i have read a lot on here on lifts. i am looking at a rcd 6" lift and remember seeing somewhere that it only dropped everything in front by 4-4.5" and the rest was gained by t bars. could i go with that and put a shorter block in back? if so what size. i have weld evo 16-8 with 4.62 back space and am looking at toyo 295x75x16 at tires. would this work and look OK?

I am not sure about your offset but as far as everything else, I do know. I have installed over 100 of these kits, this is THE 6" lift in my opinion. There are very few lift kits that drop the entire front end, one is the fabtech 8", but the majority of the lift from the RCD comes from the lengthened knuckles and the dropped lower A-arms. As far as cranking the T-Bars, it all depends on the truck itself.
I have put the kit on a truck and had to crank the bars all the way in order to fit 315's, but I have also had trucks that had most of the t-bar bolt showing and what looked like enough room for a true 36". It is hard to tell how your truck is going to sit when it is done, we always lift the front first, then put the truck down and measure the size of the block we will need to level everything up, sometimes it takes a 3" block, some take a 5". For the size of tire you are wanting to run you could probably go with the RCD, but I am pretty sure a Rancho 4" would look better. but it is up to you, if you have any more questions let me know, I hope that I helped! -Jeff

thanks for reply, looked at rancho too but since rcd came with bilstiens thought that might be better. think i should go with 315s? i was looking at 295s because they were narrower and may would throw less on side of truck. i had a 2001 hd with 4" trailmaster and 305-70s and it got covered up.

I have the Rancho 4" and 16x8 wheels. IMO a 285 or 295 tire is the perfect tire for a 4" lift. Rancho actual states on their web site the 4" lift is made for 285 tires. I ran 315/70R17 BF KO tires on Weld Evo wheels with a 4.625 backspacing for awhile but felt the tires were too big for a 4" lift and rubbed at times at full lock. The tires also stuck out past the flares about 1.5" which I didn't like because it was impossible to keep crap off the side of the truck. If I went 6" I'd definately go with 315's.

On edit: I just ordered the Rancho lift w/out shocks and went with the Bilstein 5100's.

well with the RCD it will be tough to get the tires under the fenderwells. the RCD widens the front end by about an inch and a half on each side. the 295's will help, but they wont fix the problem. If you are worried about the tires sticking out you may want to look at a different kit, maybe the skyjacker, I believe that it does not increase the factory trackwidth. I may be wrong though.

If it was my truck I would do the 315's and not worry about the crap on the side of the truck, thats what they made Mr. Clean for):h -Jeff

thanks for the comments guys. both your trucks look great!! may have to reconsider tires even though there is only a 1.27" height difference in the 2 sizes. hope to get it put on next week and try to get some finished pics.

wsucowboy-What size block is on your truck? It has a ton of fenderwell clearance. What do your fenders measure for height? We installed a RCD on my brother's 98 1/2 ton and it was pretty simple, took us about 10 hours. I didn't think that was bad since we had never done a knuckle lift before. Might have been less time if we had done it all in one day too rather than starting at 5, going good until about 1, then finishing the next day. Also do the knuckles on the HD RCD allow a stock wheel? The don't have downloadable instructions like some other brands so I haven't found out. I'd like to get one for my truck, problem is I'm cheap:help2:
What do they run at the shop you work at? My brother got his for 1500 through carquest.

The Block in my truck was actually the one that came with the kit, It is a 4". I have an add-a-leaf I am going to throw in along with some airbag extensions, I dont know if you saw the pic of my truck with the camper on it but it sags in the A$$ pretty bad, I am hoping that stuff will fix it.

I will get you some measurements tomorrow, My present driveway is damn near vertical and lopsided to boot, I will find some flat ground tomorrow and get out the tape.

The RCD knuckles do not allow for a stock wheel, it is possible to use one if you are comfortable with spacers but I have an extreme reservation on using them on the front of a rig. I believe it is much safer to get a new set of wheels.

The kit will run you about ~$2000 installed, but then of course you have to add wheels and tires and by then you can be real close to $5000 in a hurry. I love my RCD and I wouldnt trade it for anything, unless of course I wanted to go higher..... (someday, maybe)

10 Hours is pretty good for a first timer, we could do about one and a half a day at the shop I worked at, but of course we always had other stuff going on at the same time as well. If I can be of any more help let me know! -Jeff

Thanks...
I didn't need installed cost, I'd put it on myself. It's not that bad. How much of that is labor? I was mostly just wondering if the lift cost less around there, because I see them right at 1500 all the time in ads. I can find decent wheels and tires without spending quite that much, but close. But the problem is like your sig says, I also would like a trans upgrade so I can turn my predator up all the way. Probably just not do either for a while and save money.
I just asked about the stock wheels for spare concerns, not for everyday use. No big deal, just find another wheel for a spare.
Also I had wanted to put a gooseneck in my truck, but that might not work so well with that much lift. Could modify the trailer hitch a bit, but then it wouldn't work right for anyone else. Hmmm.

you are looking at about ~$1500 for parts. If you are worried about a spare, yours will work you may just have to do some swapping front to back....it sucks I know but if you gotta get home that may be your only option...

I believe a 6" is too high for almost any trailer besides a bumper pull, you run into issues of clearance between the bed rails and the trailer. I have seen it done, the trailer was lifted, but it looked kinda goofy and was a pain in the a$$ to get in and out of the trailer. good luck in figuring out your next purchase, either way it aint gonna be cheap!! -Jeff