Getting ready to do the lift can't decide between Rancho or RCD. I've been told that the rancho is better because it has the one peice subframe, but I see a lot of RCD's on trucks. I want to clear 315's and still have a good ride. I know many of you have a lift and I am very interested in you reviews of the two lift kits.

Do yourself a favor, take a tip from your Ole Doc and leave it stock.... Put some 285's on it and drive it till it falls apart. You will thank me later... I have had 4 lifted trucks, they are more trouble than they are worth. But if you must then run the Rancho, just have it powdercoated black before you install it...

Just an fyi, you can buy most Rancho kits in black now, you don't need to PC them black b4 installing anymore! My last Rancho was black straight from them! http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Approve.gif

Listen to the the Mac Daddy and don't be a lift hater, You should read your own info. "People too weak to follow their own dreams, will always find a way to discourage others....." I guess this describes you pretty well you weak ass, so let people follow their own dreams and quit being negative bit###

Not to take sides but I think there is a lot of merit in GMC2500HD's statement. Note, I have a 4" Rancho lift on my 2003 and love it. HOWEVER, there have been times (read all my posts on my current vibration problem which I know is not lift-related) when I wished I would have left my truck stock, leveled it out and ran 285's. Why? Mostly warranty related issues and the aggravation of fighting service mgr's. Lifted trucks give dealers the ammunication/excuse they need to either deny drivetrain related issues completely or use them as an excuse to justify a problem is/was caused by the lift. GM has the same view on larger tires/wheels, etc. which I think is a complete BS.


I know, the Magnuson-Moss act ... states a dealer must "prove" an aftermarket item caused the failure ..blah blah blah, however I would never want to go thru the pain/money/aggravation of fighting GM. Sure, the owner may win in the end ...but in the end one would have to ask themselves if it was worth it.


IMO lift kits makes a GM/GMC truck look 2X better and is the main reason I lifted my truck ... however taking the cost of the lift and the "pandora's box" of warranty-related issues I may encounter in the future certainly has made me think twice about it ...after the fact.


Back on topic ... if I was going to do a 4" lift I would do Rancho again as I think it's the best 4" kit out there ...not that there are many others. If I were doing 6" and could afford it, I would do the CST lift ... then probably RCD but each lift has it's pros/cons such as putting tires out further due to spindles, etc. My brother has an 04 and didnt' want his tires to stick out ...so he's installing a SuperLift kit within the week. My requirement was that I still be able to park my truck in the garage. I can with a Rancho and 315-70R17's ...but wouldn't have with a 6" lift.

Wow. I guess you can not read. I was giving you a tip but, also telling you if you must, run Rancho... Guess I know nothing though... Best of luck...http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Ermm.gif Edited by: GMC2500HD

I have had a 6" Fabtech lift since new and have had no lift related problems. I did just switch to an RCD(Bilstein) shock at 50K miles and the ride is fantastic. If I had it to do again I would probably go with RCD lift from the start because I like the look better and have heard alot of positive feedback too. I have 315's underneath with no issues.

I am having a black 4" Rancho installed the day my truck hits the dealership. Test drove 2500HD they had on the lot with 4" lift and really liked it. My 2 centshttp://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Approve.gif

The main difference between the Rancho and the RCD is the cross memeber. Rancho has a solid crossmemeber, RCD has a two piece crossmember.


The schools of thought are this.....


Solid crossmember is sturdy and strong, hence it's more durable.


Two Piece Crossmember allows the truck to flex as it normally would, hence less stress on the parts.


Most people who lift their vehicles now days, don't even take them offroad, so I don't even know if any of the debate on the crossmembers will matter in your case. I think it really comes down to how tall do you want the to truck to be - the Rancho kit is not as tall as the RCD kit. I have ridden in trucks that have both kits, and I liked the ride of the RCD kit myself, a large part of the nice ride is the Bilstein shocks they use. If you decide to go with the Rancho lift, swaping to the Bilstein shocks would be a wise move.


My personal opinion, buy the CST torsion keys, level out the ride, throw on some 285's with Bilstein shocks and be done. This will give you some better clearance then you already have, the ride will improve a lot, your gas mileage will not go to hell, and you will probably not get as much grief when you try to warranty something.

http://oilburners.net/forums/images/smilies/Thumbs%20up.gif I thnk if you want to lift go ahead. And if you have warranty issues then you will have to talk to your service advisor about that. I just think when you are financing a truck why mess with it and take a chance that something will not be covered. But hey, what do I know. Good luck...

FWIW I put the 6-8 inch CST kit on my 2003 HD about a year ago. I did not like the rear blocks which came with the kit so i replaced with Deaver springs. Shocks are Rancho 9000X. Tires are BFG 315 AT's. There are NO vibration, or handling problems with this setup. The Deaver springs are a little softer than stock and sure make it ride great. I tow a 7000# boat with it, no problem. And for what it worth, the milage is the same with the 315 tires as it was with the 245's. I used the Superlift box to cal. It allows you to cal the speedo for 2 dif tire sets, works great.


Dusty

dusty4x4, do you have and pictures?

Take a look at the article in the DIY Forum...


http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=5288&PN=1

GO with the CST. By far the bst kit on the market. I love mine...

For me it's the rancho kit all the way. Just installed one tonight on boss's 05 GMC ccsb Dmax/ally. Took us 3 1/2 hrs start to finish. My 02 cclb has had the rancho kit for over 2 yrs now(25000+ miles), NO problems at all, tires wear well, 315 Pro Comp M/T, only thing is with cclb MUST install spacer on carrier brg. or driveline will vibrate quite bad on take off, esp when towing