BDS spacer lift vs Rough Country Vertex coilovers lift?

Mirage_Man · May 29, 2021

Forgive me if this question has been discussed but I could not find anything with a search.

I have a 21 Trail Boss that I want to lift 4" for a total of 6" to fit 35's. I have been looking for awhile now at the available lifts specific to the Trail Boss and AT4 and have narrowed it down to two...

The BDS 1805H strut spacer lift with UCA's.

https://bds-suspension.com/product?kid=1805H

And

Rough Country 27550 with their Vertex damping adjustable coilovers.

https://www.roughcountry.com/gm-suspension-lift-kit-27530c.html

The cost of the kits are within a couple hundred dollars of each other.

I have watched all the reviews I could find on the Vertex coilovers and they seem to be good. I like the idea of them but I understand they can't be rebuilt so if they fail out of warranty I would have to replace them. Add to that the general sentiment that Rough Country in general isn't necessarily the greatest in terms of quality makes me very uncomfortable putting the kit on my truck.

BDS on the other hand has great reviews and a stellar warranty but I only get a strut spacer lift with new UCA's that retains the factory coilover with the Rancho shocks.

What are your thoughts, opinions and or experiences? Your input is much appreciated!

Mirage_Man · May 30, 2021

No one has thoughts?

Dunn · May 30, 2021

if you want to lift it 6inches dont worry about TB/AT4.....stock lift comes out so your starting out with a standard silverado or sierra.....you would get a 6" BDS lift for 19-21 GM truck.....the TB lift is just a strut and block kit, scrap that out instead of building on top of it

would put a proper lift on with coilovers to match the height......truck will ride and perform alot better

BDS with fox or king setup is way to go imo....

Mirage_Man · June 5, 2021

On 5/30/2021 at 3:10 PM, Dunn said:

if you want to lift it 6inches dont worry about TB/AT4.....stock lift comes out so your starting out with a standard silverado or sierra.....you would get a 6" BDS lift for 19-21 GM truck.....the TB lift is just a strut and block kit, scrap that out instead of building on top of it

would put a proper lift on with coilovers to match the height......truck will ride and perform alot better

BDS with fox or king setup is way to go imo....

I would agree but I don't have $5000/$7000 for the suspension.

I suppose I can get the BDS with the strut spacer for know then upgrade down the road to coilovers when I have the available funds.

Supercup · June 5, 2021

I have 2020 AT4 Carbon Pro - I have BDS 2.5" coilover lift (so 4.5" over stock 1500) with fox adj. 2.5 fronts and fox 2.0 rears. It is not cheap, but the shocks are worth every penny - improve the ride - make it a "real" offroad truck - capable of high speed on rough terrain, similar to a Raptor - not as good, but close. It also makes for a great ride on road and with adjustments to the fronts you can dial it into your liking.

The only downside is you drop the front diff as part of the lift, so in my case I lost 2" of ground clearance in the front, as the front diff dropped 2" as I stayed with OEM tires. If you went to 35's you would maintain factory ground clearance.

Also note with the BDS lift - if you have OEM 18" wheels - you can't use them - as the tie rod sticks out and will hit the wheel - with 20" wheels the tie rod will be inside the barrel of the wheel and work. If you stick with 18" you need a -12 mm to 0mm offset wheel (ideally) or 12 mm or less and spacers and/or lug extensions. So might as well get -12 offset or 20's if you have to get new wheels.

The NX shock in the kit you are looking at is a good shock - but I would at least upgrade to fox 2.0's - not that much more but a much better shock. BDS will do that if you ask.

Also take a look at Zone - made by BDS but a lower cost option - They also offer an option to select Fox 2.0's for $117.

Link: https://zoneoffroad.com/products/4-in-ifs-suspension-lift-kit-2019-2021-chevy-trail-boss-gmc-at4?variant=39431884505176

As you stated you want the 4" lift (which gets you 6") to meet your target of 35's with ease - as long as you have the right wheels you will be all set.

Edited June 5, 2021 by Supercup

Mirage_Man · June 5, 2021

27 minutes ago, Supercup said:

I have 2020 AT4 Carbon Pro - I have BDS 2.5" coilover lift (so 4.5" over stock 1500) with fox adj. 2.5 fronts and fox 2.0 rears. It is not cheap, but the shocks are worth every penny - improve the ride - make it a "real" offroad truck - capable of high speed on rough terrain, similar to a Raptor - not as good, but close. It also makes for a great ride on road and with adjustments to the fronts you can dial it into your liking.

The only downside is you drop the front diff as part of the lift, so in my case I lost 2" of ground clearance in the front, as the front diff dropped 2" as I stayed with OEM tires. If you went to 35's you would maintain factory ground clearance.

Also note with the BDS lift - if you have OEM 18" wheels - you can't use them - as the tie rod sticks out and will hit the wheel - with 20" wheels the tie rod will be inside the barrel of the wheel and work. If you stick with 18" you need a -12 mm to 0mm offset wheel (ideally) or 12 mm or less and spacers and/or lug extensions. So might as well get -12 offset or 20's if you have to get new wheels.

The NX shock in the kit you are looking at is a good shock - but I would at least upgrade to fox 2.0's - not that much more but a much better shock. BDS will do that if you ask.

Also take a look at Zone - made by BDS but a lower cost option - They also offer an option to select Fox 2.0's for $117.

Link: https://zoneoffroad.com/products/4-in-ifs-suspension-lift-kit-2019-2021-chevy-trail-boss-gmc-at4?variant=39431884505176

As you stated you want the 4" lift (which gets you 6") to meet your target of 35's with ease - as long as you have the right wheels you will be all set.

Your truck looks great! Yeah I actually just ordered the BDS strut spacer lift with the upgraded rear Fox shocks. At the very least I know I should maintain factory ride up front with the factory coilovers. If I hate how it feels ill upgrade the front shocks at a later date with some other coilovers.

Supercup · June 5, 2021

You will love it - when time is right the 2.5 adjustable coilovers are well worth the $ -

Look forward to seeing how it turns out!

Dunn · June 6, 2021

9 hours ago, Supercup said:

I have 2020 AT4 Carbon Pro - I have BDS 2.5" coilover lift (so 4.5" over stock 1500) with fox adj. 2.5 fronts and fox 2.0 rears. It is not cheap, but the shocks are worth every penny - improve the ride - make it a "real" offroad truck - capable of high speed on rough terrain, similar to a Raptor - not as good, but close. It also makes for a great ride on road and with adjustments to the fronts you can dial it into your liking.

The only downside is you drop the front diff as part of the lift, so in my case I lost 2" of ground clearance in the front, as the front diff dropped 2" as I stayed with OEM tires. If you went to 35's you would maintain factory ground clearance.

Also note with the BDS lift - if you have OEM 18" wheels - you can't use them - as the tie rod sticks out and will hit the wheel - with 20" wheels the tie rod will be inside the barrel of the wheel and work. If you stick with 18" you need a -12 mm to 0mm offset wheel (ideally) or 12 mm or less and spacers and/or lug extensions. So might as well get -12 offset or 20's if you have to get new wheels.

The NX shock in the kit you are looking at is a good shock - but I would at least upgrade to fox 2.0's - not that much more but a much better shock. BDS will do that if you ask.

Also take a look at Zone - made by BDS but a lower cost option - They also offer an option to select Fox 2.0's for $117.

Link: https://zoneoffroad.com/products/4-in-ifs-suspension-lift-kit-2019-2021-chevy-trail-boss-gmc-at4?variant=39431884505176

As you stated you want the 4" lift (which gets you 6") to meet your target of 35's with ease - as long as you have the right wheels you will be all set.

So basically you just have a BDS 4.5" lift? idk why they label it way they do when you end up scrapping out stock lift of AT4 (unless you use spacer for front)

Nevertheless nice kit and am sure it rides as good as it gets for lifted truck!....it is good idea if money is a concern to leave option for coilovers in future, least you would have everything else already set in place, just pop them in when ready

...

Supercup · June 8, 2021

On 6/6/2021 at 12:11 AM, Dunn said:

So basically you just have a BDS 4.5" lift? idk why they label it way they do when you end up scrapping out stock lift of AT4 (unless you use spacer for front)

...

Yep - 4.5" lift - no spacer up front! I think the label it that way to tell you what the lift will be "over" what you have - but it is a bit confusing!

I see you are Long Beach - if you do a lift locally for GM truck Oultaw Offroad is great to deal with.