4x4 lift kit brand advice
 

Hi everyone.
I will make this short.
I just purchased a 72 k20 I want to lift the body up 2 to4 inches for the look and bigger tires, on a budget of course. Any advice as to how to and what brand\maker of the kit would be greatly appreciated.
PS....I would prefer American made parts but I'm not sure that's even possible.
Thank you all for any advice.

Re: 4x4 lift kit brand advice
 

Honestly, if you are looking at lower cost, off the shelf lift kits. Just pick one of the brand names and be done. Skyjacker, Tuff Country, etc. There will not be much difference in ride quality. "soft" ride or not. Pretty much the same.

Re: 4x4 lift kit brand advice
 

The Tuff Country Ez-Rides definitely ride far better than other off the shelf lift springs. I have no experience with Skyjacker soft rides, but I'm sure they ride better than regular lift kits. I buy Tuff Countries from Suspension Connection.com. Made in USA

Re: 4x4 lift kit brand advice
 

Rough Country will be the cheapest by far. But it will be as it's name implies, rough. I've had those springs on two of my K5's for going on 15 years. The ride itself was not horrible or I wouldn't have run them as long as I did. They are stiff and a better shock will tame them down for a little better ride quality. But after riding in similar trucks to mine with different springs I can say there is a difference.

Superlift Softride springs are what I'm swapping in up front. I'd spend a little more to get a lift kit with a better spring than Rough Country.

Re: 4x4 lift kit brand advice
 

I went cheap on my '72 K2500. It was cheap or nothing that summer, so I went with NTW's no-name 4" front springs, rear add-a-leafs, and 2" blocks. The springs turned out to be Superlift. They ride rougher than I ever remember lift springs riding. I ran Superlifts 4" lift on an '84 and didn't think they rode so bad. Could be the slightly longer leafs or could be that's just how it was back then. I ran the hydraulic shocks because I think those give a softer ride than gas charged. I have cheap gas shocks on the '72. I want to change to all spring EZ-Rides. I should have just waited to spend a little more.

Re: 4x4 lift kit brand advice
 

Someone on here was saying Alcans/Off-road Design were the way to go. I have a unknown brand 6in lift the PO installed on my 71 K20 and it’s got huge blocks in the rear. I’m looking to swap those for an all-springs lift and heard those were great. I and unsure if their price point but goofing around on their website, they let you just about customize everything on their springs build sheet. They also offer pre-made Skyjacker

https://www.offroaddesign.com/custom...lug-axles.html

Re: 4x4 lift kit brand advice
 

The alcan/ord springs are supposed to be really nice riding. They use 8-10 leaves in their packs which probably gives them that nice ride. They are spendy though, and were 12 weeks out when I ordered.

I wish I could give a nice review of them but I decided to take the truck completely apart, install all new drivetrain, steering and brakes. Hopefully soon…

The last lift springs I installed were skyjacker softride 6” springs and man they were rough. I tried a few shocks trying to settle that truck down but it was almost violent riding on anything but pavement. Not sure how they can call those things “softrides”

Re: 4x4 lift kit brand advice
 

I know I sound like a broken record player but I can attest that although pricey it's money well spent.. I went from tuff country ez rides to the Alcans and everytime
I drive my K5 it's amazing how well it rides.. there's a speed hump going to the local tractor supply and I would bounce out of the seat...same bump same blazer and it's
an absolute world of difference..anybody that lives close is welcome to come drive it.

Re: 4x4 lift kit brand advice
 

I'm the flip-side of that broken record :lol:. Alcan Spring and budget don't belong in the same sentence. The original poster listed budget as a consideration, and for the price you can't beat Tuff Country EZ-Rides. They are a definite improvement over other "off the shelf" lift springs. They are actually designed differently, not just a continuous arch.

https://suscon.s3.us-east-1.amazonaw...ff-country.jpg

Re: 4x4 lift kit brand advice
 

Very good point.. I prefer the skyjacker soft ride for an off the shelf spring.. they're clamped loose and have Teflon sliders and tapered leaf's..but I think the tuff country's are also made the same way so probably a toss up between the two IMO

Re: 4x4 lift kit brand advice
 

If you look at an EZ-Ride from the side, they are fairly flat near the center, then arch more toward the ends. This way it takes less force to flex the springs. I have no experience with Skyjacker. If those are made in America like Tuff Country I would consider those.

I come from back when all there were was the harsher riding leaf springs or you had a spring shop overarch the springs then add a leaf... also harsh. Basically, that's all lift kits were. I had a '69 Dodge W200 and no one even made a lift kit for those. We disassembled the packs, hammered one main leaf on an anvil till we were happy with the comparison to original, Then hammer the rest to conform, then do the other side to match. Obviously, I've never been one to rumble over the bumps off road. It took "technique" :cool:

Since I haul with my '72 K2500 I wanted to retain the original springs that were in good shape. so I did an Add-A-Leaf with 2" blocks, which I already had. It turned out the blocks were worn at the pin locator holes, so I ordered new ones. The longer u-bolts I bought were bullcrap, just rounded over the leafs. That left room for movement of the locator plate on top of the spring. I didn't like that so I ordered nuts-up u-bolts from Tuff Stuff. Needless to say, all this took much longer to get the truck together and ended up costing a lot toward what a pair of springs would have cost. Plus, the Tuff Stuff u-bolt kit is over-built with a thicker spring plate and fatter u-bolts. They look really tough, but I've never seen the factory spec u-bolts and plates fail due to being anemic. The plates are wider and I get a horrible BANG sometimes going over bumps. I believe the oversized plates are contacting the frame. I would cut them down to proper size but the truck is off the road right now. I'll be putting a proper spring lift on it before hitting the road. I ended up spending more to save a little :rolleyes:

Re: 4x4 lift kit brand advice
 

I completed my swap from Rough Country springs up front to Superlift Softride springs this last weekend. I did also change out the shackles for the beefy version from ORD as well as using ORD Kevlar greaseable bushings/blots. Once we got done with the rest of the stuff we needed to do I drove it 120 miles back to my house.

I could tell pretty quickly the difference. Before on the highway the front end would crash and bang over bumps or expansion joints. Potholes were jarring. Now with the same shocks as before up front, it rolls over the stuff with much more confidence and less harshness. The new springs aren't even broken in yet.

Re: 4x4 lift kit brand advice
 

i have a skyjacker 2.5 on my 72 longbed and would buy again. Summit had it in stock at the time.

Re: 4x4 lift kit brand advice
 

Tough country ez rides for me, took the old 2.5 inch off and went with new 4 inch. Have put 300 miles on it now. I like it better than the old unknown lift that was on it.