Rough Country 3" lift kit rubbing UCA's?

I have not own them, so no personal experience. I can only go by reviews and some 4 wheelers telling me they are no good.

I just don't understand why they have so many bad reviews all over the web, and why all these complaints at the BBB about the company?

Like I said about the Jaguar, I think I was lucky. Hence, I was very happy with the car, no problems.

Chris, foremost important, you're happy with them and they served you well.

 

Are you saying your UCA came in contact with your coil and got caught in the position it is in in your picture?

If so, you may just need to clock the coil clockwise about a quarter turn.

Or is it in contact with the coil during the entire travel cycle?

 

"Ride was rough" I got ptsd just thinking about it.

 

I have first hand experience with rough country lifts and have never had a problem with one. Had them on 3 vehicles, one being a wheeler that was heavily abused. I would have no problem buying another lift kit from them.

 

That's the exact kit I have. RC never mentioned anything about needing new control arms to allow for the larger front coils.

 

Good advice Cameron. I might also add that at some point those Rough Country shocks are going to wear out. At that point you can simply purchase some new shocks and keep the springs you already have.

 

I have always assumed that rough country is just the cheapest lift you can get, and the only purpose of it is to raise the ride height of the vehicle to put bigger tires on it.

I have seen some dealer installed rough country lifts on Toyotas and GM vehicles, and they all looked and drove like crap.

I, also, do not consider RC to be in the same ballpark as a Bilstein or an old man emu lift, both of which I think are much higher quality.

 

Isn't the point of any lift to lift a vehicle and fit bigger tires on it?

 

Not really, if you wanna get a suspension lift, you also want it to ride well, handle well, perform on a variety of different terrain, and potentially handle increased wait from things like bumpers, winches, instagram RTTs, other cargo.

Some lifts are simply made as cosmetics for making the truck fit bigger tires.

 

I have wheeled rough country lifts harder than a lot of guys running kings or fox's and other brands. I could care less about ride quality, RTT's or Instagram. Any vehicle I've lifted has not been "cosmetic" and has been used like a lifted 4x4. Rough country lifts work fine for what they are. If you care about RTT's and Instagram I will agree there are better options.

 

I care a lot about ride quality, there’s no reason why a suspension lift should feel like the suspension is welded to the frame.

 

I would imagine anyone who drives down washboard roads to get to the trails, or does any high speed off-roading would care about ride quality.

The added load carrying capacity helps a lot when you add a few hundred pounds of armor, recovery gear, camping gear, etc. I don't have a RTT or give 2 shits about Instagram, but I carry an extra 400-500# at all times. A suspension engineered for stock weight would suck for me.

 

Maybe I missed it but I didn't see the OP saying anything about adding weight. I get different suspensions for adding weight but I don't think he mentioned it. I

 

A buddy has a King suspension lift, we exchanged our 4R's to test. I drove 230 miles on a very bumpy road high speed, (this was a suspension test on an almost no traffic road). The King suspension was superior, more forgiving, more articulated; most of all it absorbed bumps & potholes in an amazing way.

Yes, his King suspension is 4 times the price of my Dobinsons, maybe 5/10% better, and sure I don't blast like this normally on freeways or highways 80/85 Mph max. I would give it 10% better though if you go really fast. We have about the same lift height and same tires. At least we could compare. Off-Road and on the rocks not too much of a difference.

For sure, this type of driving is impossible with a 4R suspension, no matter if it is the pro with Fox suspension. (I had one with a Fox suspension).

 

I guess I misunderstood your previous post. I got the impression that you thought that the only purpose of a lift was to fit bigger tires due to this post:

I was just pointing out that there's more to it than just fitting tires. Ride quality and load carrying ability are two of the biggest factors to consider when choosing springs and shocks. Any lift will clear tires (although this is dependant on other factors as well).

 

I should have stared in the OP's case sounds like he just wants it taller for the bigger tires. Lifting a vehicle is lifting a vehicle no matter how you spin it. Whether your lifting it to put more weight on it or not it's still a lift.

 

Agreed. I'm just going off topic like I always do.

 

I bought my older daughter a 2010 FJ cruiser that had an RC lift installed on it.

Every time you hit a bump, imperfection in the road, it would feel like somebody was compressing your spine.

She didn’t want to drive it until I put an emu kit on it.

Right now she has a 2020 SR5 with an icon lift.

 

I daily a 1 ton pickup on 37's. Ride quality to me is subjective. Not saying you're wrong about ride quality or that your opinion about rough country is wrong. I guarantee your daughters FJ rode better than any 4x4 vehicle I have owned.

 

No worries

 

So help me understand - are you saying "lift for lift's sake, and the ride be damned?"

 

For the price point you are not going to get the same quality of the higher end ones you have mentioned. But for what you are paying the RC is not bad at all. I have no complaints on my trucks RC shocks handling with the exception of not being able to adjust it for different conditions.

 

No, I was trying to give an example of ride quality being subjective.

 

Yes that is so true!! I have tried everything in my budget to get a ride quality me and my wife can agree to. The RC shocks are a decent compromise. I have Helwig solid sway bars front and rear and also Helwig overload springs with silent bushings in the back. Along with the Michelin Defender tires it does a good job of cornering and soaking up the initial hits. For my wife it's just too harsh.

I have come to the conclusion that I will have to budget in high dollar fully adjustable suspension front and rear to meet those needs when I get a 4Runner.

 

You used to.....

 

Chris,

Ultimately OP will make his decision. In my opinion - ("It has been done but tire wear is accelerated and you are putting undue stress on the upper ball joints.") If toe - camber - caster are in spec, can you elaborate why you should have problems?

On the other hand spending $600/700 on UCA.s doesn't sound like a wise decision, the OEM UCA's are maintenance free and last normally more than 100K miles, and I still believe the less you mess with the geometry the better. In case OP sells his RC lift and saving on UCA's he can have a better quality lift. Just my 2C

I understand, you have been pleased. I'm a little confused, did you put that RC lift on a 4R ?

 

^^ I'll post this again because I think it's an important question that needs to be answered by the OP.

 

When a 4Runner or any strut style assembly is lifted the upper ball joints are moved to much higher angles due to the lift and the stock UCA dropping. Also caster is effected and has to be increased in order to push the wheel forward into the fender well. Add in a larger and heavier tire and you get where I'm going with this.

My RC lift is on my 2005 GMC Sierra. I installed it in 2012 at around 59,000 miles. I now have over 132,000 miles on the truck. It has not been without issues. Just last year I had to replace both hubs and tie rod ends due to the stress of the larger heavier E rated tires that were on the truck. There is "no free lunch" whenever doing a lift or going big on tire size.

It's all good though. As long as the end user is aware of the inevitable issues and component wear due to modifying and using a vehicle beyond it's intended purpose.

These kind of topics can sometimes get heated. We all have different expectations and driving styles. We should also consider age groups that will take higher/lower risks when modifying or off roading.

 

BTW did you see her fingernails?

 

Mama June's ?