Poor mans lift, or wait for real lift?

LaserBlueZ71 · November 23, 2014

What would you do in my case?

My original plan:

BDS 4 or 6'' lift

295/65R18 duratracs

Chrome 18'' wheels

What I can barely afford to do:

Readylift 2.25'' level

275/65R18 duratracs

Chrome 18'' wheels

This leaves me with a smaller truck overall than I had hoped for, but I just do not see myself being able to afford $3,000 for a lift and install any time soon. I am getting married next year, moving to a new place, a lot of things are going to be needed. The only real way I can do what I want to is pay half up front, and charge the other half to my already existing debt.

Is a leveling kit really that bad for my front end? I am thinking maybe I should just bite the bullet, level the truck and try to force myself to be happy with that. I need to do something, I cannot stand how low my truck is from the factory. I will be keeping this truck for a long time, so I am concerned about how a leveling kit will affect my reliability, handling, and overall mechanical condition of my IFS.

Appreciate any help,

Thanks all.

servantsalesmen · November 23, 2014

Personally I'd say chip away at it in chunks that you can afford. 3,000 is a big chunk of change and it's an ever bigger debt anchor. I'd budget and set goals before I'd go into debt. Just remember, the mods you want to do are a want and nothing more. The truck will be with you a long time as you have stated and chipping away at it will help make a better story for how you got your dream truck, and it will be more fiscally wise.

blackout07 · November 23, 2014

I would say go ahead and level it with a less expensive kit like Top Gun Customz or Rough Country. They all do the same thing and Ready Lift is way to proud of theirs.

Will it hurt your truck? Yes, but only a little and it won't be eating through joints every 6 months or anything like that. It will only mildly shorten the life of those components that would go out eventually anyway.

Now go ahead and get the wheels you want with a nice 33 x 12.50 - ish sized tire., and sell your stockers to offset cost. That should satisfy you while you sock away some change for the suspension kit, and that tire size will work with either a 4" or 6" lift and look clean.

In the end you'll end up with a suspension kit because you'll always want it. That's what I did after several versions of my truck, so don't count on being happy for too long. And consider installing the lift yourself. You'll save around $800 or so and you should you choose installation by a pro, it shouldn't cost more than $2200.

Edit: where are you located?

8.1HD/ALLISON · November 23, 2014

Personally I'd say chip away at it in chunks that you can afford. 3,000 is a big chunk of change and it's an ever bigger debt anchor. I'd budget and set goals before I'd go into debt. Just remember, the mods you want to do are a want and nothing more. The truck will be with you a long time as you have stated and chipping away at it will help make a better story for how you got your dream truck, and it will be more fiscally wise.

+1 i would definately not go into debt for mods. Wants, not needs. Never know what life will throw you. This year i had appendix removed, have a 2 year old at home, and wife just had a bunch of medical tests ran. All unexpected. Goodbye 5 grand plus just for deductables........

LaserBlueZ71 · November 23, 2014

I would say go ahead and level it with a less expensive kit like Top Gun Customz or Rough Country. They all do the same thing and Ready Lift is way to proud of theirs.

Will it hurt your truck? Yes, but only a little and it won't be eating through joints every 6 months or anything like that. It will only mildly shorten the life of those components that would go out eventually anyway.

Now go ahead and get the wheels you want with a nice 33 x 12.50 - ish sized tire., and sell your stockers to offset cost. That should satisfy you while you sock away some change for the suspension kit, and that tire size will work with either a 4" or 6" lift and look clean.

In the end you'll end up with a suspension kit because you'll always want it. That's what I did after several versions of my truck, so don't count on being happy for too long. And consider installing the lift yourself. You'll save around $800 or so and you should you choose installation by a pro, it shouldn't cost more than $2200.

Edit: where are you located?

I am located in British Columbia, up in Canada eh LOL!

Installers up here are insane. They all want $1,000+ JUST to install the kit. I can't afford to spend $2,000 - $2,800 on a lift kit (depending on which options I choose) then drop another 1K, just to have someone put it in. I am actually debating going with the RCX 5'' to save some money. That kit still corrects all angles and I can get it locally for about $900. The downside is of course that it is not a BDS lift. I also wanted to go all out on the BDS, with replacement rear springs, traction bars, aux diff brackets, the works. RC does not offer such add ons.

It sure is hard to save money. I have been saving for over a year, and have managed to sock away barely anything.

Silverado4x4 · November 23, 2014

Don't take this the wrong way but if you can barely afford to do something to your truck that is going to be just for looks maybe you shouldn't do it. Keep that money your going to blow in the truck for the future that your getting married moving to a new place and your going to need stuff that you really need.

LaserBlueZ71 · November 23, 2014

Don't take this the wrong way but if you can barely afford to do something to your truck that is going to be just for looks maybe you shouldn't do it. Keep that money your going to blow in the truck for the future that your getting married moving to a new place and your going to need stuff that you really need.

That stuff is actually already accounted for. The only reason those things make me nervous is because, shit happens, and shit happens alot.

It's like a home reno, you think you have it covered, you think you know the budget, but something else ALWAYS comes up. I already had to have a talk with the wife to be when the guest list kept growing without my knowledge. Suddenly, relatives I have never even met who live in Europe, are already planning their trip here for a wedding they were never invited to! Ever notice how people automatically assume they are invited to a wedding? I had to lose my shit once and that was it. I told her family flat out, if you don't get an invite by such and such a date, your not invited, no, we will not reconsider. If you don't like it, tough shit.

Can you tell I don't have a sensor and I don't take shit?? I hate people. Give me a garage with my truck and some solitude instead.

Big Whiskey · November 24, 2014

I would avoid the extra debt and go with the poor man's lift kit. Zone Offroad and Rough Country make 2"-2.5" front and rear lift kits that are very reasonably priced. As stated, Ready Lift is too proud of their stuff. You could also look into a 275/70/18 tire, which actually measures a little over 33" tall. That size should work with your small lift (as long as you don't get too crazy with the offset on your new rims), and will also look good if you decide to run a true 4" suspension lift in the future.

KMGZ400 · November 26, 2014

I wouldn't call a level a poor mans lift, and I wouldn't be afraid to level it either. It will look much better and it really won't harm anything. Maybe wear things out a little faster. I had 3 inch keys cranked to the max on my 03 1500 and drove it to 150k with no premature wearing

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

tightline07 · November 30, 2014

I just put the Rough Country 2.5" on my 2013 silverado with 275/60r20 BFG KO2, Moto Metal wheels. Did the install myself and the total cost of it all including mount balance and align was just over 2k. I mean just over. Less than 2,100. Did a lot of searching on the net for the best deals. I love the way it turned out.