Anyone install the Rough Country Lifts??

[AndyGrogg]

Hello fellow jeepers,
My friend has a '79 CJ5 with 304 and full fiberglass body. He has been considerin lifts and wants to run either 32s or 33s-possibly considering the 2.5" from Rough Country, has anyone had any experience with these??

[Toms87]

I have it on my YJ and like it a lot. Plus they have a good warranty where if your springs sag or break, they will replace it. You can also look at the bottom of the page and it'll list similar threads, there are some down there that have other people's opinions also.

[DeadPhish]

i put the 2.5" lift on mine I have the 304 without body lift this is with 31"

not a great pic but so far I am satisfied with the stance

[CSP]

Stance is one thing and ride is another. CJ's are rough inherently, but why make them worse with a cheap kit?

Rough Country is one of the worst riding out there. Spend the cash on BDS or Rubicon Express and you'll get what you pay for.

[AndyGrogg]

i have one ordered for my tj and there was an issue with the shocks, customer service took care of it right away. money is tight so thats why he is considering this kit.

[CSP]

I can completely understand the money issue. However, it's rare that someone is required to purchase a lift kit when money is tight. Personally I would save the money until it was there to get a better product.

[NWA_CJ7]

Here we go again....

What if I were to say my Rough Country feels better than my BDS did.

[KrazyGimp]

I put a 2.5" on my CJ-5 a couple months ago. If I had to do it all over again I would have listened to everyone and spent the little extra money on a BDS. The springs are marginal at best. Do not pay attention to what their site says in the description too.

They say there are teflon slider pads between the leaves and this is a flat out lie. There are no pads at all, just metal on metal. I called them and the rep said they are in there you just can't see them. I called BS because I have never seen slider pads that you could not tell were in the packs.

They also use the crappy style spring clamps. The fronts are the kind that are held on with a rivet and bent over the top of the spring. The problem is they don't allow for much flex at all. You can heat them up and bend them out a little, but they are very hard. The rear has the band style that wraps around the pack and hooks to itself. I really want to take these off too and see how much extra flex I gain.

The shocks are decent, but I feel are still valved too stiff for a light vehicle like a CJ-5, you may have better results with a CJ-7 that has as little more weight.

Overall the ride is very stiff and bounces over the slightest bump in the road. I have greased the shackles and made sure they are barely snug and get maybe a couple inches of wheel travel at most. I was really hoping to prove the other reviews wrong but was sadly disappointed. I figured that since I wheel almost every weekend on some pretty darn hard trails I would break them in faster than a lot of other people, but that does not seem to be the case.

For what it's worth, I have read good reviews of the NEW YJ springs. They have a softer rate and are actually supposed to have the slider pads as well as the bolt on style spring clamps.

***EDIT***

I also feel that the leaf packs are too short. The fronts are not too bad, the shackle angle is actually about where is should be. The rear however, is almost vertical...maybe 1-2 degrees past. I am going out on a limb and saying they just used stock length leaves and bent them more. This is what contributes to the harsh ride. Companies like Rubicon Express and maybe other actually make the main leaf longer so the distance between the spring eyes does not shrink too bad when the spring is arched. This helps avoid the vertical shackle problem that seems to be so prevalent on cheap lifts.

[Toms87]

Maybe something is different about their CJ lifts, but they are getting good reviews for their YJ kits.
Rough Country New and improved!!!!!

I also found that my ride improved a lot when I added 1" shackles.

[KrazyGimp]

Originally Posted by NWA_CJ7

Here we go again....

What if I were to say my Rough Country feels better than my BDS did.

Just curious if this is a troll attempt? Your sig says you run a Tuff Country lift, totally different company. Did you run a Rough Country before?

[KrazyGimp]

Originally Posted by Toms87

Maybe something is different about their CJ lifts, but they are getting good reviews for their YJ kits.
Rough Country New and improved!!!!!

I talked with Rough Country at length about this. The only kits that changed were the YJ and the 4.5 inch CJ. The 2.5" CJ is still the old lift with crappy springs. The new ones I am told come from a different manufacturer and they are leaps and bounds better than the old style.

I was hoping for the 2.5 CJ to be the new style spring as I was actually told over the phone when I ordered it. They showed up and I was pissed to say the least. I was not too impressed with their customer service either. I basically got a "sorry you thought you ordered something else, have a great day" response. It really sucks when the reason you think you are getting something else is because they told you so. They would not even work with me when I tried to see if I could send the crap springs back for a set of the new style YJ's. I would have had to ship the entire lift back at my expense and buy the entire YJ kit and pay for shipping again, at that point ending up with a bunch of crap that I don't need like track bar brackets.

Anyways, that's enough of my rant. Just be careful if you are going to buy from them. I have learned my lesson the hard way.

[NWA_CJ7]

Originally Posted by KrazyGimp

Just curious if this is a troll attempt? Your sig says you run a Tuff Country lift, totally different company. Did you run a Rough Country before?

Oh thanks for noticing that... I do run a rough country currently I get the two confused sometimes. Anyway I use to have a jeep with a BDS and to be real honest I cannot tell a difference in the two but that is just my opinion. As far as your pads go mine have pads in them I can post a pic if you would like maybe you got a bad set.

[NWA_CJ7]

Originally Posted by KrazyGimp

Just curious if this is a troll attempt? Your sig says you run a Tuff Country lift, totally different company. Did you run a Rough Country before?

Yea....Troll attempt by a paying member with 460 posts.

[KrazyGimp]

Originally Posted by NWA_CJ7

Yea....Troll attempt by a paying member with 460 posts.

Like I said, just curious, I've seen stranger things. Not trying to start anything. I was just wondering 'cause I hear everyone recommending BDS over anything else in that price range.

I'd like to see that picture if possible. I do have very bad luck with get bad parts. Thanks.

[poppatello]

Originally Posted by CSP

Stance is one thing and ride is another. CJ's are rough inherently, but why make them worse with a cheap kit?

Rough Country is one of the worst riding out there. Spend the cash on BDS or Rubicon Express and you'll get what you pay for.

X2 on the BDS...

This is my somewhat DD BDS 4 1/2 lift. I love the ride and the warranty is the best. No bull**** replacement. Had it on in 2.5 hours!