Lift Kit Options

[iamcams]

Looked at the lift kits in ranger tech and it seems that Skyjacker is the best option. Rough Country would be nice (cheaper) but there is the thing about the drop brackets. With Skyjacker I would get the 4" lift but there are several options for shocks: Hydro, Nitro, and Black MAX. What is the difference (besides price)? Also, I don't know when that ranger tech article was published, but are there any other options not listed on there or have any of you found a way to modify or work with the drop brackets on the Rough Country kit?

 

[bobbywalter]

skyjacker and duff have really good products for the ttb.




what you intend to do is the key. if you want to wheel the hell out of it then skyjacker or duff are the cheapest options for shelf kits. if you just want it for looks then the cheaper stuff will save money for tires.

problem with 2.9 is that big tires without the cost of deep gears makes them miserable in performance. though livable with a manual trans.



there are diy options that work well too. just depends on whats available near you.

 

[iamcams]

Yea. I plan on mostly having my truck as a daily while simultaneously trying to get into off road. Would the Rough Country be my best bet then? I plan on running 31s so would I still need to regear the axles if I am just doing more mellow terrain?

 

[bobbywalter]

if you have 373 i would think you should be good with 31's

 

[MaicoDoug]

What sort of ride will you be looking for at the new higher lift? 99% of lifts (and maxed out adjustments) look great parked. How they work when going slow or going fast off road are often two entirely different set ups. Going fast off road; consider a mid stroke, longer shock suspension set up with plenty of negative travel. Set ups for moving faster off road can do just fine moving slower, not so much the other way however. Rock crawling is for moving slowwww. Your mileage may vary. Mall crawler, or weekend warrior? 31s work great!

 

[bobbywalter]

What sort of ride will you be looking for at the new higher lift? 99% of lifts (and maxed out adjustments) look great parked. How they work when going slow or going fast off road are often two entirely different set ups. Going fast off road; consider a mid stroke, longer shock suspension set up with plenty of negative travel. Set ups for moving faster off road can do just fine moving slower, not so much the other way however. Rock crawling is for moving slowwww. Your mileage may vary. Mall crawler, or weekend warrior? 31s work great!

traction beam trucks are born for the dirt. keeping the camber in check is the hard part just adding spring height. unless the shocks are too short they dont bottom out like sla trucks.

living with 3 in of lift and longer radius arms can often keep the factory pivot points and steering with minimal issues for handling and they are very robust.

 

[iamcams]

I saw this build by Bullet Motorsports and really liked it. They have the Rough Country but I will probably get the Skyjacker. When looking at the build page it says 31 are max tires with a 4 inch lift why is that? In this picture I feel like 32's or 33's could fit?

 

[scotts90ranger]

Most of the tech stuff is going around '83-88 body style which has smaller front fender openings and expecting you aren't going to trim the fenders... the stock front bumper is a restriction too with the air dam under it that will hit first. I fit 35" tires on my '90 with a ~6" lift (got it used, assuming) with minor fender trimming, before I rolled it it looked pretty good, I'll try to post pics of how I did it later tonight. That said I'm pretty sure you could fit 33's with a 4" lift.

 

[scotts90ranger]

In this picture you might be able to tell that I trimmed the back of the front fenders and the front and back corners of the rear fenders, I wacked the corners off some with an angle grinder then took some sheet metal seaming pliers and folded over the edges so it isn't a jagged straight metal edge like most people do, it looked good until I rolled it and the "just ain't care" level just went out the window... I mean I still care but not as much as when most panels were straight... wait, on closer look that's after the roll but when it was still clean and well I just covered the just ain't care thing