Rough Country Leveling Kit Now Plastic?

kendrickson · June 20, 2009

I just bought a new Silverado, and I have been researching this forum for some information on leveling kits. Rough Country seems to be recommended here, but when I went to their website, it appears in their pictures that their spacer is made of plastic. I thought from reading in these threads that it was made out of steel. I have found another kit on Ebay from Tuckey Motorsports that is the same design as the Rough Country, but is made of steel. There is also another one on Ebay that was made of aluminum (I think these are home-made by someone who has access to alumimum and some cutting tools). So I have several questions: Does anybody know if the Rough Country kits are now plastic, and will the plastic kit hold up? Are the kits on Ebay any good?

Thanks, Ken

03blackz71 · June 20, 2009

Mine is steal but I got it when they first came out. But the new one looks like cast iron or some thing like that. I wouldn't think it would be plastic because I think it wouldn't hold up at all.

2005LT · June 20, 2009

+1 As far as I can tell, mine are steel too. They're just coated to prevent corrosion. I bought the kit at the beginning of May this year.

03blackz71 · June 20, 2009

here is a link to there old design on ebay they are selling.

rough country ebay link

kendrickson · June 20, 2009

here is a link to there old design on ebay they are selling.

rough country ebay link

Thanks for the link to the old design. They DO look different than what is currently being shown on the Rough Country website. The ones on the website sure look like plastic (I suppose I could just call and get the info on them). Here is the link to the Rough Country kit:

http://www.roughcountry.com/chevy_4wd_leveling_kit.html

Here are the two sets from ebay. Anybody have an opinion on these?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2007-2008-L...A1%7C240%3A1318

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2007-2008-2...A1%7C240%3A1318

2005LT · June 20, 2009

Good point Ken, looks like they made some changes to that kit. Not sure what that material is that they have on their site now. Mine definitely looks like the Ebay one that 07blackZ71 posted. Give them a call and ask what that is now. Also looks like two pieces now instead of three

Sorry, no experience with those other kits you found but they should do exactly the same thing as long as they're metal. Steel is probably the best though. I do like the 1.5" of lift though instead of the full 2" (achieved with 1" blocks). Mine just has a bit of rake left with the 1.5" lift.

Tsmith · June 20, 2009

Mine just has a bit of rake left with the 1.5" lift.

Peter a bit confused with the "rake left" comment. Leans to the left or a tad in the front?

MS3DALE · June 20, 2009

Mine just has a bit of rake left with the 1.5" lift.

Peter a bit confused with the "rake left" comment. Leans to the left or a tad in the front?

He means the back sits just a "tad" higher than the front,He didn't mean the "left" side of the truck.

I had the same issue with mine even with just the 1.5" kit I installed,My front-end sat up higher than the rear,Thats why I had to install 1" lift blocks in the rear.

ultramike · June 20, 2009

The new kits are plastic blocks and are NOT adjustable like previously. I just purchased mine to do a 1.5" front lift/level. But I was disappointed when the block showed up as plastic & 1" thick = 2" of lift. I am looking into returning it, but I am not getting any support from rough country.

georgecdisc · June 20, 2009

That sucks that they changed the design. RC is definitely the number one pick here for leveling... and now that they are not steel OR incremental levels a lot has to be desired now. I put mine in around February 2009, I have the steel ones.

brims · June 20, 2009

That's odd, they would be lighter, the steel ones have some heaft. They may still be good because we've come a long way with composites. Who knows. If they go out of business or go back to the steel version, then we will be able to assume the composite version wasn't so great. That's why I don't like glock, well, 1 reason.

kendrickson · June 20, 2009

Well, I called them, and the new ones are polyurethane. The representative did not seem to know that they used to be made of steel, but he claimed that the new ones would hold up just as well. He mentioned that they have been trying different things (I'm not sure how he would know this, since he seemed clueless when I asked about the old steel design), and that the polyurethane might be used in an effort to reduce shipping costs. I am not sure now what I want to use for a leveling kit....the ones on ebay are beginning to seem a little more appealing than the RC.

ultramike · June 20, 2009

Polyurethane?! Obviously that guy is clueless. Polyurethane is what flexible air hose is made out of. The ones I received are made out of carbon fiber and look plenty strong for normal use. My biggest complaint is that it is not adjustable height.