YotaTruck1986

Well friends, I've come to my senses. My truck will never be "quick" without very expensive and sometimes problematic modifications, so it's time to take the other route. Off Road! I know nothing about lifts, big tires, etc., so I was hoping you guys could fill me in. Jimabena74 claims his 4x2 does fine offroad so I hope mine will too. I'm oviously going to need to lift my truck but how? And how high? I'd like to go pretty big though. The rims I have on now should handle big tires, I think. How big? 31s? This truck is still my daily commuter so I need tires that will be quiet on road. What else is their to consider when lifting? Thanks for any help. I'd really appreciate it.

User 051420

IIRC Jimabena runs Fabtech lift spindles, and a 3" body lift. 31's too..I THINK.



He'll chime in.

VolcomTacoma

One of the best lifts you get can get is a long travel kit from: www.chaosfab.com If you want something cheaper just to lift your truck then you can look into the Fabtech upper arms that give you 3.5" and i'm pretty sure you can add the Fabtech spindals onto that to give you a total 7.5". Most people use 2wd trucks in the desert because at high speed there is no need for 4wd most of the time and they're less money to build. For deep mud, snow, and rocks 4wd will be needed most of the time. A lifted 2wd will get you a lot of places though if you like fireroads, sand, and mild trails.

YotaTruck1986

Yikes. Theres a FabTech kit for $800. Is that an average price for a 3" lift? How much is it going to cost for a lift and tires - aprox.? Thanks.

4Hummer

Start with a body lift. DO NOT USE THE Perfromace Accessories Crap kit. Contact Roger Brown and get the 3" kit www.4crawler.com

YotaTruck1986

Any idea how much the kit would cost?

mike_d

as roger brown says: 4x4 in uppercase is $X$. off road isn't cheap either.

YotaTruck1986

Since its a 4x2 it shouldn't cost as much, right?

turboale

My 2" was $150 with the HD bolts. Yours shouldn't be much different. The reg bolts are about $130. I would do suspension first though as you are now lowered so it would just give you that much more lift. Tirs are whats going to get you. Shop around and find the best deal, you can spend $400 for cheapies or spend $900 on tires alone. Do your homework. Its not as simple as your thinking. You can get some destination MTs for pretty cheap. Thats what I wanted til I found out they only went up to 33" but thats perfect for you. Good luck on the conversion and I can't wait to see you at our next meet!

turboale

nope, not any cheaper... but the plus is that you don't have to worry about breaking CV joints and you also can lift the piss out of it

VolcomTacoma

Check this kit out for $629: http://performancelifts.com/cgi-bin/cart/FTS41301.html

This kit Includes:
FTS4130-1 - Upper Control Arm Kit
SAW1636 - 25mm Torsion Bars
FTS3090 - Shackle (84-88)
or
FTS2092 - Shackle (89-95)
or
FTS200 - Rear Add-A-Leaf
FTS7078 - Performance Front Shocks
FTS7163 - Performance Rear Shocks

jimbo74

total chaos and fabtech performance kits are cool... but i dont have that kind of money to drop....

i have 4" spindles and a Performance Accesories 3" bodylift.... the PA lift works fine, i havent had any problems with it, however i do suggest getting one of roger's kits, they are maybe $40 more at max, and worth every penny of that $40.. i just didnt know about it, befoer i got mine.. or i would have a 4crawler bl..... for some reason, the steering shaft in the 4x2 isnt the same as the 4x4, and where it says to make the adjustment, you cant... i ended up getting one of roger browns steering spacers.. and ended up talking to him in his driveway for 6 hours.... hes a great guy... i have 2" lift rear shackles... also my torsion bar anchor arms have been upgraded to those form an 89 as the 85 ones had a design flaw that cuased me to bend them when i went railroad track flying, rather the landing anyways.... 31" mud terrains... the next mods im going to do are 33x10.5, locker and 4.56 or 4.88 gears

jimbo74

Ilovemountains

.
I would go with the spindle kit, some longer shacles at first till you can buy new springs perhaps a turn of the Tbars, and some 31" Revos... you may want to look into a new stabilizer and some new shocks though!

YotaTruck1986

Thanks for the replies. Though I'm still learning the suspension lingo. Does that fabtech kit come with everything I need for the lift? If not, what else? Will 31s fit under my truck with a 3.5" lift? How will my truck handle 31" tires? Does anyone have any experience or opinions on the fabtech lift kit? Should I go with that kit, or some other method? Thanks.

jimbo74

the spindles basically just makes room for 4" more height in the front... you will still need lower rear lift, normally an aal, new leaf pack or shackles.. i have only 2" shackles, but it still rakes towards the front.... fabtech is fine.... the long travel kits by total chaos are the best, but those kits cost probably about 2-3 times more than the worth of the truck.....

31s will fit with just the spindles but you will probably have rubbing under full compression and u turns, unless you trim the firewall edge of the fenders...

jimbo74

oh yeah. you will need extended brake lines... they dont come with the spindles but are required

VolcomTacoma

The Fabtech kit I listed above looks like it comes with everything you need. It says you can run a 30x9.5R15 tire on a 15x7'' wheel. This kit should work fine for you. If you were going to beat on your truck out in the desert or something the Total Chaos kit is the way to go but will also cost you well over $3k. I'm pretty sure you can also add the Fabtech 4" lift spindles to that kit if you want to later on for more lift. When using a suspension lift and lift spindles you will have exceptionally good ground clearance.

bamachem

Hey, I have a line on 3 used 31x10.5x15 Goodyear MT/R's if you're interested. You just need to find a 4th one for a matching set...

cvlighthouse

I don't think your rims will fit 31's

Can't you just raise the truck by cranking on the torsion bars and add a "add-a-leaf" in the rear? then buy some Bilstein's and the biggest mud tires you can fit on those rims..