TRS Suspension lift Reviews

[mulishiaranger]

Theres also a Truxxx torsion lift now... dont quote me on the name(can't really remember) replaces your torsion bars, adds a leaf. cheap, like 300$

 

[razrwild]

can we get an update on this thread? I'm thinking of what lift to get but some kits that are available aren't listed and some have been redesigned.

 

[venom97]

BDS is definetely the way to go!!! Cheap and NO FINE PRINT WARRANTY!!! thats the best part.

ive never heard of bds,any website to look at their products?

 

[4x4junkie]

www.bds-suspension.com.

Their kits use a drop plate on the stock axle bracket.

 

[88mudder]

i believe the new RC bracket design still consists of the drop plate extension, but its redesigned at the corner so you will not punch a hole in the diff. At least thats how my RC bracket kit was a year ago when i bought it, very thick plates. If you read the instructions you should know to use the bumpstop extenders in the kit if you plan on jumping or hardcore use. Great kit for the mild wheeler.

BDS great kit for the money!! Not overpriced , and warranty!

Superlift - strong bracketry, good kit, coils are stiff but i like it

Skyjacker-overpriced, unless you have a really nice truck...i wouldnt mess with any of their kits on a TTB truck unless you have extra cash burning through your pocket....excellent kit though! Coils 2 soft for heavy duty bumpers and winches, they sag.

James duff- pretty good price , great kits.

 

[Arctic601]

Its been years since I was last on here (since about 02) but I wanted to give an update as to my experience with rough country since I did the original article.

My rough country lift has held up under pretty severe circumstances without failing even though I still feel it was poorly fabbed for installing without some modifications. Throughout having my lift on for 8 years and 45,000 miles I have only had 2 problems. I rarely wheel my truck, but when I do I put it through what I would consider severe off-roading. Heres what broke and what I was doing...

The first being the rear driver side shock blowing out last year at silver lake sand dunes after landing a small jump wrong (drivers side landing only). The other being last weekend the drop bracket punctured a hole in my front differential after coming down from what spectators said was 5 feet of air and a perfect four wheeled landing. I also constantly maintain a speed of about 40-50mph over all sorts of terrain.

Ovreall, im extremely happy with how well my lift has held up under the abuse I gave it. Now though, its time to get something stronger. Ill probably be posting a little more around here now that I need to get some more ideas of where to go next.

 

[twoll86]

http://www.jamesduff.com/newproducts/new_bronco2.asp

link for the 5.5 in kit it has been up there for a year or so just hidin under "NEW" products. lol

 

[Fx4wannabe01]

98+ 4x4 Superlift 4-3" lift

The front kit is your basic drop bracket kit with taller steering knuckles....front and rear crossmembers and drops, torsion bar key drops. Later kits come with limit straps. Rear kit uses 3" blocks and longer U-bolts. Shocks are included front and rear.

I've had this kit on the truck for about 2 years now and I believe it to the best BEST option for a 98+ 4x4 IFS truck. All the bracketry is beefy. It's proven to be a very good lift and quality and it being the only suspension lift available now, only proves it. Superlift has thought it out....their live axle knuckles(00.5+) accomidate BOTH sizes of rotors..11.2"(98-02) and 12"(03+). This leaves an open for someone to upgrade to 12" brakes with just a set of rotors. That's something that cannot be said about any other past available kit for the 98+ trucks.

Pros: very high quality. easy install...straight up bolt-on. upgradable brakes. no reported failures of any major component. No worry of any additional CV shaft failure(same as factory risk).

Cons: pricy(but hey, what IFS lift ISNT pricey?). front driveshaft required(as with any suspension lift on these trucks). too soft/mushy shocks. stacked blocks. sway bar endlinks are poorly designed. Still torsion bar(lol!) and the drops are unsightly.

Con fixes: I didn't like the idea of stacking blocks, so I used a Belltech 6400 shackle and a ProComp short AAL to get me the 3" of rear lift. I built my own verison of the $450-550 Superlift front shaft that only cost me about $300 using all new parts....using a junkyard explorer shaft would run about $200. No sway bar helps. lol. And in the rear I'm running Bilstein 5100's which helped out the ride immensely.

 

[Fx4wannabe01]

98-02 4x4 RCD 5" lift

The front kit is your basic drop bracket kit was taller steering knuckles, front and rear x-members and drops. Kit eliminates the torsion bars and replaces them with Bilstein Coil-over shocks and all necessary bracketry is included with the kit, including the rear xmember braces. Rear kit consists of a long AAL and lift shackles. Rear Bilsteins are also included.

My friend has had the kit on his truck for almost 3 years now or so. The kit is an 'okay' thought out kit IMO. There are issues which I'll get into later. Overall, the kit looks better....the front x-member, elimination of the t-bars, and oh my the ride!! The ride is incredible. Blows torsion bars out of the water!

Pros: THE RIDE!! Elimation of torsion bars is just awesome...both in ride and looks. Front x-member looks cool. Rear lift is done one notch short of new springs which is nice.

Cons: THE PRICE! $2500 or so. Same front shaft issues as the Superlift, but that's Ford's fault. Install requires a welder. Front coils are too weak for a xcab 4.0. Only works on 98-02 brakes which means, 03+ guys have gotta downgrade to 11.2" brakes. A differential drop bracket is very very poorly designed and is not reinforced in anyway. 1/4" steel and it does snap in half resulting in a changing pinion angle and massive vibration which can take out front pinion bearings, front shaft joints, and possibly tcase damage. Something about the knuckles push them out farther than stock, resulting in the possibility of a CV shaft being pulled apart under "extreme" travel/flex.

Con fixes: Upgrade to 750lb coils on 4.0 xcab trucks. Before it happens, reinforce that triangle diff bracket using 1/4 x 1 flat stock. Eventual shaft replacement just like the Superlift. Keeping the sway bar on and/or running limit straps help the CV issue. Longer CV's or CV spacers would help some too.




*with all said, it's hard to point out all the good in a product, it's the negative that speaks the loudest. I tried to make this as un-biased as I could being I have one kit and have alot of experience with the other.

 

[Daringo]

Tuff Country 20813 and SkyJacker 132x

I'm jumping on this thread a little late, but here are some answers to Tuff Country 20813.

- Appears to be very strong and sturdy - close to 20 pounds for entire, well packed box.
- Measures about 2 inches longer than original brackets (hard to tell from pics, but it is definately longer)
- Has camber alignment bolts that should help with camber beyond the 2 inch drop.
- Comes with the gusset bracket (L shape) for the driver side bracket

Despite what some say about Tuff Country's quality, they appear to be fine. I am personally thankful they provide the axle pivot drop brackets without having to invest in a full kit. $170 solution to fix my problem - a problem that began because...

Another thread here in the TRS forum suggested using SkyJacker 132x coils rather than leveling spacers. The guy sounded like he knew what he was talking about, but after installing the new coils, my truck had a severe/dorky/embarassing positive camber issue.

This should really do the trick and I will post pictures in a few days showing before and after. Apparently, shops kind of hate working on Twin Traction Beam suspensions because of this.

My suggestion - and if I had to do it over - would be to save up for a full (2-4 inch) suspension lift kit rather than piecing it together like I did. It really did just start out as a bushing replacement project - which I then kept telling myself "while we're here, let's add coils and shocks, blah blah"...

End result: SkyJacker 132x 2" coils, Tuff Country 20813 2" Brackets, ProComp Shocks (all around), 2 inch add-a-leaf in the back, James Duff Radius Arm Bushings, Energy Suspension Axel Pivot Bushings.

Oh, you know bigger tires are coming next

P.S. Thumbs up to SuspensionConnection.com for having great prices and fast delivery. Thumbs down to James Duff for not answering my questions in an email and telling me I had High Rider option - which I do not. Experts, really?

 

[akx.]

P.S. Thumbs up to SuspensionConnection.com for having great prices and fast delivery.

I'm just beginning to look at suspension lift kits, but SC only has a 4" suspension lift and I'm looking for a 6" one. And James Duff's is nearly 2k for 5-5.5". Skyjacker looked to be a similar price. Just my 2 cents.

 

[dirtystanchez]

I've had my SJ 4" Stage 2 for almost 3 years. I had to modify the trans x-member so it would line up with the transmission mount. Other than that it was pretty close.

I've been on some intense trails with flexing and big rocks. To this day, I only have about a 1/4 inch of sag in the front springs, but nothing really major. It still rides smooth for a lifted vehicle and has great street manners. I built my own leaf packs using explorer leafs, extended shackle, and stock lift blocks. I would go for the SJ 4" leafs if I were to do it over again.

My lift actually started at 4.5" in front and 5" in rear. Compared to my 2 other Jeep Cherokees that were lifted, my Ranger rides like a Cadillac. This is my first SJ and I love it. The long arms are definitely worth the extra $$$. I've had Pro Comp and a "piece it together yourself" lift and by far the SJ is superior in quality.

 

[kiragyu]

hey guys just wondering i cant find anything for a ranger on the BDS suspension website so can you guys help me out?

 

[comparini3000]

Dixon Brothers kit no longer requires cutting of truck bed. It's been up there for a while but I just noticed that this sticky hasn't been updated to say that

http://www.dixonbrosracing.com/content/view/114/6/

 

[mason_411]

i recently bought a rough country 4" lift and all though it was crazy cheap you certainly get what you pay for. the lift hasnt cracked or anything major as the metal seems to be fairly durable and strong but i had to grind a lot off of some of the parts to make them fit. the manufacturing of the products is where they fall short! the durabilty of the products seem fair though.

Price: *****
durability: ****
fit/ease of instal: **