i have owned 4 trucks in 7 years and lifted everyone of them just to sell them becuase i lifted it. so i decided to get smart and i bought a 06 chevy diesel truck 2500 with the thought of never lifting again and having a motor to last forever. well i can't handle being so little so i have so questions. i want to be able to tow a 5th wheel 28-30 ft. toy hualer and not rub with tires of 37". is it possible? if so what lift and size and why? also what is your experience with it. i don't want to lift if it will wreak this truck i plan on keeping this truck for 10 years and want no steering problems. thsnks in advance -james

i have owned 4 trucks in 7 years and lifted everyone of them just to sell them becuase i lifted it. so i decided to get smart and i bought a 06 chevy diesel truck 2500 with the thought of never lifting again and having a motor to last forever. well i can't handle being so little so i have so questions. i want to be able to tow a 5th wheel 28-30 ft. toy hualer and not rub with tires of 37". is it possible? if so what lift and size and why? also what is your experience with it. i don't want to lift if it will wreak this truck i plan on keeping this truck for 10 years and want no steering problems. thsnks in advance -james


As far as clearing 37's and be bulletproof, Cognito 7-9.... As far as pullin, I don't pull 5th wheels but you might be ok with that amount of lift. If not you can always do a spring over axle of the trailer and raise it up a little.

yes u can pull a fifth just tell ur dealer to do a axle flip on the trailer

i can tell you right now that if you plan on putting some miles on this truck,maybe 10k+ a year, with 37's and dont want to have ANY steering problems in those 10 years with 37's....theres a high probability thats just not going to happen.

i dont have a fifth wheel either but hardcoremxer said it best, Cognito 7-9 comes with idler and pitman arm supports and get Cognitos tie rod kit.

b-rad why do you think that it's not going to happen? i put on about 20,000 miles a year. is the cognito better than the cst and why also how good is the bds compared to these 2 what are the difference and what makes one better than the other? if it is impossible to have a reliable truck that is lifted i don't want it. how big can i go and still be reliable? 7-9" or 10-12" or even 15". the last truck i had was a dodge and it had a 15" lift and every month i was replacing something and it sat in the shop more than it drove and when i did drive it, it was crazy it would just shift lanes and the pitman arm broke 5 times while driving it.

b-rad do you have problems with your lift? also what if i did 35 or 36" tires with the lift? how much clearance do you have with the 37" on that lift?

since u pull a fiver id suggest getting the cognito 4-6" lift with the cognito upper control arms and crank it to 6" and get bushwacker cutout flares and stuff 37s in it. i think it would be too tall with the cognito 7-9"

ya i pull a gooseneck and i had to get the neck lengthened 4" so that it sat almost level if you are going to pull a 5er i wouldn't go any taller then 35" if you don't plan on doing gears also but you should be able to get away with that and ya what ever lift you do i would put the cognito braces and outers on it the outers our my next steering upgrade

i have owned 4 trucks in 7 years and lifted everyone of them just to sell them becuase i lifted it. so i decided to get smart and i bought a 06 chevy diesel truck 2500 with the thought of never lifting again and having a motor to last forever. well i can't handle being so little so i have so questions. i want to be able to tow a 5th wheel 28-30 ft. toy hualer and not rub with tires of 37". is it possible? if so what lift and size and why? also what is your experience with it. i don't want to lift if it will wreak this truck i plan on keeping this truck for 10 years and want no steering problems. thsnks in advance -james

The main reason I only put a 4" is because I do haul and I wanted the truck to be functional. I'm running 35" and that is as big as I want to go. My trailer has the sub-frame and the trailer still doesn't sit level with the 35's...but it's close. My trailer height is at 13' 4" so raising the trailer wouldn't make any since. Plus for hauling purposes the bigger the tire the worse the mileage. I lost 4 miles per gal going from 265's

fastcrazyhurt,i think you are misinterpreting (sp) what i say.

BDS does not compare to Cognito or CST. in my opinion. and im sure the majority will agree with that statement

i have ZERO problems with my lift.

20k miles a year x 10 is 200,000 miles. with 37" tires and have no problems at all isnt going to happen. even with braces your idler and pitman are eventually going to wear out.and it seems about 90-100k miles are about all the hubs can stand also.but these things are the price you pay to run big tires.is it going to break every day? no, if it does you'll be the first ive run across with that problem.

i think the Cognito is better than the CST for my application because it leaves the steering in the stock location and widens the leverage on the bigger tires with new spindles.plus is tough.and it has held an anlignment prefect and i have have just a tick over 20k miles on it so far with 150+ lbs of wheel and tire hanging off of it

a reliable lifted truck is entirely possible but to ask to go 200,000 miles with no problems on 37" tires is unreasonable on any truck lifted or not.

the size lift as far as reliablity has very little to do with lift size in my opinion.its which lift you choose and tire size. A cognito 7" lift with 35's or 37's is going to be very reliable. ive had zero problems at 12" with 38/15.50's. thats a much bigger lift and tire than you want.

COGNITO is best. I have no first hand experience, but that seems to be the most popular answer and I want to be popular!

Just kidding but this site is out of contol!

200,000 miles with no problems on 37" tires is unreasonable on any truck lifted or not. x2

he has 200k on an '05?

he has 200k on an '05?

he said he plans to drive 20,000 miles per year for 10 years.
20,000 x 10 = 200,000

Hook up trailer then pull truck onto stands or whatever about 10-12" high, that'll tell you if lift you want is feasible. I'm gonna guess not, but maybe close to acceptable, you'll be better with 4" and 35's. That 3-4" difference is a lot when towing is in question.

As for flipping axles make sure trailer height isn't too much afterwards.

rad, thanks for the great answers. i guess i'm just worried because of previous lift problems. if it was a minor repair every 50,000 miles i could live with that. i guess i will go with the cognito but how do i know what size i can go with towing a 5th wheel possibly? i am selling my pontiac gta and boat to buy the toy hualer and lift so i doesn't have to be a 5th wheel i just thought that was a better route for towing. i would like a 28-34 ft. trailer how does a regular trailer differ when going that big. i have a buddy with a 4in. on 35's and it still looks to small for me, even a 6in. looks small but i'm used to straight axle 10-18" lifts on my trucks. what cognito lift should i go with for towing purposes and reliability since that's my main concern now?

don't forget about tires. going that big, you still need to find a tire that has a high load rating (not sure what size wheel you want) so you can tow the weight. that last thing you want is an incorrect load range tire due to running something larger and having problems with them.

wasn't sure if you thought about that, so hopefully it helps

i actuallly have a set of 22in ultra's on 305/40 toyo open country's that have about 300 miles on them i run the stockers during winter. but i'm selling the 22's so i can get some 20's and maybe 35-37in. toyo m/t's when i lift depending on what the clearence issues will be when towing.

you sort of answered your own question. a 5th wheel is better for towing, but not with a lift. and the reason i say not with a lift is if you are used to, and like big lifts then a 6" on 35's is not going to do it for ya.it will be a waste of money and it sounds like you wont be happy with it. and anything bigger than that is not good for 5th wheel towing. ive had 11,700lbs of construction materials behind my truck on a 22" flatbed and it handles the weight better than a stock truck,in my opinion. im by no means a towing guru or expert but i tow often between the car and working during the week and love the way it tows.

my buddies dad tows thier trailer that is a pull behind and it is 30' and pulls just fine and that is with out sway control so with sway control you should. If your set on buying a trailer i would go look for a trailer and find one you like then set the truck up that way you know the limits of the trailer and don't get into a point were you can't tow it

this is what i did with my trailer i thought i was going to need the neck extended on my goose so i looked at a friend of mines trailer and measured everything first and figured it out that way

i have owned 4 trucks in 7 years and lifted everyone of them just to sell them becuase i lifted it.

Were any of these GM IFS lifts?
What problems did you have?
What would be different with lifting the new truck?

Asking because I am researching a lift for my 07 GMC and have no experience with a lifted GM IFS. Would really be interested to know what problems led you to sell the truck(s) ?

Thanks!

he said he got smart and bought a chevy :rockit: he must have had fords or dodges :badidea:

he said he got smart and bought a chevy :rockit: he must have had fords or dodges :badidea:


Seems the straight axle lifts would pose less problems that the IFS...

Seems the straight axle lifts would pose less problems that the IFS...


News flash- straight axle guys break parts too. Those parts have different names. It's all the same!

Pick a lift that you don't have to crank the torsions to fit 37's under or you'll ba breaking alot of axles. The Toyo M/T 37"x 13.50 x 17" is E rated. Most toyhauler 5th wheels fully loaded are close to or way over 15k, I know I know the sticker on the trailer says otherwise but take it to the scales, so you have to take that into consideration. I tow a 26' weekend warrior tag and fully loaded it's right at 12k (scale weight). As far as bed height you need to check with each trailer manufature on thier pin heights to see if it will work, I know the weekend warrior 5th will fit under my truck with the axle's flipped. If you decide to go big on the lift make sure you use bigger springs instead of blocks in the back cause with that much weight over the axle you'll spit the block right out, usually lifted springs are softer then stock so you'll have to use airbags for sure. I was like you, I couldn't handle driving a stock truck, do I regret lifting it?, sometimes, but I would do it all over again.;) It's a price we pay to look cool:D .

might want to see if your manuf will warrent the trailer with the axles flipped, a lot will not, as least the ones I talked too

i'm getting mixed feelings, should i buy a 10" and have 37in. tires and buy a pull behind trailer or get the 7in cognito and put on 35" with a fith wheel or pull behind. i just want what is most reliable? what is a better kit the 7-9 or 10-12in.? also on truck was a f-150 had lots of problems blames it on IFS, so i bought a 03 dodge 2500 hemi straight axle and had even more problems with two different lifts on was a whiplash suspension kit that broke constantly in the first 2 year i probably drove the truck 4 months so i then bought the most expensive full throttle kit 15in. after having the torsion bars and pitman break a dozen times and the horrible ride i sold that truck to buy the chevy with ifs. but i don't want these problems as now my truck is my only transportation and daily driver.

Well, I am by no means a lift or towing guru, but you have gotten some great advice here. After reading through all this, I could tell you what I would do in this situation. Buy the cognito 10-12" kit w/ rear springs and an air bag setup, with the lift set at 10". Run 37" or 38" tires, re-gear w/ 4.56's, and buy a pull behind trailer. Just my $0.02.

Leave it stock,drive the s... out of it and let the warranty take care of it!

If its your daily driver go 7-9 set at 7" with 35s then you can tow fifth wheel and not have to regear.My truck is set at 12" with torsion cranked all the way and is a little stiff in the front.If you go 10" with 38s it will be to tall for fifth wheel but work fine with tag.

I personally run a Cognito 7-9" set @ 9" with 36" super swamper Iroks E rated and stock gears. I have a 30 foot attitude toyhauler that I have pulled with the truck stock and lifted. I would have to say with the trailer weighing in anywhere from 9500 to 14000, the truck handles exceptionally well and I have had no problems. I do run airbags with custom mounts fabbed to dial in the ride height depending on tongue weight variations and take some of the body roll out when towing. I towed the trailer from Las Vegas NV to Anchorage Alaska and the truck performed above and beyond. I plan on going to 37" mud grapplers in the spring which I don't think should be a problem at all and probably to some 4:10's to give er a little more grunt off the line but in all honesty I would do it all over again without even batting an eye...Check out my garage and you can see what it looks like all together. Hope this helps. :ro)

so where can i buy a cognito lift at for the best price? i think i will go with th 10-12in. kit and put on 37" tires with 22 in wheels and buy a pull trailer.

well i changed my mind and decided to go 7-9 in kit with 35's on 20's i think for me that would be the best setup. thanks for all the help it really helped educate me to make a decision. thanks again james

;) That's what I got

well i changed my mind and decided to go 7-9 in kit with 35's on 20's i think for me that would be the best setup. thanks for all the help it really helped educate me to make a decision. thanks again james

well i went to the seattle rv show today and ended up buying a 2003 37ft sandpiper loaded with generator for $20k. i couldn't pass up the deal since it's like $20k below other prices i've seen. so this changes my lift options probably. can i still do the 7-9 cognito on 35's with this 5th wheel?

well i went to the seattle rv show today and ended up buying a 2003 37ft sandpiper loaded with generator for $20k. i couldn't pass up the deal since it's like $20k below other prices i've seen. so this changes my lift options probably. can i still do the 7-9 cognito on 35's with this 5th wheel?


The top of the bed is about 62" and the floor of the bed is about 42". This is with the 6" Deaver springs, nothing else. I do have a Snugtop shell on it though, so I don't know how much that makes the rear drop. If you do the springs like I did you will also want to do some air bags with them.

Let me know if these dimensions will work with that 5th wheel!

i tow a gooseneck all the time with my truck. i think i would be able to fit 37's i might be alittle tall to get under a standard high goose but shouldn't be bad. also i have about 30,000 on the straight axle and i have replaced nothing and haven't had any problem towing.

i am wondering what are the differences between the bds 6in. kit and the cognito 7in.? the reason is because the bds has a lifetime no questions asked no fine print warranty that they will replace any part with. if i could get the bds and add the cognito pitman idler arm and rear springs it might be a better kit what do you guys think?

cognito has a lifetime warranty also. and awesome customer service and its a better lift. the BDS lift is almost a permanant lift. lots of cutting. i have seen one installed about a year ago before i did my lift. it was shocking to say the least.im sure its a fine lift. and i dont want to offend anyone that has one. but after seeing one installed i would'nt consider it. just all my opinion of course. and im partially biased

The top of the bed is about 62" and the floor of the bed is about 42". This is with the 6" Deaver springs, nothing else. I do have a Snugtop shell on it though, so I don't know how much that makes the rear drop. If you do the springs like I did you will also want to do some air bags with them.



Yeah, those Deaver's are pretty soft. You can get a set of Ride-Rite bags for that truck and fill them manually for about $250. I had the Firestone Slam-Air bags on my truck and they sucked. Very thin...