Question about tuff country

[Colton - 94 Ranger]

Hey everyone. 1994 Ranger 4.0, 4x4, I would like to lift the truck 4 inches. I have heard bad things about RC, so staying away from them, then I heard about tuff country. My budget is $1,000USD, and wouldn’t like to go over that, what would everyone recommend that has the similar year to my truck and installed a lift kit? Any issues with camber and caster afterwards? I have heard good things about skyjacker but they are a little too expensive for me, I do have other things I need to save for aswell. Thinking about going with this kit since it’s on sale for $1,000.

 

[Curious Hound]

Don't know anything about it. It uses drop brackets and extended radius arms for the front, which is the right way to do it. The question is, how well are their brackets engineered. The biggest problem I'm aware of with Rough Country is that their brackets somehow allow something to poke a hole in the differential housing, I would guess during big articulation. If Tough Country does NOT do that, then this might be a good kit, or at least a good starting point that could be modified and strengthened later if necessary. The add-a-leaf for lifting the rear may be ok. I would prefer that instead of blocks any day. But new springs with more arch are the best way to go there. Longer shackles could be used also to adjust rear ride height.

I know the dilemma of wanting to achieve a goal that happens to be expensive. I would be an idiot if I didnt6recommend being patient and saving more money so you could get a kit from Skyjacker or James Duff. But I've been in your shoes many times. My best advice is "do as much research as possible before buying." And that's seems to be what you are doing. Try to study as many of the articles in our tech library as possible and weigh that with the answers you get here.

Suspension and Body Lifts - The Ranger Station

DISCLAIMER: Activities and vehicle modifications appearing or described at The Ranger Station and it’s pages may be potentially dangerous. We do not endorse any such activity for others or recommend it to any particular person – we simply describe … Continued

www.therangerstation.com

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

The biggest problem I'm aware of with Rough Country is that their brackets somehow allow something to poke a hole in the differential housing, I would guess during big articulation.

The Rough Country kit is built around the D28 and for some ridiculous reason they haven't updated it in the past 30 years to work with the larger D35 differential case... but they say it works with the D35.

 

[Colton - 94 Ranger]

Don't know anything about it. It uses drop brackets and extended radius arms for the front, which is the right way to do it. The question is, how well are their brackets engineered. The biggest problem I'm aware of with Rough Country is that their brackets somehow allow something to poke a hole in the differential housing, I would guess during big articulation. If Tough Country does NOT do that, then this might be a good kit, or at least a good starting point that could be modified and strengthened later if necessary. The add-a-leaf for lifting the rear may be ok. I would prefer that instead of blocks any day. But new springs with more arch are the best way to go there. Longer shackles could be used also to adjust rear ride height.

I know the dilemma of wanting to achieve a goal that happens to be expensive. I would be an idiot if I didnt6recommend being patient and saving more money so you could get a kit from Skyjacker or James Duff. But I've been in your shoes many times. My best advice is "do as much research as possible before buying." And that's seems to be what you are doing. Try to study as many of the articles in our tech library as possible and weigh that with the answers you get here.

Suspension and Body Lifts - The Ranger Station

DISCLAIMER: Activities and vehicle modifications appearing or described at The Ranger Station and it’s pages may be potentially dangerous. We do not endorse any such activity for others or recommend it to any particular person – we simply describe … Continued

www.therangerstation.com

I see what you mean. Hard thing is justifying spending $1600 on a lift kit on such a small truck, I do have the funds for it but I would also like to start saving my money for life since I am about to graduate highschool.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I see what you mean. Hard thing is justifying spending $1600 on a lift kit on such a small truck, I do have the funds for it but I would also like to start saving my money for life since I am about to graduate highschool.

Then why waste a grand plus alignment and tires?

Or give up an inch and only blow a couple hundred bucks plus tires.

Amazon.com: Performance Accessories, Ford Ranger Splash (Manual Trans Requires 3700) 3" Body Lift Kit, fits 1993 to 1994, PA813, Made in America : Automotive

These things are quite capable trucks offroad, a "big" truck generally isn't really desirable for many offroad situations.

 

[Colton - 94 Ranger]

Then why waste a grand plus alignment and tires?

Or give up an inch and only blow a couple hundred bucks plus tires.

Amazon.com: Performance Accessories, Ford Ranger Splash (Manual Trans Requires 3700) 3" Body Lift Kit, fits 1993 to 1994, PA813, Made in America : Automotive

These things are quite capable trucks offroad, a "big" truck generally isn't really desirable for many offroad situations.

Already have brand new tires, I can afford it easily. I want to lift it, but I don’t want to spend $1600 on a lift kit for a ranger it just doesn’t make sense to me.

 

[Curious Hound]

I'm not a parent. But I'm going to sound like one here. You're at a point in your life when there are much more important things to save your money for than a lift kit. Drive it like it is and have fun.

As far as a Ranger being worthy of motivations for offroad? Oh, he'll yeah,. It's worth it. Like Justin said, they are often much better offroad because of their size.

 

[superj]

what makes you want to lift it?

i chose stuff by listing pros and cons. its just how i am. AND, sometimes i do the list and still do opposite of what the list finds just because i want to do it.

do you off-road and the truck is getting stuck on stuff because it scrapes?

do you not off-road but like the look?

do you live in the country or city?

if city, do you go off-roading? how much? whats the percentage of time your truck is actually off road versus the time on road? will those big mud tires and lift actually be worth the money spent if the tires are only being worn out on asphalt? all terrains and mud tires are way more expensive than regular all season street tires.

my truck came from the factory with a 2" lift. thats how the edge models are but i don't need a lifted truck, or even have any use for it. i actually like lowered and prefer the sporty feeling of suspension modified for fast turns.

so my edge has been lowered and has larger sway bars. it turns like a sports car and i get lots of compliments on it, and offers to buy it from me.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

So… I’ll weigh in here…

These trucks are pretty capable in stock form. More so than a lot of people realize. It’s definitely something to keep in mind. Good tires and at least a rear limited slip if not a rear locker will get you a lot of places if you are a decent driver.

On a 94, you can get 2” of suspension lift relatively cheap, just a spacer/stack of big washers/90’s F-150 spring perches under the coils in the front and a 2” “drop” shackle set for a Chevy 1500/Ford F-150. Probably longer shocks and an alignment. That’s what I started with on my Choptop. I didn’t keep it like that long though before I went to 3”, then 5”, then added a 2” body lift. I know why I did it like that (money and mechanical knowledge were limited as I started the process). Looking back, it might have been better to just do the whole thing in one go rather than piecemeal because I knew from the start I wanted to end up running 35” tires on it.

My 88 Bronco II wasn’t ever intended to be built that big. But I had some leftover parts after the Choptop grew, so the 88 got a 2” suspension lift and I built a set of long arms for it because that will help the suspension do it’s thing (stock arms are rather stubby and don’t let the front suspension freely move) and it’s getting a 1” body lift. Probably a minor fender trim in the front because first gen trucks are a little small in the front wheel arches and it will get 31” tires because I can. Probably excessive. In college I had an 89 Eddie Bauer Bronco II on 30” mud tires and stock suspension and I wheeled it a few times with a YJ on 34’s and a TJ on 36’s. I couldn’t do everything they did, but I went a lot of places that surprised them.

You need to sit down and figure out what your exact goal is for the truck. Then work towards that.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I kinda downplayed a bodylift earlier but that is all my truck has.

I have really been quite impressed with it on trailrides and the Vagabond trip. It also allowed me to fit bigger tires and opens up things in the engine bay and makes things much easier to work on.

 

[Colton - 94 Ranger]

what makes you want to lift it?

i chose stuff by listing pros and cons. its just how i am. AND, sometimes i do the list and still do opposite of what the list finds just because i want to do it.

do you off-road and the truck is getting stuck on stuff because it scrapes?

do you not off-road but like the look?

do you live in the country or city?

if city, do you go off-roading? how much? whats the percentage of time your truck is actually off road versus the time on road? will those big mud tires and lift actually be worth the money spent if the tires are only being worn out on asphalt? all terrains and mud tires are way more expensive than regular all season street tires.

my truck came from the factory with a 2" lift. thats how the edge models are but i don't need a lifted truck, or even have any use for it. i actually like lowered and prefer the sporty feeling of suspension modified for fast turns.

so my edge has been lowered and has larger sway bars. it turns like a sports car and i get lots of compliments on it, and offers to buy it from me.

I do off-road weekly, atleast I try to, I find it that my truck is a little lower than I would like, I already have 31x10.5x15’s and plan on staying with that tire even if I lift it.

 

[Colton - 94 Ranger]

So… I’ll weigh in here…

These trucks are pretty capable in stock form. More so than a lot of people realize. It’s definitely something to keep in mind. Good tires and at least a rear limited slip if not a rear locker will get you a lot of places if you are a decent driver.

On a 94, you can get 2” of suspension lift relatively cheap, just a spacer/stack of big washers/90’s F-150 spring perches under the coils in the front and a 2” “drop” shackle set for a Chevy 1500/Ford F-150. Probably longer shocks and an alignment. That’s what I started with on my Choptop. I didn’t keep it like that long though before I went to 3”, then 5”, then added a 2” body lift. I know why I did it like that (money and mechanical knowledge were limited as I started the process). Looking back, it might have been better to just do the whole thing in one go rather than piecemeal because I knew from the start I wanted to end up running 35” tires on it.

My 88 Bronco II wasn’t ever intended to be built that big. But I had some leftover parts after the Choptop grew, so the 88 got a 2” suspension lift and I built a set of long arms for it because that will help the suspension do it’s thing (stock arms are rather stubby and don’t let the front suspension freely move) and it’s getting a 1” body lift. Probably a minor fender trim in the front because first gen trucks are a little small in the front wheel arches and it will get 31” tires because I can. Probably excessive. In college I had an 89 Eddie Bauer Bronco II on 30” mud tires and stock suspension and I wheeled it a few times with a YJ on 34’s and a TJ on 36’s. I couldn’t do everything they did, but I went a lot of places that surprised them.

You need to sit down and figure out what your exact goal is for the truck. Then work towards that.

I’m almost there in regards to the truck, this is one of the last few steps minus a few cosmetics. It’s only got 103k on it and I plan on keeping it a while.

 

[Colton - 94 Ranger]

I'm not a parent. But I'm going to sound like one here. You're at a point in your life when there are much more important things to save your money for than a lift kit. Drive it like it is and have fun.

As far as a Ranger being worthy of motivations for offroad? Oh, he'll yeah,. It's worth it. Like Justin said, they are often much better offroad because of their size.
View attachment 120659View attachment 120661

The thing is I can afford it easily. I have money in the bank, only thing is I’m not sure if the kit is worth it or not.

 

[Shran]

It's a cheap lift that is designed for tire clearance and not necessarily good offroad performance. Shocks are probably mediocre at best... springs are probably pretty stiff.

31's are a great size for our trucks and if that's all you ever want to run, I would just run a spacer lift and/or a body lift. Get some good shocks (Bilstein, KYB, etc) and spend the rest of your money on bumpers/winches/skid plates/etc.

Just speaking from experience, I have one big truck on 35's with about a 7" lift that has very little armor and an Explorer on 30's with a 2" lift and skid plates everywhere... they are both fun & very capable. It is really nice to go out and be able to drag the little truck over everything and not worry about jamming a rock through the transmission or whatever. Money spent on armor right at the beginning is money very well spent.

 

[Colton - 94 Ranger]

It's a cheap lift that is designed for tire clearance and not necessarily good offroad performance. Shocks are probably mediocre at best... springs are probably pretty stiff.

31's are a great size for our trucks and if that's all you ever want to run, I would just run a spacer lift and/or a body lift. Get some good shocks (Bilstein, KYB, etc) and spend the rest of your money on bumpers/winches/skid plates/etc.

Just speaking from experience, I have one big truck on 35's with about a 7" lift that has very little armor and an Explorer on 30's with a 2" lift and skid plates everywhere... they are both fun & very capable. It is really nice to go out and be able to drag the little truck over everything and not worry about jamming a rock through the transmission or whatever. Money spent on armor right at the beginning is money very well spent.

I see, here is what my current truck looks like. I just took it up and would like to go regularly, you think it would be worth it just doing blocks? I would also have to get rid of my all around Bilstien shocks, which sucks, should I just throw a spacer under the front coils and maybe a little spacer in the back??