I have no problem with Rancho at all (I own 2 kits). It's just not going to
work in my application. I know you said that it is 4" in front and 3" in
the rear, but Petersons Off road states (about the Rancho kit) "The
companies kit supplies 3" of lift in the front and 2" in the rear." It also
states that "the stock tires and wheels can be retained, but P265 tires will
also fit." From what I can find P265 equals about 32". I read in one other
article where they claim 33" tire will fit, but if their lift is only 3",
they aint gunna fit! Especially when you get the wheels turned and and
suspension flexing with 12.5" wide tires. I rolled one of my 33's next to
it and I just can't see it happening without 4" or 5" minimum. I use mine
off road and don't want ANY rubbing.
In that same issue, they state the following about the Tuff Country kit "All
angles have been taken into consideration, and once the system is installed,
perfect factory alignment specifications are obtainable." and ".....so
there's no driveshaft clearance problem....." and "No driveshaft
modifications are required, front or rear". Just something to think about.
They have also updated their system with a new design on some components,
Tony found that out!. I had some reservations about Tuff Country too. I
don't have any experience with them personally, but I have friends in Utah,
where they are based and many, many people use them locally and on Moab.
The came highly recomended locally.
One more thing, TC will also have 2 skid plates available specifically for
our trucks to protect the T-bar brackets and front lowered cross member
brackets which will save me from having to fab them up!
Just some things to think about.
John McKinney
98 4X4 V8
Los Banos, CA
> -----Original Message-----
> From: james owens [SMTP:jimga98@yahoo.com]
> Sent: Tuesday, July 13, 1999 6:59 PM
> To: dakota-truck@buffnet.net; dakota-truck-digest@buffnet4.buffnet.net
> Subject: DML: Re: Lift Kits
>
> snip>> I would like to know how a Tuff Country lift compares to the
> otherssuch> as
> > Rancho, Trailmaster, Skyjacker, Dick Cepek, Pro Comp, SuperLift,
> etc.> > Jason <snip
>
> I have been following the progress of the Tuff country and Rancho lift
> kits via a friend who works in the field, magazine articles and calls
> to the company. The main differences leave me to believe that if you
> are only concerned with hight get the T.C. lift. the rancho kit is
> marketed as a 3" lift to be able to be legal in more states. (check
> with your local hwy patrol on this) it is a 3" lift in the rear but a
> net gain of 4" up front. this levels out the rake on the dak. The T.C
> kit is less $, around $1200 the Rancho is going to set you back about
> $200 more. The Rancho kit preserves the original geometry of the truck.
> Drive line angles are factory specs and factory alignment numbers are
> used. I happen to think this is important so some yahoo is not guessing
> at what looks good to him while chewing up expensive rubber if he
> "guesses" wrong. 33" tires will fit easily under both kits ,the rancho
> kit as well as the T.C. I know the engineers at tenneco (Rancho) have
> re-engineered this kit 3 times to get it perfect. Tenneco is a multi
> billion dollar company trades on the NYSE ticker symbol TEN at least
> you have a better chance of them being around years down the road.
> Anyway I have signed up to be the rancho guinea pig in the southeast
> with a local well known 4x4 shop in return for a break on the cost of
> the kit i have to bring the truck back several times to be checked by
> the shop for Rancho's quality control and long term monitoring of the
> kit and it's effects on the truck. ( iwonder if T.C. cares this much?)
> 98 sport 3.9 5 speed CC 4x4 31x10.5 tirs on the stock powder coated
> wheels
>
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