 Sport Trac as it was the only lift made for them. Stout laser cut and powder coated steel, quality product, good price.

When I wanted a level for my '20 Ranger I went back to Truxxx. Would highly recommend for a late model leveling kit. They have 1.5" (mine), 2.5", and 3.0". The front-only level is about $95.
My rear suspension is stock height with plain ol' Monroe gas shocks.

www.Truxxx.com

I added it the list for you. You'll have to cast the vote though.

 

[gaz]

COMPLETE PRO COMP 4" SUSPENSION LIFT

I found it in a wrecking yard on an 89 extra cab Ranger. It needed 2 extra leaves in the rear for the correct ride height; I added leaves from 94 Explorer packs with longer eye bolts

I added fresh poly bushings throughout, James Duff extended radius arm in front and their new traction links in the rear with dual 70/30 shocks all around. A 6" drop pitman provided most of the front linkage correction. The front coils were shot; they were replaced with new Skyjacker 4" Softride coils. This set up remains on my 87 BII today. I truly enjoy driving this suspension.

I thought that it would need extra adjustable cambers and extended brake lines in the front. While the brake lines weren't required, they weren't a bad move; I still have the extra adjustment camber fixtures new in the box

 

[Jim Oaks]

COMPLETE PRO COMP 4" SUSPENSION LIFT

I found it in a wrecking yard on an 89 extra cab Ranger. It needed 2 extra leaves in the rear for the correct ride height; I added leaves from 94 Explorer packs with longer eye bolts

I added fresh poly bushings throughout, James Duff extended radius arm in front and their new traction links in the rear with dual 70/30 shocks all around. A 6" drop pitman provided most of the front linkage correction. The front coils were shot; they were replaced with new Skyjacker 4" Softride coils. This set up remains on my 87 BII today. I truly enjoy driving this suspension.

I thought that it would need extra adjustable cambers and extended brake lines in the front. While the brake lines weren't required, they weren't a bad move; I still have the extra adjustment camber fixtures new in the box

Nice find. Do you have a pic of the suspension pieces you salvaged?

 

[gaz]

@Jim Oaks
I cleaned up the gray finish, etched/primed/painted both the drop brackets and the coils to match the James Duff blue components. I can snap some pics of them installed, the radius drop brackets were never installed because of the the Duff extended radius brackets.

May be a day or 2, my driveway floods a bit when it rains (it is the rain season in the PNW), been ½ flooded since Thanksgiving

 

[Blmpkn]

Had a RC level put in the '21

 

[maddyn]

Had a James Duff stage 2 I think on my 92, extended radius arms, new coil buckets with dual shocks, Explorer rear leafs with lift blocks. It was a little stiff in the front with the dual shocks, but it did great on the trail, just a little long on the wheelbase with the extended cab for the trails we frequented at the time. Also had a 3" body lift and was running 35x12.5x15's. only thing it was missing was some lockers

 

[Uncle Gump]

My 06 got Rough Country forged 1 1/2 lift keys in the front and I put Supreme Suspension 1-2 inch lift shackles in the rear.

 

[superj]

I have never lifted a ranger so my amswer is from jeeps.

The last new set up i used was rough country in 07ish. I did 5.5" on my 87 cherokee and it rode like a cadillac.