[chase87]

i look at this post i look at that post, its good its bad, back and forth. i want to compile all the info about rough country lifts in one place. the reason for this is, if its a good lift it beats the prices on every company out there. so... round one!!!

 

[TELORVEHC]

I've never used a Rough Country product so I can't make any claims about their quality, but I look at it this way: If you're gonna spend X amount of money on your truck and you decide to put a lift kit on it, why skimp out on one of the most critical areas of your vehicle (the suspension) and potentially endanger yourself and others with suspension components of questionable quality due to the low price. With lift kits, you get what you pay for, and If it were me, I would spend the extra $$$$ up front and buy the best quality kit you can get. To me, the peace of mind knowing your lift kit will perform well and won't give you any headaches is worth the extra cash.

 

[Rockstarrchevy81]

I have a Rough Country 7.5 inch lift and i really havent had any problems with the kit since i put it on about 4 months ago. I heard people say that the OLD kit was garbage but the NEW kit is way better than the OLD kit. The new kit has good quality parts from what i've seen and how it's performed on my truck. Also no truck is gonna perform or drive like it did factory being lifted that high up unless you got so high $ shocks to make the truck ride comfort to what you suite. I must say that my buddy who works at a GM dealership and installed my lift said it was very easy to install compared to other kits. I heard so people on here saying that there lifts would have things switched around and parts missing well it wasn't in my case i had everything. The only few things i DON"T like about the lift is the angles arent the best but if i would have got the 5 inch kit or lower there wouldnt have been a problem so far so i'm really not complaining. I have some bed shake around 40-45 mph only i think it is because i havent tightened my bolts up on my lift yet is the main reason and doing that next weekend or so. The other thing is the shocks they are garbage but most kits that don't include resorvoir, coilover and such shocks pretty much dont maintain the factory ride. I hope this review helps being that i only paid $1,100 for the kit and no problems so far but the bed shake which is my fault!

 

[silveradotrailblazer]

When you install lift kits for a living you learn real quick what is junk and what is quality. With the RoughCountry kits they would have brackets not completely welded, bolt holes not lining up, grid brackets to make fit and if it was a kit with springs the truck/jeep sat uneven and road like a tank. We NEVER had these issues with BDS,CST, Rancho and Skyjacker. The shop owner got to where he wouldn't let the R/C kits in his shop, even if a customer brought a R/C kit in for us to install he wouldn't let us install it. Alot of shops sell it because its priced cheap. Wait till the R/C kits get a few years old and the welds and metal are splitting. Not all R/C kits have these problems but most of the ones we saw did. Save your money and buy one of the other kits mentioned.

 

[chase87]

i noticed you didnt mention pro comp in the list of good lifts. is it a given that its good? i had no idea about the partially welded parts in a RC kit.

 

[Rockstarrchevy81]

Pro comp is a good name brand lift also but the welds that silveradotrailblazer was talking about i think isn't happening now from what i've seen since they have redone there lifts because i'm very happy with mine and can end up buying fox shocks all the way around my truck for the price of those kits. i think they maybe slightly stronger built but in reality not allot since they redone their kits mostly your paying for the name like any other brand on anything in the auto industry and out. I think if you wanna spend around 2 grand sometimes more for the complete kit then go for it or try to save some money for other parts and take a risk because of now i dont think ill have any problems outta my kit! Basically it's all about preference and what you want and what kinda money you wanna spend!

 

[chase87]

i would also have to assume that there is a difference in what kit someone should buy if they don't plan on going off road and just want the look. i can even see in the pictures of the rough country kit that things are not fully welded. would this mean its a kit for looks and not for getting a beat down while off road?

 

[Rockstarrchevy81]

idk man my lift all the welds were fully welded and holds up good. The 5 inch kit they have is right at $999 for the whole kit so i would look at that one or the smaler ones depends how big you wanna go. www.roughcountry.com and look around. I plan on doing fox shocks because it will make the ride better than factory but will spend a grand or so on shocks but they are worth it!

 

[aloxdaddy99]

Another good quality kit is from Fabtech. I have to disagree a little with Rockstarr. You don't just pay for the name you pay for the R&D that goes into the kits as well as the parts. The thing I like about Fabtech and BDS ( I think they are the other ones) you can upgrade your shocks to the King Coilovers like I have on my truck. They worked with the lift companies to make an upgrade.
I am of the same mind as Telorvehc when it comes to you get what you pay for. I have the King Coilover level kit on my truck. I am going to drive my truck offroad as much as I can. But the most of my driving will be on road so I didn't go with a 6+ inch lift. I could have for what I paid for what I have but I like the ride better than it was before.

 

[Blackout07]

RC is cheap for good reason. Like mentioned above, the R&D of their products is seriously lacking. I had the RC 3" kit at one time and that was complete and total trash. Holes didn't line up, the ball joints were junk, etc. RC also thought it a good idea to drill out your spindles. My front end guy nearly went blind when I told him I drilled out my spindles. I am one of MANY who had major issues with BJ failure and alignment problems. RC was made well aware of the issues by us, the consumer, and they chose not to do anything about it and actually acted like there weren't any issues. But here we are in 2011 and now RC says, "The kit has been redesigned and we don't have anymore of those problems." So now they acknowledge that their kit sucked, but it only took them about 3-4 years? Seriously????

RC's 5" kit seems to be the only properly designed kit that they make, so it seems decent enough. But the 7.5" creation is laughable. Instead of desinging a larger kit, they decided to stretch out their 5" version. So you add larger strut spacers and 6.5" BLOCKS! So now you have a 7.5" of total lift with spindles that are only just large enough for the 5" version to go along with a 4-5" diff drop. Basically your CV angles are bad and will probably bind off road, and the upper ball joints are at even worse angles. They are so steep in fact that RC requires you to cut off the droop stops so the UCA's won't ride on them. Droop stops are there to limit down travel, so it's not a good idea to remove them. Throw in some junk shocks with maxed front end angles and rear blocks that are waaay to tall and you have truck that rides like a wagon.

Rockstar, I know you have the 7.5" and this isn't a personal attack against you or your truck. I don't know everything about lifts, but I do know that I don't like what RC did with the 7.5" kit.

 

[silveradotrailblazer]

chase87, back in '96 when my Suburban was new I installed a ProComp 6" lift. It creeked and flexed just driving ON ROAD. I took it off after a year and installed a Rancho kit that is still on the 'Burb to this day. ProComp is made in India.

---------- Post added at 12:05 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:03 PM ----------

You know a good marketing company can make even a turd look good.

---------- Post added at 12:06 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:05 PM ----------

As mentioned above Fabtech is also a good kit.

---------- Post added at 12:11 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:06 PM ----------

Rockstarr, as Blackout07 said this is not a attack on your or any other R/C equipped truck on this site. But people come on this site for advice and info and we can only tell them about our experiance's with certain products. Again this is not a attack on anyone on this site.

 

[Big75]

I installed a 4" suspension lift with rear blocks on my old '76. I have no complaints. I think cheap is usually put in the POS category for no good reason.

 

[Rockstarrchevy81]

RC is cheap for good reason. Like mentioned above, the R&D of their products is seriously lacking. I had the RC 3" kit at one time and that was complete and total trash. Holes didn't line up, the ball joints were junk, etc. RC also thought it a good idea to drill out your spindles. My front end guy nearly went blind when I told him I drilled out my spindles. I am one of MANY who had major issues with BJ failure and alignment problems. RC was made well aware of the issues by us, the consumer, and they chose not to do anything about it and actually acted like there weren't any issues. But here we are in 2011 and now RC says, "The kit has been redesigned and we don't have anymore of those problems." So now they acknowledge that their kit sucked, but it only took them about 3-4 years? Seriously????

RC's 5" kit seems to be the only properly designed kit that they make, so it seems decent enough. But the 7.5" creation is laughable. Instead of desinging a larger kit, they decided to stretch out their 5" version. So you add larger strut spacers and 6.5" BLOCKS! So now you have a 7.5" of total lift with spindles that are only just large enough for the 5" version to go along with a 4-5" diff drop. Basically your CV angles are bad and will probably bind off road, and the upper ball joints are at even worse angles. They are so steep in fact that RC requires you to cut off the droop stops so the UCA's won't ride on them. Droop stops are there to limit down travel, so it's not a good idea to remove them. Throw in some junk shocks with maxed front end angles and rear blocks that are waaay to tall and you have truck that rides like a wagon.

Rockstar, I know you have the 7.5" and this isn't a personal attack against you or your truck. I don't know everything about lifts, but I do know that I don't like what RC did with the 7.5" kit.

Yeah i would agree with the 7.5 inch kit no being up too far as potential as it should be being all the factors you said which most i knew about this before the lift. I havent had any problems so far and until i do i am happy with the Rough Country lift and if i have major issues then i will most likely get a Fabtech lift my buddy has one on his truck and loves it!

 

[aloxdaddy99]

Big 75 you are talking apples to oranges. The old straight axle leaf sprung trucks are a different animal all together. The only upgrade for a leaf sprung truck is the spring rate of the packs, having them military wrapped, and if there is a antifriction material between the leafs to keep them from squeeking. The IFS truck is a much more involved process to lift.

 

[chase87]

so pretty much what everyone is coming up with is if you want a rough country lift go with the 5 inch?

 

[Big75]

guess I should have read into this thread more thoroughly. I thought we were talking about all lifts. So I still stand by my statement that they make a good sfa lift. The bushings have held up, the shocks are still good, and the paint hasn't peeled of the springs yet. what else could you ask for.

 

[silveradotrailblazer]

The RoughCountry springs do ride stiffer than a Skyjacker or Rancho spring. This is from personal experiance. Alot of people have never had the chance to compare the springs on the same truck.

 

[Rockstarrchevy81]

Yeah i dont like the spring on the rough country lift it doesnt seem like it absorbs holes or bumps good at all... What are the best Fox shocks they have to offer because i want some really bad in a year or so..? I know it's prob gonna cost over a Grand but will be worth the money.

 

[aloxdaddy99]

Rockstarr give King shocks a call. When I was looking to install their level kit on my truck I read something on their website about upgrades to BDS and Fabtech lifts. They may be able to make a set for your RC kit. It might take a little tome for them to be able to get it done but I would highly recommend their product to anyone. I am not a salesman for them but I am just that pleased with the product I have received from them.

 

[lancer]

i have had 2 rough country lifts, one for my old 2006 4x4 silverado i had and the one i have on my 93 now. i haven't had any troubles with anything i've had. i have installed both kits myself and had "used" the trucks pretty good. as for rc springs that i'm not sure about, both trucks i replaced the rear spring packs with 3/4 spring packs. i like the kits, they were easy to install in a weekend and so far haven't had any troubles with it. i know theres always going to be the "i think its crap, i think they are great" convo's but as far as my opinion on the kits they are a good setup for me. i'm not saying anything about any other lifts just stating what i think of my past and current kits..............