Putting Your Truck on the Level

by Ian Harwood on Thursday, January 15th, 2015

“You can raise your truck a few inches or all the way up to nosebleed levels…”

Your new truck looks great in front of your home, but why does the front sit lower than the back?

If you find yourself pondering this question, you are not alone. This “feature” is very common with the trucks of today, but there is a solution to this problem.

Revtek Industries was founded in 2000 to market unique Toyota suspension lift systems, but since those early days, the company has gone on to develop systems for the Ford Super-duty truck, the Ford F150’s, Ram, Jeep, Nissan Titan and the Toyota Tundra.

Suspension upgrades and improvements are becoming tougher and tougher to manufacture. The days when you could throw away your stock leaf-springs and stick in the largest leaf-spring you could find are over. Now you have to worry more about steering geometry and wheel-alignment specs.

Revtek offers a complete line of suspension systems designed to level your vehicle, and offer you the option to increase tire size. Most levelling systems maintain the original springs, so you can maintain a smooth ride.

In my view, Revtek has the most installer-friendly kits available and the manufacturer utilizes the best materials – billet aircraft aluminum (higher grade of aluminum with no imperfections), powder coated cast aluminum, and specialty polyurethane, which meet or exceed original-equipment specifications.

Whether you choose a complete lift, or just to level the front end, Revtek likely has a solution for many of today’s most popular vehicles. Check out www.revtek.com.

If you are not happy with the overall ride height and not satisfied with just levelling the front-end then Pro Comp Suspension may be an alternative. It has a full line of suspension lifts: you can raise your truck a few inches or all the way up to nosebleed levels.

One kit in particular is the 8.5-inch for Ford Super Duty trucks. This lift has enough clearance to clear 37-inch tires, and will cost you $2,400 with shocks. With lift kits of this size, you should definitely make sure you make any necessary improvements such as a spacer kit to lower the carrier bearing on vehicles with two piece drive-shafts.

This will reduce high-speed driveshaft vibrations, and is well worth the investment of $60.

You should also consider a steering stabilizer to control those large tires bouncing down the road. There are a few options available from a single application or a double stabilizer setup, depending on the vehicle. Price $89 to $165.

Another good upgrade to consider with a lift of this size is a traction bar system to prevent wheel hop or axle wind up. In the old days, these bars would limit your wheel travel, but now the ends are equipped with reverse hourglass-shaped urethane bushings that allow the traction bar to flex for articulation.

The final upgrade to consider is the addition of stainless steel brake lines. Such brake lines not only give you the correct length required with these massive lifts, but also will not swell under increased braking pressure demanded by larger tires.

For more information check out www.explorerprocomp.com.

Contact: ian [dot] harwood [at] drivewaybc [dot] ca